Matthew HigginsImagine that your eye line is level with the tops of mountains across the Alps and the blue sky only broken up by a small scattering of clouds that are lazily wondering overhead, all you can hear is the clatter of a ski lift behind you and two of your friends chatting about which run then are going to take. You look down and follow the line of the piste as it descends though the evergreens lower down the mountain. You look across to everyone else in your group and decide to start your run. As you snowboard down you can’t stop yourself from grinning – because what else would you do when you have just felt like you were standing at the top of the world?
A slightly poetic version of the first run of my snowboarding holiday last year, but perfectly illustrates why I have grown to love the sport. I do not claim to be the best snowboarder in the world, I’ve only been doing it two and a half years, but somehow that just doesn’t matter.
I first got on a snowboard when I started university at 20, I took several lessons at SNO!zone in Castleford until I was good enough to go on their main slope, after that I tried to go there as often as I could afford. People have this assumption that learning to snowboard (or ski) is an expensive thing to do, but it isn’t. I am a student and I manage to fund my hobby quiet easily and once you have nailed the basics, you can develop your own skills on your own. Similarly snowboarding holidays aren’t overly pricey, with cheap flights, rental available all across the Alps a snowboarding holiday can cost you around the same as a week in Spain.
An aspect of the sport that I love is the sense of community, there is a friendly rivalry between skiers and boarders, but we all get along. The last time I was on holiday my friend (a boarder) helped a skier back to his feet, and later in the week I help a young boy who had fallen and got separated from his ski school, and not to mention the countless time I have crashed spectacularly and been asked if I am okay/alive. The ‘we are in it together’ attitude is similar to motorcyclists in the UK.
I would urge anyone to have a go at snowboarding (or skiing), the experiences you get are incredible. It is a new year, so try something new, and if the films ‘2012’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ are anything to go by the skills may come in handy.
