June Mountain

Since there were three people in our group that wanted to learn how to snowboard, I thought it would be a good idea to go to June Mountain instead of Mammoth for our first day ($85 v. $150 for the beginner package). I had read that it is a lot less crowded, which was also good for me, since I am still very much a beginner.

We arrived at the slopes nice and early, but to our dismay, they were not selling lift tickets. The night before there were howling winds, and they had persisted into the morning. We waited in the lobby for a couple of hours to see if they would be opening. Thank goodness they did, at 10:00, and we were first in line.

To get to the main area where there are rentals, lessons etc., you have to take a crazy chair lift. It was seriously scary…good thing the winds had died down. It was SO steep, there is one metal bar holding two people up and no safety rail. It is also a very long ride, giving you a lot of time to think about how high up you are.

This picture does not even begin to convey how scary the lift was. On the way up, I did not want to risk fumbling around with my gloves and camera to try to take a picture. This was taken more than halfway down the mountain.

The scenery was beautiful, though.

D took a picture of me on the way down.

It had been quite a while since I had last skied, so I was definitely rusty in the beginning. For some reason, I could not pick myself up after falling–D had to help me. Too bad we had to leave right when I was starting to feel better about the whole thing.

If you are wondering where k was, she was nice and warm in the condo with her grandparents. D can’t wait to take her out for her first ski lesson. Hopefully she will pick it up faster than me!