ive been to meadows twice now. im glad to be using the gear and lift ticket i put a fair amount of money into. its been great fun going boarding and great exercise. the first time was pretty tough because i hadnt been boarding in two seasons. yesterday was the second time up. i went with the psu snowboard club. i did much better. there we some spots that were all power - thats So Much Fun because you can fall hard and it doesnt hurt which means i can experiment with more speed than normal.

there was a naturally formed 'halfpipe' in one area and i went up one side, turned, then down the other. nothing fancy but it felt very cool to be using a halfpipe - just like in the snowboard video games ive played on the PS2 at tom's house. i ran into a personal telco member at the lodge. i also had a scarry moment on the slopes. i fell off a snowbridge over a creek and landed on a steep bank, inches from falling into the creek. i could see the running water. I was afraid to move because when i did, big chunks of snow fell off the bank and into the river (think of homer simpson in his snow plow on 'forbidding widow's peak' turning the radio dial to right the plow). i undid the bindings as fas as i could and waited for someone to come by. I asked a skiier for help and he loaned me his ski pole which i used to evenually scoot my way to safety.