first time going to snow?

Ahoy,

The idea of "going to the snow" is so strange to me. Why doesn't it come to me? Like it has been for the majority of my life. But A has been wanting to take me for a while. We got snow pants last year and never used them. They proved to be excellent additions to our snow gear.

We drove with a friend, whom we routinely bum rides from, up to Mammoth. It was snowing at a pretty good rate as we rolled in, but his car has all wheel drive so we just drove past everyone putting snow chains on their cars. I've also never really heard of snow chains until A asked me about them. I don't think I've ever seen anyone in Chicago with them.

We arrived somewhat late, and woke up pretty early to get out. We didn't arrive in time for the first lesson, so I ended up in the afternoon class. We had some time before, so the RRS panicked as he tried to figure out how to teach me to snowboard when he didn't really remember to begin with. I fell a lot, but I was told I was doing pretty well for a beginner. In conclusion, snowboarding is thoroughly exhausting and expensive. I think it's kind of a silly sport for mostly affluent people. Shoveling is a much more useful skill. I would probably do it again, but it's not a sport I would devote myself to.

Ironically, the RRS got sick/altitude sickness after our first day out, so we ended up not going to snowboard the next day. He was originally super adamant about us going both days so we'd have more time to get better. He ended up spending our second day in bed and taking a day off from work. Thrilling. I continue to be super, duper grateful to the folks we were with for being able to accommodate him in his sorry state. When he gets sick, it's usually just a wrench in my our plans, but I was so sorry to be an inconvenience to the rest of the party. And so incredibly thankful for their help and kind gestures. I feel like we will encounter more situations like this, and I'm not sure how to return the kindness or express enough gratitude.

liftingly blizzarded,
jt