“To Tahoe” - Bronte
How Stella Got Her Groove Back is basically what we felt after this past winter in Tahoe. We came, we saw, we conquered. There is nothing more to say than after several years of learning to snowboard in Tahoe, after the broken bones, hammering headaches, torn butt pads, and cringe-worthy memories of getting off a lift, it clicked. Suddenly all the hardships are distant memories, and now we can only remember learning on thick powdery cloud-like mountains, sipping Teddy’s hot chocolate from a flask, empty trails for our enjoyment only, and sitting on the top of a mountain in the middle of a snow flurry.
At Boreal Mountain, we got reacquainted with our boards and enjoyed the slow pace of the trails. We watched as the green trails were littered with bodies of beginners, and confidence warmed our legs as we went down new blues. It was during our second trip to Diamond Peak where the groove turned into a rhythm. For Jamie, she felt more at ease than ever, even though the layer of snow was thin enough to see patches of dirt along the trails. She gained speed, and felt less jerky in her transitions. For me, I was able to attempt and SHRED my first black diamond. We truly felt like we climbed the top of Mount Olympus, crowned with laurel leaves, with winged shoes and mighty powers.
Meredith, Tyler, Ruby, and Nora came for a weekend in the snow with us. While Meredith took a lesson on the bunny hill, and Tyler remembered his snow legs, they ditched the mountains for a spa after a few hours. Jamie, Bronte, and I got to babysit Ruby and Nora for a day, and we all went sledding before nap time. Ruby showed so much bravery sledding all by herself, and Nora didn’t have much of a choice about the matter. And they loved it! We all ate chicken tenders and had hot chocolate, then Nora fell asleep for her nap sitting up, and Ruby helped us clean house and make lunch. We went from one kid to three kids for a day, and since we were able to snowboard black diamonds trails, nothing was impossible for us. The rest of our visit was playgrounds on the beach and walking nearby piers.
