iRide
Zaskoda’s Snowboarding Journal

Before I get into my day, let me say that I’ve got about half a bottle of wine in me. So, today wasn’t such a good day. To be completely honest, nothing happened today that will have significant negative repercussions on the future (that I know of). Still it was a rather taxing and not a significantly rewarding day.

It started off good. On the way up to the mountain, I happened to pass through the George Town area as they were having their ice races. When the lake freezes over, a group congregates with 4×4 vehicles and they race on the ice. I snapped a quick picture on the way by. I got a message from Julie, a new member of Dallas Snowboarders. She and her friend Abe were up at Breckenridge - so I decided to join them for the day. That’s when things started to grind.

Mostly, it was traffic. I thought I was never going to make it to Breck. I didn’t make it to town until after noon. I got a run in before meeting up with Julie and Abe. A couple of runs later I realized I was ill prepared for the temperature. I was literally shivering on the lift. I’ve never shivered on a lift! I was SO cold. I left them to head back to my truck to put on an extra layer of clothing. That’s when I realized what time it was. The mountain closes at either 4 or 4:30 (not sure which) and it was almost 3. I’d only been riding for just over 2 hours, but I knew that traffic would be bad considering it is a holiday weekend. I decided to go ahead and head back home.

On top of holiday traffic, a storm set in. To make a long (very long) story short, it took me nearly 5 hours to get home. Traffic was insane and I-70 sucks! (had to say it) It was so bad, they shut down ALL west bound traffic and made everyone return to Denver - which meant even more delays for my direction. It was a miserable drive.

And that, for the most part, was my entire day. I had a lot of things I wanted to get done this evening. I guess those things will have to wait. I did get the apartment straightened up a little bit. I even ran the vacuum in the living room. However, clothes need to be washed, dishes need to be put away, paperwork needs to be sorted, and so much more. Being a bachelor is tough, lemme tell ya! On top of all that, I was hoping to pick up some items for my New Years Eve party costume. Hrmph…

Still, it was a day that included snowboarding, so how can I really complain? The snow was really good and Julie & Abe are really fun to ride with. I look forward to meeting up with them again on new years day. Tomorrow being new years eve, it looks like the count for the 07 part of the season will rest at 22. I’m pleased enough. 100 days still seems so very far away, but much of the season still remains.

78 days left…

Few things have taught me the value and strength of faith more than snowboarding. I believe that the lesson can be applied to just about any part of life. Please, indulge me for just a moment.

First, I’m not talking about religious faith. I’m not talking about blind faith. The faith I’m talking about could also be called confidence; I’m talking about faith in yourself and faith in the moment.

Rarely do I ever go snowboarding and not feel fear. Maybe that’s what makes any given sport “extreme”? When I’m challenging myself as a snowboarder, I’m constantly putting myself into situations where a mistake can mean pain. In some cases, a mistake could also mean death. Being aware of this risk and remembering the pain of all my past mistakes feeds my fear.

Many of my mistakes happen because I did not know what to do in a new situation. These mistakes can not be helped. More often, my mistakes happen because I let fear control me. Fear of leaning down the mountain causes me to lean too far back and then I catch an edge and fall. Fear of going too fast causes me to cut too hard into the mountain and then I hit a bump and lose my balance. Fear of falling causes me to imagine myself falling - and then I fall.

Snowboarding, like so many other things in life, is about owning one’s fear. Every day I go ride, I grow. My greatest joy comes when I overcome my fear and have faith in my own ability to ride through the moment. I find that this becomes a series of moments, one after another, where I’m not concerned about past or future - only the now. Furthermore, I find that when I have removed all doubt and fear from my awareness and am left with only faith and confidence, I also find myself at peace. It’s at these times when I ride my best.

Snowboarding also taught me that fear is always on the move. What scared me before, once conquered, likely won’t scared me again. However, as I continue to explore, I find that fear is never far away. The process of growing and improving as a rider means finding and conquering fear over and over.

I’ve observed this paradigm directly in other extreme sports such as slacklining, mountain biking, surfing, rock climbing, and even scuba diving. Sometimes the paradigm shifts, but the fundamentals are there. The fear may be of falling, drowning, or any possible kind of failure. The true risk may not even exist. Still, the fear feels just as real and the quest is to conquer that fear.

Tell me that much of life is not exactly this paradigm! Tonight, as I reflect on other things, I find that these experiences help me to remember the value of faith. If I let my mind imagine my failure - I’m more likely to fail. However, if I have faith in myself and this very moment, then I am far more likely to succeed.

Granted, I won’t always know what to do in a new situation; I might fall. That is, after all, how we learn. However, so long as I can keep finding and conquering my fears in life, I will continue to grow and improve. If I lose faith and let my fear control my actions, I will only stumble and fall again.

One final note. It comes with practice… It comes with doing and not with thinking. There is a time for thinking. However, you can not conquer fear until you face it.

Just thought I’d share…