Snowshoe Mountain

The last few days I was able to get away with my beloved and do some skiing at Snowshoe in West Virginia.

It was so refreshing and enjoyable to get away for a couple days.  We did things like have uninterrupted conversations, sleep in, and most importantly, hit the slopes!

Riding the lift...

Did you know I have hot pink skis?  They are awesome and make me so happy!

My mountain man...

Check her out...

We went out to dinner, where I didn't have to cook OR do any dishes.  It was dreamy I tell ya.

Feed me I'm STARVING!...

It was pretty cold, windy, and snowy...but we had a great time.  I found this sign amusing so I had to get a picture...

(Yeah, let's hope all that snow would prevent a forest fire.  Thanks Smokey.)

Let's talk about douche-bags for a minute.  We encountered some on Friday and I feel the need to vent.  Here's the scene:

Jon and I were on the lift riding over a black diamond with the most amazing untouched powder.  We saw some boarders go down it and decided we would try it.  Side note:  I am an intermediate skier, and Jon is a very good snowboarder.  He could easily do that run, but it was going to be a big challenge for me.  But I've been facing challenges a lot lately, and tackling them head on.  I decided to go for it!

This is the run...

Well, about 20 feet down the run I came to the realization (while face in the snow and skis in the air) that I was a little TOO ambitious.  My skis kept going under all that powder, then getting stuck, and I'd go down.  Then I'd try to get up, but the rock hard ice under all that powder denied me a graceful return to being vertical.  When I did get up, it was only to go a few more feet, fall again, have my skis fall off, attempt an ungraceful recovery, etc.  It was ugly and oh-so-difficult, but I did not give up.  I'm pretty sure I accomplished all these sweet moves...

 

Here's where the douche-bags come in.  During my first major wipeout while I was knee deep in snow attempting to figure out how I was going to accomplish getting down this run, a crew of douche-bags (the original boarders we saw on this run) started yelling insults at us from the ski lift above.  Just really douche-y stuff that made me feel disheartened and downright pissed off.

I don't even remember all the douchery that was spewed from their mouths.  All I know is I'm not used to encountering people like that.  I'm used to being around nice, encouraging people.  So in all honesty it took me awhile to realize they were mocking us.  And you know what...we didn't deserve it.  I was trying something new, pushing myself, and facing a new challenge.  So what if I failed miserably?  I went for it, and I'm proud of myself.  And my husband didn't deserve it because he could have easily done the run.  He was stopped so he could help me all the times I fell because he's a true gentleman like that.

Luckily about a 1/4 of the way down we were able to cut over to a different black diamond that was groomed and MUCH easier to get down. Bear Claw, you saved my arse.

And while it would be very easy to let those douche-hats get to us, we really did have a wonderful time.

I love my husband!!

Lessons I learned:

1.  No one likes a douche-bag, don't be one.

2.  It's ok to try new things and face big challenges.  Even if you fail miserably.  Even if you have the douche-crew throwing insults at you.  Do your best and be proud of yourself!