"Just ride"

Clear about my objectives for today's class I explain to Donnie (DEFrost), in detail, exactly what areas of my riding I need to improve on.

"I'm too extended whilst riding on my toe edge and often get a lot of chatter on frozen patches of snow which means I lose some of the control and despite a flex in my legs I struggle to keep low when transitioning into..."

"Ian." DEFrost cuts me off, "Just ride."

And with these simple words, I start to genuinely enjoy snowboarding. Without minimising everything to an exact science, trying to maximise the efficiency of my alignment and setting unrealistic targets it becomes far more liberating and fun. OK, so my alignment probably isn't perfect and all my bad habits may have reappeared, but I relax enough to ride switch better than ever before.

At someone's recommendation, I visit a pub at the end of Main Street to sample some of their prize-winning beers. The attitude towards binge drinking in Frisco is refreshingly different to that in the UK and this is exemplified by the disappointment (and even contempt) shown by the bar staff as the, already somewhat inebriated, customers further along the bar order themselves another round of shots.

"Another beer, Ian?"

"Erm...no thanks."

The four weeks here in Colorado have gone surprisingly quickly, but I'm feeling about ready to return home for Christmas, shortly followed by the next leg of my trip...Michigan.

Braving the cold

The 'Tenmile range' refers to the ten mountain peaks which start in Frisco, the Northern most peak of the range, and end in Breckenridge. The peaks are imaginatively named 'Peak 1' through to 'Peak 10' and the Breckenridge ski resort comprises Peaks 7 - 10.

Despite temperatures of -22 Celsius there continues to be a lack of snow and thus only 20% of the Breckenridge trails are open to the public, none of which are black runs and which frustratingly means I am not getting an opportunity to test my ability on the more challenging terrain.

In addition to the freezing temperatures, wind speeds are reaching up to 60mph and although my Walmart balaclava keeps me moderately warm, it's so tight around my head that it makes me feel dizzy and a bit faint, like a disorientated ninja.

Nevertheless I brave the extreme conditions, joining an advanced class and quickly realising I'm out my depth. After failing several jibs (tricks), continually playing catch-up to the rest of the class and suffering an endlessly runny nose, I'm in a bad mood. Curry from the Himalayan restaurant in Frisco may be the only remedy.

Powder pillow

When we were young and Kent would get a very rare day of snow, we’d sometimes be allowed to take the sled to the park. Mum would forbid us from riding the sled standing up and after taking many painful falls on a snowboard, I now understand why. But where the 7 year old Ian would have cried and retired from sledding, the 30 year old Ian mans up and cracks on ahead down the mountain on his snowboard (albeit with slightly moist eyes).

However we’ve had several inches of fresh snow which is not only forgiving to technique, but also feels like falling on pillows when you ‘take a spill’. I’m beginning to understand why there is such an obsession with powder.

Today’s session included riding some rails...well, actually, one rail measuring about 1/2 foot wide, three feet long and not even raised off the ground. Still, I nailed it! (Once).

I'm sat in the Boat Yard in Frisco, exploiting their 2 for 1 appetisers offer and being beaten by their pizza roll. The old habits of hiding food in my pockets may need to be employed to save face...

Wheelies, wassail & wine tasting

It snowed! Not heavily, but enough for me to experience riding fresh powder. I've also discovered the joy of carving. Carving requires balancing on one edge of your board and allowing the curvature of the board to steer you across the mountain (clearly the picture is not of me carving, but executing an intentional wheelie...honestly!). I suppose carving could be compared to freewheeling on a bicycle and is surprisingly fun.

Every year the shops along Main Street, Frisco host a wine tasting evening for their customers and having signed up to some yoga classes I receive an invite to this event. Having attended a one day wine tasting course a couple of years ago I feel suitably qualified to reel-off a customary list of adjectives (oaky; fruity; erm...tannins; etc.) to describe every wine. A Pinot Noir, a Cab, a Syrah and a Sangiovese later and I'm feeling a bit light-headed (probably the altitude!) so decide to call it a night.

In addition to the wine tasting, 5th to 13th December are the Frisco Wassail days http://www.townoffrisco.com/events/wassail-days/ where the shops in Frisco produce batches of wassail (a warm, spiced cider) for customers to sample and vote for their favourite. Unfortunately only one vote is permitted per person so it looks like, over the next week, I'll be taking on a number of aliases.