Snowboarding. Canadian winters are something a lot of us loath. Mostly because of the mess it makes on our roads. It seems to be a season better suited for kids. That's how I discovered the fun of it. On a winter day in January 2010 when I was out with my 6 year old boy Davey showing him the finer points of how to sled the hill at St.Clair & Spadina in Toronto. My example included standing up and whaling down the hill, but even this feat began to bore. It made me wonder if there was a funner alternative to sledding. There is. Snowboarding.
Some quick searching and I discovered that Earl Bales was 10 minutes from my Bayview Village residence and they catered to the novice with rentals and some learning facilities. With Dave in tow as my number 1 accomplice, we headed over on a Saturday morning. On arrival, we both went over to the largest hill to get a view of the folks boarding and skiing down. Everyone looked to be making lots of fun out of some otherwards cold and snowy conditions. Though we weren't convinced. So we headed over to get geared up and find out first hand. We made our way over to the skier's beginner hill. That's how new we were.
Saturday had turned out to be enough fun to have us over the next morning of Sunday buying our own equipment. Long story short, we discovered the bigger hill had more advantages for learning to board. Those first 2 days were the start of my 15 consecutive days of self-taught learning how to snowboard. I ended the season with a trip to Jay Peak. Wow! Love snowboarding. Before I discovered it, fall seemed like the preset to the dreaded snowy winters. Now I start wanting it mid-summer.