Snow Boarding Descriptive Essay

Alex Fulton Descriptive essay GSW 1110 â€Å"The rush† As the clicking noise of the not so steady ski-lift chimes away, I hold on tightly, looking down at the people below. This being my first time doing anything in or around snow, I was very excited to be going snowboarding. While the ski-lift jerked back and forth my friend Corey enlightened me on the tips for staying alive while I went down the hill. I was trying to pay attention but I was just so eager to snowboard that his tips weren't registering in my head. We reached the top of the ski-lift and I hopped off only to then fall on my face into the cold, hard snow. I stood up and time seemed to stand still as I watched the snow slowly fall down to earth. I put my goggles back on my face, strapped my feet into my board's bindings and looked down the monstrous mountain. This was it and there was no turning back. My adrenaline was flowing through my body faster than a strike of lightening. I was terrified and amazed all at the same time. Going down the mountain felt like floating on air. With the fresh layer of white powder spreading everywhere it felt like I was traveling faster than a race car in the Daytona 500. Carving down the mountain it seemed like it was never going to end. Speed kept picking up and snow seemed to leap purposely on my goggles. The thought of falling or hitting a tree mortified my mind. With my face smothered in cold ice, I'm trying to clear my goggles without losing my balance. I haven't learned to stop or slow down on my snowboard yet, and I'm regretting it. While I am attempting to dodge the fellow skiers and snowboarders my speed has become so intense that I am afraid of the next possible actions I could take on this horrifically monstrous hill. 1 Losing balance, I know that I am eventually going to have to stop myself before I increase too much speed and put my health at risk. Taking a deep breath, I begin to make the biggest wipe-out that could happen in only 30 seconds. As I go to stop, I turn into a position so I land on my knees instead of my back. Thinking that this would be an easy, painless solution, I jam my knees into the hill and try to stop myself. Instead, I fall backwards onto my head, still plummeting down, but now in immense pain. After a few somersaults and excruciating positions I land into the soft snow bank on the side of the hill. I have officially stopped my hectic run. I laid there quietly on my back looking into the sky, watching the snow fall in slow motion as if someone was to watch dust slowly come to rest in rays of sunlight. Then it all hit me, the pain was flowing throughout my body. In the background I hear Corey frantically yelling my name. I was so focused on the pain throughout my body I couldn't even say a word to let him know I was ok. Corey called out for help, and the ski-patrol rushed to my aid. Little did I know my wrist had snapped on impact. The patrol rushed me down the mountain on a ski type stretcher. Again I was on my back falling in and out of conciousness. The sky seemed to get dimmer and dimmer as we approached the bottom of the mountain. Looking up at the ski-patrol I could tell in their eyes something bad had happened to me with my fall. Their eyes looked more nervous than my mind going down the mountain for the first time. The adrenaline I felt carving down the mountain was now being replaced by a lump in my throat. After what felt like years we reached the bottom of the mountain and the silence of the park was broken by the emitting sounds of an ambulance. I knew I was inside the emergency vehicle because I could feel the change in temperature. My frozen cheeks seemed to slowly thaw back to their original state and I could finally feel my feet again. Literally within minutes we arrived at the hospital. My worries weren't even focused on myself but on my board. All I wanted to know was where it was and if it was damaged. The paramedics assured me that my board was picked up by my friend Corey and was safe in his possession. 2 Still with every beat of my heart a jolt of pain was sent through my body straight to my left wrist. The pain was almost unbearable and seemed as if a hammer was beating down on my arm. I was instantly rushed into Emergency room where the doctors ordered x-ray and pain medication for me. After taking my medication I fell a drift into a light sleep. I dreamed that I was still carving down the mountain, as if nothing ever went wrong. I felt unstoppable as I was ripping through the snow on my board. It felt like no-one could match the skills I had on the mountain. Then I awoke. I was in front of a fire back at the resort. If it wasn't for my cast and emergency room bracelet I would have swore that everything that happened was all a dream. The heat emitting from the fireplace began to soothe my nerves and I began to unwind. As I sat there and watched from the lodge, I was already thinking of when I could get back out on the slopes. Though that was out of question for awhile, the thrill and urge of flying down the mountain almost made me want to get back on the board that day. Its funny how much I still love the sport after something this terrible happened. The adrenaline rush and high speeds going down the mountain is almost addicting to me. The way it feels to almost hover on top of the ground carving down a mountain is a unbeatable experience. I cant wait until the day comes that I can yet again feel myself flying down the mountain with the snow being burst everywhere like a snowy white volcano just erupted. This is what I live for. 3