Dude...Where's my snowboard?

 

I have just returned from a fabulous week of skiing in Switzerland.  I have got to admit to being quite apprehensive about it.  Not because I can't  ski, I can, but because I thought I might have forgotten how to do it.  After a 6 year gap I genuinely wondered if I could still ski and even if I could would the persistent pain in my knee caps render me incapable of continuing this sport?  It had occurred to me before I went through the gargantuan effort of tightening my boots and clipping into my bindings not mention carrying the skies through the lift pass gate and on to the snow whilst wearing ski boots (always a test) that I would begin to slowly slide down a slope and find myself either totally out of control or, worse, be in so much knee cap area pain that I would have to say "You go ahead, I'll just wait in the coffee shop, no really, I'll be fine" and officially go into ski retirement.

It was an immense relief to find that neither of my concerns came true.  I had remembered how to ski and the daily dose of glucosamine sulphate combined with evening primrose oil had paid off, my knees coped wonderfully well.  If there is anyone out there suffering from knee pain, particularly when going down hill rush out this minute and buy glucosamine sulphate, its a wonder food supplement originally developed for people recovering from cartilage operations but now found to be a great help for aging joints.

Verbier is a cool place full of cool people.  Many many young dudes and dudettes slip and slide around on snowboards making it look effortless and smooth.  I know this not to be the case after having 3 days of snowboard lessons around 10 years ago and finding it impossibly difficult, I gave up and vowed to stick to my two skies.  Snowboarding is for the young.  They can throw themselves into a perfect air to fakie around the slopes at breakneck speed throwing in the occasional front side grab or if they are unlucky a dramatic face plant.  (you can check out the website called Grays on Trays http://graysontrays.com/graysSpeak.php which is dedicated to people of a certain age who have taken up snowboarding and disagree totally with this opinion).

Ski resorts are full of dudes who look cool.  Even their ski pants are low slung giving us all a glimpse of their boxers.  Grungy colours are in.  Ski gear reflects current street wear.  It has to be sloppy and at least two sizes too big.

The dudes in their 20's can continue to damage themselves doing scary tricks and turns and check themselves into the medical center to repair the broken wrists/arms/collar bones - I am unimpressed.  What impressed me most of all, whilst happily doing blue and red runs, was spotting skiers of a certain age who are so confident and at home on the slopes they really do make it look effortless.  Grey haired and wrinkled faces with faded all in one suits were the ones I was truly in awe of.  That is what I aspire to.  Bugger those idiots who are throwing themselves around the powder and disappearing over rocky crags, they are the kind of people who, at the moment, crave coolness BUT will they still be fit and active in their 60s or 70s?  I think not.  Their foolish behaviour will mean they will be unable to continue their sport while the pensioners on skies have maintained, very carefully, their bones and joints (glucosamine sulphate is obviously helping).

The real cool dudes on the slopes are the ones who can still do it well into their bus pass era.  Obviously with me being 39 I have a long way to get their but that is what I want - grey hair, wrinkles and still be fit and active.

Comments

[GraysOnTrays.com]

Granted, it can be pretty hard to learn snowboarding. But here's a note about the type of riding that people can do: Jumps to "big air," spinning out of the halfpipe and sliding on rails get all the attention, but there's plenty of excitement and enjoyment to be had on a board in cruising. In other words, the boarding equivalent of old-fashioned skiing. Snowboarding, though, has a few advantages over skiing: Easier in powder, easier in crud and arguably better on the knees. (On the other hand, skiers have poles to help with the flats!)

[Lesley]

It had to happen. I was under the impression that glucosamine sulphate was a wonder health product but now I'm told via The Herald http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2090199.0.Death_sparks_safety_concern_over_popular_pain_remedy.php
that in some rare cases it can cause premature death...You just can't win.