Guangxun Jin | 金光勋 | 김광훈

Since I decided to learn snowboarding, I needed to prepare all the necessary equipment.

I started my research to figure out what I needed to buy. I found the needed items include: snowboard, bindings, boots, helmet, goggles, snowboard jacket, snowboard pants, thermal base layer top, mid-layer top, thermal base layer bottoms, snowboard socks, snowboard gloves, and a balaclava. For a beginner, protective gear such as hip pads, knee pads, and elbow pads were considered optional.

The decision to learn snowboarding wasn’t made in January 2024; the idea actually began in November 2023. This timing was perfect, as it put me right before Black Friday and Boxing Day, giving me ample time to research and compare prices.

Although snowboarding was something I had always had on my mind, I had absolutely no prior experience with it—I was clueless, operating entirely within the realm of imagination. Given the considerable cost of the equipment, I felt the need to be cautious. What does that mean? I found that the snowboard, bindings, and boots accounted for the majority of the expense and involved significant considerations. For example, a snowboard isn’t something you can just buy randomly; its size must be chosen based on one’s height and weight, and there are many different types available. Bindings also need to be sized according to the snowboard and boots, and there are a few types of those as well. Regarding snowboard boots, the peculiar thing about them is that their size is very different from regular shoes; supposedly, you need to buy a size or more smaller than your regular shoe size, and you only know the exact size by trying them on yourself. Furthermore, boots have something called “stiffness” or “flex,” and the lacing systems vary. Therefore, it is said that for beginners, especially those with absolutely no snowboarding experience, you better not purchase these three items directly but should rent them at the resort first. Then, once you have some concept and can snowboard basically, you can choose to purchase them. Otherwise, you might very likely waste a lot of money.

So, I decided to rent these three items first and buy the rest. As for the remaining items, because I was unsure whether I would use them frequently or just a couple of times before let them collect dust, I planned to buy them with a cautious selection, meaning I aimed for equipment that offered good quality at a reasonable price and suited me. I decided not to buy the protective gear like hip and knee pads. This was not due to caution or saving money. It’s just that I felt falling, while painful, wouldn’t be a big deal for me, and I felt they might cause a slight inconvenience to my movement, so I decided not to buy them. Among these items, I felt buying a suitable helmet was quite troublesome because Asian and Western head shapes are different. Most helmets sold here in Canada are generally based on Western head molds, and “Asian fit” is rare. After searching around, I finally purchased a helmet with a very reasonable holiday discount price that fit well and didn’t look bad.

Other items were also successively purchased over these one or two months at very reasonable holiday discount prices.

Although the initial intention was to buy with cautious consideration, some items were very reasonably priced and came with a pair in one box, such as snowboard socks and balaclavas. Some items, because they offered good value, I bought one or two extra pieces. For example, when I saw that a pair of goggles had a good price, positive reviews, and a nice style, I bought both a mirrored version for daytime and a light yellow version for nighttime. For the thermal base layer bottoms, I bought a warmer style and a style that could also be worn for gym workouts, so allowing me to choose based on different weather. For the thermal base layer top, I found a style I really liked—it was very form-fitting, felt comfortable against the skin, and although it wasn’t specifically a snowboarding base layer, it was very suitable for the purpose and could also be worn casually. I immediately bought two of the same tops.

I also accidentally found a pair of snowboard pants with very good reviews, and the discount price was very attractive. For the snowboard jacket, I looked around and bought a GREEN ONE with a discount. This jacket didn’t feel very suitable to wear casually, but its discounted price as a fully functional snowboard jacket made whether it could be worn casually is not important. I paired this jacket with a nice green pair of gloves, also on discount, which were both warm and waterproof.

I didn’t find a mid-layer top that satisfied me at the time—one that was both reasonably priced and fit me well. But that was fine, because I already had a piece of clothing that was perfect for a snowboarding mid-layer, as it enhanced warmth, absorbed moisture, and was breathable.

By this point, all my snowboarding equipment was purchased. I felt that “excellent value for the money” perfectly described it, and I was very satisfied, especially combined with the holiday discounts.

Actually, this chapter could end here perfectly. But I feel doing so would lack story completeness. I was thinking about whether to write about the subsequent purchases in a later development of the story. But since there doesn’t seem to be a particularly suitable chapter to add them to, I might as well finish writing about the subsequent purchases in this chapter to make the story more complete.

Later, as the process of learning snowboarding developed, I started thinking about buying more things again. However, it wasn’t the “big three” items I hadn’t bought before (snowboard, bindings, boots)—I’ll explain the reason for that in a later story—but other items outside of those three. This winter was very peculiar; it was a warm winter. The temperature on some days in January and February even reached above 0°C. This is very rare in Winnipeg, a city famous for its cold winters (Winnipeg’s winter average is often -20°C, and during extreme cold can reach -40°C to -50°C). Precisely because of this special warm winter, large Canadian sporting goods retailers had stocked a lot of winter products, but since the weather wasn’t that cold, they seemed to be slow-moving. So, they often had sales, and some winter products, like jackets, were even sold at clearance prices in the middle of winter. Although I initially bought the green snowboard jacket, I wanted to buy another one so I could alternate wearing them. This time, because this major sporting goods retailer was having frequent sales, I planned to buy slightly more expensive ones. Of course, I wouldn’t buy very professional and expensive snowboard clothing, because that would be unreasonable for me; their use is too singular, and my skill is too poor to need them at all. What I valued more was a jacket that was both a functional snowboard jacket and something that could be worn very well casually in daily life. Then I found one I liked and bought it at a 30% discount. It was a fully functional snowboard jacket, but it was also very suitable for casual wear and fit very well. I should explain here that the sleeves of a snowboard jacket might be longer than those of a typical casual jacket. This is to allow the cuff to completely cover the wrist and part of the glove to prevent snow from entering the sleeve opening. Later, while shopping, I coincidentally tried on a jacket where the mid-layer and outer shell with somewhat insulation could be separated or zipped together as one. This set fit me really well, and the mid-layer could also be worn with other snowboard jackets or even other everyday jackets. The outer shell, worn alone, although a snowboard jacket, had a style very similar to a casual jacket and could be worn as a fall jacket. I bought this set at a 50% discount. This wasn’t all. Later, I found another 3-in-1 jacket set where the inner and outer layers could be combined, which was a very nice garment in itself, and it was marked down by an incredible 70% off. I had to consider this piece of clothing. After trying it on, it also fit very well. The color of this mid-layer was very different from the previous one and could be paired with different color jackets. The outer layer was brightly colored and was a pure shell, which could be worn as a rain jacket in light rain during spring or fall. So, I bought it.

My previous snowboard pants, while very warm and highly waterproof, felt a bit loose. I wanted to see if there was a slightly more fitted style. It turned out there was, and the pant length was just as suitable for me as the previous ones, and they were relatively lightweight. They were also on sale, so I bought them. Also, the gloves I bought before were green to match the green jacket, but I later realized these gloves were difficult to match with other colors, especially my later snowboard jackets. Luckily, there was another very nice windproof and waterproof black glove that I liked the look of, and it was also on sale, so I bought a pair.

Also, regarding the base layer tops and bottoms I bought before, although I had bought two of each, I loved them so much that I picked up one more of each in a different color. They weren’t discounted when I bought them, but the original price wasn’t expensive, and since I liked them so much, I bought them directly.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I keep emphasizing “good fit,” and even buying a few units of the same item. The reasons are: first, no matter what kind of clothing, one of the core factors for it to look good is for it to fit well. As long as the clothes fit, even if you can’t immediately find something to match, you can slowly put together nice outfits as your wardrobe grow up. But if the clothes don’t fit, there’s a high chance that clothing will be wasted. Second, it is quite difficult for me to find clothes that fit very well in Canada; I need to keep trying or trying on to find well-fitting clothes, because Western body types are different from Asian ones. Especially with my frequently exercising build, I often encounter clothes that are the right length but too narrow, or the right width but too long. So, while valuing the fit of the clothes, once I find something that fits very well, I am very likely to buy an extra piece or two, or buy the same style in different colors, depending on the circumstances (such as whether the item or size will soon sell out, and whether the price is reasonable). For example, if you see me in real life seemingly wearing only two tops, the actual situation is that I am actually rotating through six or seven tops, only their styles might be the same 😅 because I happened to find clothes that fit perfectly, and I bought multiple copies considering the high frequency of wear would quickly consume these clothes.

In any case, this is how, driven by my enthusiasm for learning snowboarding, and taking advantage of the frequent and heavy discounts due to the warm winter, I ended up buying a lot of well-fitting “extra snowboard apparel.” This deviated somewhat from my initial “cautious” strategy. But I consider this “taking the opportunity to expand my wardrobe,” and I think it was well worth it.

I had to choose a snowboarding resort. I found that there weren’t many resorts close to Winnipeg, and only one was open at the time that was nearby. The others were basically a two-hour one-way drive on the highway, or even further. So, I essentially had no other choice. I also checked if this resort offered lessons. It did have snowboarding courses, but unlike Judo and boxing where the instructor leads the entire semester, I needed to choose how many times I wanted to learn. I could choose once, twice, or four times. I had absolutely no clue about snowboarding at the time. So, I initially chose two lessons to try it out and get a preliminary concept of the sport.

Unlike the Judo and boxing classes, this snowboarding lesson was one-on-one instruction. This resort only operated in the evening during weekdays. So, I booked the first lesson for a particular evening. I put on all my gear and drove to the resort that day. The resort was open from 6:30 PM until 9:30 PM. Lessons could be scheduled at 6:30 PM, 7:30 PM, or 8:30 PM. I chose 7:30 PM because that was the only available slot that day.

Following the lesson instructions, I arrived at the resort early. I went to rent the equipment, which included the board (including bindings) and the snowboard boots. If I filled out my information on the form, they would select the appropriate size board and boots for me. They asked me for my boot size. Although I had researched snowboard boot sizing and knew I needed to choose around a size smaller than my regular shoes, I didn’t know the exact size I should pick. I simply explained the situation. They first gave me boots half a size smaller than my usual shoes. Since I didn’t know how to accurately judge the fit, I just put them on. Fortunately, I had researched how to tie snowboard boot laces, so I laced them up myself. I took the board outside to wait for the instructor.

While waiting, I walked around a bit to see what the resort looked like. The layout of the resort at the time was roughly a very small slope, and one large, wide slope, which was divided into two areas. One seemed to be for regular snowboarding; I saw a chairlift next to it, but the lift was not operating, and this area was empty. The other seemed to be an area for terrain park/freestyle snowboarding. To get up this slope, riders didn’t use a chairlift but grabbed onto a handle attached to a rope system that went from the bottom to the top of the hill.

After waiting for about ten or twenty minutes, the instructor came. We introduced ourselves briefly and started the lesson. The instructor said that because it was a warm winter, they didn’t have enough snow yet, so the main slope (the empty area I mentioned) was not open. Since I was a first-time snowboarder, we would start learning on the beginner hill (the bunny hill). This slope was quite short and could be walked up. However, in my opinion, the steepness wasn’t particularly small, it wasn’t exactly flat.

Before officially starting, the instructor asked me which foot was stronger. I thought, although I don’t play soccer, if I had to kick a ball hard, I would use my right foot, so my right foot should be stronger. He then told me that when snowboarding, my left foot would be in front and my right foot in back, and this stance is called regular. The opposite stance, with the right foot in front and the left foot in back, is called goofy. Before going up the hill, he taught me how to fix my feet into the snowboard bindings. This wasn’t difficult; the binding has two straps, one securing the front of the foot and the other securing the area near the instep. There are actually other types of bindings, which I might mention in a later chapter. Then, he showed me how to move on flat ground after securing my front foot to the board. Here, you need to take your back foot out of the binding, but the front foot remains secured to the board. Then, you use the back foot to push off the ground, just like skateboarding. You can keep pushing or push a few times, place the back foot on the board, and glide forward.

Then it was time to genuinely start going up the hill to learn snowboarding. Once at the top, I secured both my feet to the board. The next thing to learn was how to stand up from a sitting position while both feet were strapped in. The instructor taught me two methods. One method is from a front-facing sitting position: use one hand to prop yourself up behind you and the other hand to reach forward or grab the board, shifting your center of gravity from the rear of the sitting position to the front of the standing position, and then stand up smoothly. The other method is to flip your entire body over (the snowboard flips with you, of course). You change from lying on your back to kneeling. Then, you stand up from the kneeling position using both hands for support. When I tried, I found the second method quite easy to stand up with, but the starting stance might not be what I wanted once I was up—I will explain this later. The first method was not so easy to attempt. Perhaps because I was inexperienced, it was always hard to stand up.

(Image of standing methods)

Next, the instructor began teaching me the most basic snowboarding techniques.

First, after securing both feet to the board, the edge where your heels are is called the heel edge (back edge), and the edge where your toes are is called the toe edge (front edge). The first skill to master is the side slip (pushing the slope), starting with the heel side slip. This requires placing the snowboard sideways across the slope, lifting your toes slightly, and slightly bending your legs. This allows you to slowly slide forward, facing downhill. Although it’s called sliding, it’s actually similar to braking. The greater the angle you lift your front edge, the slower the speed of the slide and the stronger the braking force. This heel side slip wasn’t difficult; I felt I got the hang of it quickly.

(Image of heel side slip)

Then came the toe side slip. The heel side slip requires you to face the bottom of the slope, while the toe side slip requires your back to face the bottom of the slope. The second method of standing up from the ground, mentioned earlier, naturally resulted in my back facing downhill—the posture for the toe side slip. If I wanted to practice the heel side slip but used the second method to stand up, as a pure beginner, I would find it difficult to transition from the toe edge to the heel edge while standing. In the posture with your back facing the bottom of the slope, you lift your heels. Lean slightly forward (but don’t fold at the waist), keep your center of gravity on the balls of your feet, slightly bend your knees, and point your head and chest toward the top of the hill (because your back is to the bottom). The greater the lean, the more the heels are lifted, the slower the downhill speed, and the greater the braking force. The toe side slip is also a type of braking state. I could mostly do it, but it clearly felt harder than the heel side slip. Especially when I lifted my heels, I felt like my toes and the front edge were not fully touching the snow but were lifted into the air. This made my toes very tired, and I felt a bit unstable when doing the toe side slip.

(Image of toe side slip)

Next was the falling leaf, which essentially involves sliding down sideways, moving left and right, similar to the path of a falling leaf. You slide diagonally downwards to one side (left or right), then stop and balance. Then you slide diagonally downwards in the opposite direction for a certain distance, stop, and balance again. You repeat this motion. The technique for the toe side falling leaf and the heel side falling leaf is similar. When sliding diagonally downhill, to slide that way, you apply more pressure to the foot on that side of the snowboard (not stomping, but gradually increasing pressure). Then, you slightly lead with your upper body toward the target direction. For example, for a heel side slide to the left, you press down harder on your left heel and slightly angle your body to the left. For a toe side slide to the right, you press down harder on your right toes and slightly angle your body to the right. It is important to note here that because the facing directions are completely opposite during toe and heel side stances, when referring to left and right, we are talking about the snowboarder’s own left and right, not the left and right of a person facing the snowboarder from the bottom of the slope. When sliding down, you must look in the direction you are sliding. Beginners can also use their hand to point toward their intended direction. For example, sliding left, point the left hand downward and to the left. Sliding right, point the right hand downward and to the right. When you need to stop and balance after sliding for a while, you increase the braking force while applying equal pressure to the snowboard with both feet. After stopping, you slide diagonally towards the opposite direction. The heel side falling leaf was relatively simple and easy to pick up. However, the toe side falling leaf felt very difficult during the first lesson; it was hard to control my direction, and sometimes I couldn’t stop.

(Image of heel side falling leaf, image of toe side falling leaf)

Everything went smoothly up to this point, considering it was the beginner slope, which wasn’t large. There wasn’t much time left in the 1-hour lesson. The instructor also showed me the J-Turn at the very end. This involves sliding straight down perpendicular to the slope, then slowly adjusting the board’s angle, and finally braking to a stop. The entire path forms a shape similar to the letter J. I wanted to try, but I simply didn’t dare to do the movement of sliding down with the board perpendicular. After trying a few times, I still didn’t dare, and the first lesson ended just like that. The instructor said that considering it was the first lesson, I had learned quite a bit. After the 8:30 PM lesson ended, it didn’t mean I had to go home; I could stay and continue practicing until the resort closed at 9:30 PM. I had previously wondered whether I needed to go straight home after the 1-hour lesson or if I would have to pay extra if I continued snowboarding. So, I practiced for another half hour and then went home. As a first-time snowboarding experience, it was okay so far; at least I learned some of the most basic techniques. I also have to mention that the snowboard clothes were very effective; I was sitting on the snow frequently and fell a few times during that one and a half hours, but the clothes underneath were hardly wet. The temperature was −15°C at the time, and I didn’t feel cold at all.

(Image of J-turn)

After that day, I went to the resort again on another day by myself. I rented the same size equipment and worked on consolidating the front and heel side slips and falling leaf techniques I had learned. I discovered that the larger slope that hadn’t been open before was now open, and the chairlift was also running. But that slope felt a bit long for me, and I felt uncertain about it. Since I was a pure beginner, it seemed more reasonable to stick to the beginner slope for now, so I continued practicing there. I became quite proficient with the heel side slip and heel side falling leaf. However, the toe side slip and falling leaf still felt quite difficult. Honestly, because the toe side felt harder, I spent less time practicing it compared to the heel side. I should have practiced the weaker skill more, right? But my feeling at the time was that the toe side was difficult, so I would only practice it occasionally and then go enjoy the feeling that the heel side snowboarding gave me 😓. Next, I booked the second lesson and waited for its arrival.

Finally, the second lesson arrived. I had been thinking carefully about why my toes felt like they were floating when doing the toe side slide. I realized there must be a slight gap between my toes and the front of the snowboard boot, meaning I should be wearing a half-size smaller boot. So this time, I tried renting boots that were a half-size smaller than the previous pair. My feet felt a little tight, but I decided to bear with it and see how it felt when doing the toe side slide later. Since I could continue practicing until after the lesson, I booked the earliest slot and got to the resort ahead of time.

The instructor this time was not the same person as before. The previous one was a male instructor, and this time it was a female instructor. She asked me what I had learned in the previous lesson. I truthfully told her about the heel and toe side slips and falling leaves, and that I had briefly seen the J-turn but couldn’t do it. She asked if I had taken the chairlift in the previous lesson. I said no. She seemed a bit surprised. I explained that the chairlift wasn’t open during the last lesson. She then remembered that the main snowboarding area might have been closed because there wasn’t enough snow, and consequently, the chairlift wasn’t running either. So this time, she immediately took me to the main slope to practice and also to learn how to ride the chairlift, as that is quite important. I didn’t know if I was ready for the main slope, as it looked a bit steeper than the bunny hill and much longer. But since the instructor was with me, it should be completely fine.

Once we arrived at the main slope, the instructor asked me to first show her what I was capable of. I followed her instructions and gave a brief demonstration. She said that today we would reinforce the heel and toe side slips, especially the falling leaf.

Since the falling leaf is essentially an advanced version of the side slip, she felt my side slip was fine and we could start directly with the falling leaf practice. So, I started with the heel side falling leaf. Unlike the small-range slides on the bunny hill, I now had to slide from the far left end of the main slope all the way to the far right end, and then back from the far right end to the far left end. Getting up on the bunny hill felt quite difficult before, but on the main slope, it was surprisingly easy. This is because the main slope is steeper than the bunny hill, making it much simpler to stand up.

I started sliding with the heel edge from the far left to the far right. Since I was already quite proficient with the heel side slip, the difficulty wasn’t too high. The only initial challenge was stopping when I reached the far right end; I wasn’t used to stopping and often couldn’t halt completely. But I adapted quickly. After a few back-and-forth runs, I reached the bottom of the slope without much trouble. We needed to go back up, but since this slope was large, we had to take the chairlift.

The instructor taught me that I needed to be in a one-foot glide state, meaning I use one foot to push the snowboard on flat ground like a skateboard to get to the chairlift entrance. Normally, if there are many people, you have to queue. But since I was in a lesson, and queuing would waste a lot of time, teaching instructors and their students have a special “cut-in” entrance. Once at the entrance, the chairlift usually doesn’t stop to wait for people to sit down. It runs at a normal speed, and we need to catch the timing to sit down. After the previous chair passes the waiting line, we quickly glide to the waiting line for the next chair. When it arrives, we lift our hips and sit directly onto it. Once everyone riding with you is seated, you can pull down the safety bar, which is the barrier that covers your chest area.

The instructor asked if I had a fear of heights. I don’t think I do, but the first time I rode it, I felt a little scared. Although it wasn’t as high as several stories, it was still quite high, and this chairlift wasn’t the kind where you sit inside a cabin; it was a simple bench seat, which made me a bit worried initially. As the chairlift neared the top, the instructor needed to teach me how to get off. Similarly, when getting off, it doesn’t stop for you; you have to time your exit while it’s running at a normal speed. First, raise the safety bar as you approach the top. Then, move my left foot, which is secured to the board, forward so the board is straight ahead, ready to slide down the exit ramp. Yes, the chairlift exit has a small slope designed for riders to immediately slide down on their snowboard. When the chairlift was about two or three meters from the exit, I had to be ready to disembark at any moment. Then, as the front part of the snowboard touched the ground, I gently pushed the chairlift backward while stepping onto the board with my unsecured right foot, and slid straight down the ramp. But when I did this, I couldn’t maintain my balance at all. I immediately fell down, then scrambled away from that small ramp.

The instructor told me that at this moment, I needed to maintain balance and glide with the unsecured foot on the board, just like I did when practicing one-foot gliding on flat ground. That’s where I realized then that this move could also be used when going downhill. I had briefly practiced it on flat ground before and felt it wasn’t difficult, so I hadn’t continued practicing. Now, doing that movement while going downhill was much harder than on flat ground, because the speed was much faster. Out of fear and timidity, my body automatically shifted my weight backward, causing me to lose balance completely. But regardless, this was my first experience taking a chairlift while snowboarding.

Next was the toe side falling leaf. Unlike the bunny hill and unlike the heel side falling leaf, I immediately felt pressure when starting the toe side falling leaf on the main slope. One reason was the difference in slope, requiring me to adjust my balance, which often resulted in me kneeling down. The second reason was that I couldn’t master the direction of the toe side falling leaf. The direction tended to drift. And I found it difficult to stop. Often when the instructor told me to stop, I kept sliding diagonally downhill. It wasn’t that I wanted to continue; it was because I was slightly afraid of falling, so my body looked backward too much, causing the board to tilt continuously to one side and preventing me from maintaining parallel balance and stopping. The instructor corrected me, saying that when standing on the toe edge, I should look forward and upward towards the top of the slope, as this helps maintain balance. When sliding down, I should look in the direction I was going and point my finger toward that direction. To stop, I should look back toward the top of the slope again, while gently using the back foot to brake. I slowly practiced according to the instructor’s directions.

After sliding about halfway down the area, I felt exhausted. The instructor noticed I was struggling and had me slide to the far right end to sit down and rest briefly, as there were fewer people passing by there, reducing the risk of collision. I noticed that after switching to the half-size smaller snowboard boots, the feeling of my toes floating was gone, but my feet were still extremely tired during the toe side slip, and my entire foot and calf were very sore, especially my shin. I suspected the boot size might still be wrong. But the instructor explained that this is completely normal for beginners. Because during the toe side slide, the point of pressure for the body is on the toes, and the feet are used to maintain the body’s entire balance. This is an action we rarely do in daily life, so my body hadn’t fully adapted yet, leading to soreness in the feet and calves, especially after sliding this way for an extended distance. After a short rest, I continued practicing the toe side falling leaf until I reached the bottom of the slope. I have to say, toe side falling leafing from the top to the bottom was absolutely agonizing 😓.

After practicing this two or three times, the instructor wanted me to practice the J-turn. We started with the heel side. After establishing a stable stance on the heel edge, you slowly slide towards one side, then gradually relax the pressure on the heel edge, allowing the nose of the board to naturally point towards the bottom of the slope, creating an instant of a straight run. Subsequently, you press back down on the heel edge with your heels, making the board slow down and turn, thus carving an arc resembling the letter J. She also briefly mentioned the toe side J-turn. After establishing a stable stance on the toe edge, with your back facing the bottom of the slope, you slowly slide towards one side. Next, you gradually relax the pressure on the toe edge, allowing the nose of the snowboard to naturally point towards the bottom of the slope, creating a brief straight run moment. Subsequently, you press back down on the toe edge with your toes, making the board slow down and turn, thus carving a route resembling an inverted letter J.

When doing the heel side J-turn, I found it very difficult to enter the straight run state. I didn’t know how to maintain balance in this state because neither the heel nor toe edge was engaged. So I could only do it in a non-completely straight state, meaning I still used some heel edge to control the speed, so the straight run felt unnatural. The toe side J-turn was even harder. The difficulty was transitioning from the toe side slide to the straight run. Because I had to turn backward, and in the initial state, I couldn’t see what was behind me at the bottom of the slope, I didn’t quite dare to execute the move. The instructor also demonstrated it for me twice and pointed out another person doing a J-turn so I could see what a typical J-turn looked like. But because there wasn’t much time left, the lesson ended before I could fully master it, and I practiced by myself for a little while afterward. However, my legs were quite sore, so I couldn’t practice for too long; I only practiced for half an hour and then went home. I didn’t stay until the resort closed. But at least I knew what I needed to practice next.

A few days after this lesson, I came back to the resort by myself to train. This time, I was full of energy and ready to practice seriously. With a direction in mind, my main focus was on the toe side falling leaf, the glide when getting off the chairlift, and the heel side J-TURN. I decided to postpone the toe side J-TURN and practice the others first. Do you feel, like me, that I keep pushing the difficult things to the back? One reason is that I genuinely want to enjoy the fun of snowboarding while practicing. The other is because I want to master the skills one by one in sequence.

After practicing the toe side falling leaf for a while, I slowly grasped the technique. I could control the direction much better now. Initially, I still couldn’t stop whenever I wanted. But I slowly mastered that technique too. I could now perform the toe side falling leaf relatively smoothly. In fact, during one run, I got too carried away and let my guard down; my speed suddenly increased, and I couldn’t stop in time, so I had to stop by falling down.

Regarding the glide when getting off the chairlift, I initially couldn’t stand up at all. I fell down almost 90% of the time, then scrambled away from the small ramp, as people behind me would be coming down, and I couldn’t block their path. So what about the remaining 10% of the time? In those 10% of the times, I didn’t fall; I found a small trick. I always fell when the board was straight ahead during the one-foot secure phase. But I found that as long as I didn’t let the board point vertically down the slope, but angled it slightly to the side, and then stepped onto the board with my right leg and maintained a side slip state, it worked. This way, I was less likely to fall, and the speed wouldn’t be as slow as a pure side slip.

Concerning the heel side J-turn, although I was still a bit afraid of entering the straight run state, I attempted it a few times. Slowly, I realized that as long as I could brake effectively, I wasn’t too scared of entering the brief straight run state, and the J-turn only requires being in that state for one or two seconds. So I practiced it a few more times, and I could manage to enter the straight run and then execute a sharp brake. However, I felt this resembled an L-path more than a J-path.

Regardless, this concludes this practice session. My two lessons were used up. I have a preliminary concept of snowboarding. I want to continue learning but am unsure how many lessons to book. So, I will book one more and see what the situation is and what will be taught.

After booking the third lesson, I spent the time in between searching for what I would learn next so I could gauge my progress. I found that J-Turn is followed by C-Turn. Once you learn both the heel side and toe side C-Turn, connecting them together creates the S-Turn. Mastering the S-Turn is generally considered the threshold for basic proficiency or beginner level snowboarding.

The instructor for this lesson was the same male instructor from the first lesson. However, he didn’t remember me, which is understandable since over three weeks had passed, and he must have taught many people. Also, it’s hard to see clearly who is who at night. Like the female instructor before, he asked what I had learned and asked me to demonstrate. I told him I had learned the J-Turn and showed him everything I had learned, including my L-shaped J-turn. I distinctly felt I wasn’t doing it quite right, but he said I was doing well. Why did I feel his words didn’t quite match reality 🤨? I also mentioned that I was not very good at the toe side J-turn.

He started by having me practice the J-turn. I kept feeling that my heel side J-turn was an L-path, and only occasionally a J-path, but he kept saying I was doing fine. I was still scared of the toe side J-turn initially. He taught me to slowly slide to the side while opening up my arms, slowly pointing my left hand toward the bottom of the slope, and gradually looking toward the bottom of the slope with my head. The direction I want to go should be the direction my head is looking. After briefly entering the straight run state in this position, I should then look toward the left side and simultaneously press the front edges of both feet to brake. I followed the instructions and tried a few times; I wouldn’t say I was proficient, but I could roughly manage it.

Next, he started teaching me the C-turn. A C-turn is transitioning from sliding on one side edge, through a brief straight run state, and then turning to slide on the opposite side edge. This means transitioning from a heel side slide to a toe side slide, or from a toe side slide to a heel side slide. The actual execution is essentially piecing together two J-turns. However, a J-turn ends with a braking action, whereas a C-turn continues sliding without braking between the two turns.

(Image of both C-turns)

I should mention this beforehand: I fell many times while learning snowboarding. But I never had a particularly severe fall. I’m not saying it didn’t hurt; it did hurt when I fell, and when I got home, I felt like my bones were coming apart. But there was never a “nearly fatal” situation. However, since starting to practice the C-turn, I’ve had a couple of “that was close” falls.

I started practicing the heel-to-toe C-turn. I needed to first perform the turning action of the heel side J-turn, followed immediately by the latter half of the toe side J-turn turning action. After transitioning from the heel edge to the straight run, I started feeling fear again. This was because I couldn’t just brake to a stop like in the J-turn; I had to continue into the turning action. And this turning action was part of the toe side J-turn, which I wasn’t proficient at. The instructor said that every time I entered the straight run state, I would shift my body weight backward. This caused my feet and body to fall out of sync during the next turning move, leading to a fall. He told me to lean slightly forward to keep my center of gravity forward. That’s easy to say, but the board goes full speed in the straight run state, and I couldn’t stop, so how could I not be scared? The instructor told me to immediately execute the next turn after entering the straight run state, not allowing the board to accelerate. Slowly, I started finding a bit of a feel and successfully completed the heel-to-toe turn. It wasn’t consistently successful afterward, but I could manage three successes out of five attempts.

Next, we moved on to the toe-to-heel C-turn. This was a different concept from the heel-to-toe turn. The difficulty lay in feeling hard to maintain balance when transitioning from the toe edge to the straight run. Also, I struggled to get the feeling for the straight run-to-heel turn motion. The instructor also said that the toe-to-heel turn is the hardest move for most beginners, and many people get stuck there. Especially because the initial motion is the toe side stance, you can’t observe the terrain behind you like you can in the heel side stance, which generates fear. It was indeed just as he said. I tried many times but found it hard to get the feel; I didn’t know how to shift the board’s point of pressure from the toe edge to the heel edge while the board was almost straight. I could only succeed about one out of ten times.

So, I rotated between practicing these two types of C-turn. Once, when I attempted a turn, I tumbled several times down the slope. Since both my feet were fixed to the snowboard, my upper body was spinning, but my lower legs were stuck due to the board being caught, resulting in an unnatural twisting of my body. It almost led to serious consequences.

The lesson ended just like that, concluding with the practice of the C-turn.

The following weekend happened to be a holiday, and I had time off. So, I went to the resort that day to continue practicing. Usually, I go in the evening because they are only open at night on weekdays. It was a rare opportunity to go to the resort during the day. There were quite a few people, but it wasn’t overly crowded. The main thing was that the weather was a bit warm, and some of the snow had melted, creating ice-like patches. In fact, I had encountered this situation a couple times on previous visits. Practicing under these conditions increases the difficulty.

During this time, I also repeatedly watched other instructional videos to understand the techniques for the C-turn. Videos mentioned things like twisting the snowboard with your feet. I also tried to twist the board with my feet when doing the toe-to-heel turn, but I simply couldn’t budge the board. After repeated practice, I felt I could roughly manage the heel-to-toe turn. However, the toe-to-heel turn was still very challenging. Once, while attempting the toe-to-heel turn, the snowboard got caught in the snow, and I fell backward. Since there was a downhill slope behind me, I hit the ground incredibly hard when I fell. This wasn’t the kind of fall that just hurts a little; there was a loud thud, and the back of my head slammed heavily onto the icy snow. It happened in an instant; I couldn’t react at all. When I got up, I felt like half of my body was numb and briefly lost sensation. When sensation returned, that half of my body felt a sharp pain, as if the tendons had been suddenly stretched. A lady nearby saw my heavy fall and stopped to see if I needed help. Anyone who saw how I fell would definitely think I needed assistance. She only slowly walked away after I moved to the side to sit down and rest. I thought at the time that if I hadn’t been wearing a snowboard helmet, I might have truly been done for right there. I still shudder when I think about it now. A snowboard helmet is truly a necessity; you must wear one. Accidents always happen where you least expect them.

That night, when I got home, I repeatedly inspected the helmet to see if it was cracked and if I needed to buy a new one. I observed what looked like a crack, and it was huge, covering the entire helmet, seemingly splitting it in two. I thought, ‘This is bad, I need to buy a new helmet.’ As I searched online for the same model, I wondered why the helmets in the pictures also had these big ‘cracks’. Looking closely, I realized it wasn’t a crack at all, but a seam where the two halves of the helmet shell were joined during manufacturing, and every helmet of this type had it 😅. In any case, I’m fortunate that this helmet protected me from a severe accident.

I felt it was necessary to book another lesson. So, I booked the fourth lesson to consolidate the C-turn with the instructor again.

Finally, the fourth lesson arrived. This time, it was the same female instructor as before.

This lesson was essentially dedicated to consolidating the C-turn. The required technique was basically the same as the last lesson, but I still couldn’t do it well. I could roughly manage the heel-to-toe turn, but struggled greatly with the toe-to-heel turn. The main problem, I felt, was that I was terrified of the straight run state, feeling the speed was too fast. I would naturally lean back to avoid the speed, causing my center of gravity to shift backward. Once the center of gravity shifts backward, I would inevitably fall when attempting to turn from the straight run state. Another reason was still not knowing how to transfer the point of pressure from the toe edge to the heel edge during the toe-to-heel transition. Although the instructor gave guidance, regarding the fear of speed, she only said, “You can do it, just lean your body forward,” without offering a more effective method. So, the practice of the C-turn progressed quite slowly. Suddenly, the instructor said we should stop practicing the C-turn for now. I felt that my C-turn was clearly still very clumsy. She then added, “We still have some time, and I want to quickly cover the remaining S-turn with you.” Hearing this, I thought the instructor made a lot of sense. After all, learning the S-turn is generally considered the benchmark for beginner-level snowboarding, marking that I have mastered the basics. Even if my C-turn wasn’t perfect yet, if she taught me the S-turn, I could continue practicing it on my own later.

The so-called S-turn is essentially two C-turns linked together: first a heel-to-toe turn, followed by a toe-to-heel turn, and so on. But unlike the C-turn practice, where I usually stopped after the turn, I needed to keep sliding after completing one C-turn and immediately link it to the next C-turn. Repeating this is the S-turn. After she explained it, she asked me to try completing one C-turn and maintaining the glide. I gave it a quick try, and due to time constraints, the lesson ended there.

(Image of S-turn)

After this lesson, I considered whether I should book more lessons. But I thought about my goal: to learn to snowboard, and the sign of having learned the basics is mastering the S-turn. So far, both instructors have taught me up to the S-turn. I felt I could directly practice and consolidate on my own for now, without needing another instructor. So, I decided to start practicing independently.

In fact, by this time, I had started thinking about buying the snowboarding “big three” (the board, the bindings, and the boots). I now had a basic concept of snowboarding and a fundamental understanding of the gear. Honestly, when renting the equipment, it didn’t feel like a perfect fit, nor did it look very good. I had heard that if the equipment, especially the snowboard boots, fit well, learning techniques would be much faster. After all, with boots that don’t fit perfectly, even if I try to execute a specific move, my foot and the boot might not move as one. My foot might move a certain way, but the boot might not follow. Also, I experienced the inconvenience of repeatedly lacing the snowboard boots and strapping my foot into the bindings. For example, when lacing the boots, you have to pull hard to tighten them, and it takes time each time to tie the laces. Also, every time I reached the top of the slope and had to secure my right foot to the board, I needed to sit on the snow and clumsily pull the laces with bulky snowboard gloves, then search for the clasp to hook them in. Sometimes, because it was late at night and the lights weren’t very bright, I couldn’t find the clasp. It was simply too much trouble. Also, good looking equipment will also make me look good.

I learned that snowboard boot laces include the traditional type with regular laces that I rented, as well as speed laces and the BOA system. The speed laces are also ropes, but unlike traditional laces, you don’t need to manually wrap and tie them loop by loop. They have two pull cords; pulling them tightens the boot, and you just secure them. The BOA system is the most convenient and simple. It uses steel cables instead of laces. You press a dial down, and twisting it automatically tightens the boot. If you want to loosen the boot, you just pull the pressed-down dial out.

As for bindings, besides the traditional bindings I rented, there’s also the very convenient Step On type, where you simply step into them to secure your foot. I had seen others use them at the resort and really wanted a pair because they looked so easy. Regarding the snowboard itself, I hadn’t done much research. In my previous lessons, I hadn’t formed as strong an opinion about the board itself as I had about the boots and bindings. I kept hearing that when doing the C-turn, you could “twist” the board slightly—something like the front foot being on the heel edge while the back foot is on the toe edge. But when I tried with the rented board, I couldn’t twist it at all, which made me wonder if it was too stiff. So, I had the idea of getting a slightly softer snowboard. Of course, it couldn’t be too soft, as I felt I would struggle to maintain balance if it were.

So, my initial thought was to buy snowboard boots with speed laces or the BOA system, Step On type bindings, and a slightly softer snowboard. I started by looking for boots. Since I was only a beginner and hadn’t fully learned to snowboard, I didn’t want to buy anything too expensive. I found two BOA system boots on a large sports retailer’s website. I looked for speed lace boots too, but couldn’t find any at the time. The two BOA system boots happened to be on sale. However, because boot sizes can vary slightly between different brands, just like regular shoes where the same size can feel different, I decided to buy both and keep the one that fit best.

When the boots arrived, I eagerly tried them on. I found that although they were both the same size (the size I had rented later at the resort), one was a bit too small, cramping my toes slightly. The other boot seemed to be the right length. But I found a flaw. When I twisted the BOA dial to tighten the steel cables, it tightened the cables over both the top of my foot (instep) and my ankle simultaneously. But the ideal tightness for these two areas is different; if the ankle was just right, the instep would feel too tight. If the instep was just right, the ankle wouldn’t feel tight enough. But the tightness in both areas needs to be just right, meaning the tightness needs to be adjusted separately. Since this boot only had one BOA dial, I tried to adapt, thinking maybe the situation would improve once the liner loosened up. However, I eventually decided I needed a dual BOA system boot. I continued searching and found that boots with two dials were much more expensive. At the same time, while searching for Step On bindings, I realized that these bindings require compatible snowboard boots. Because they use specific clips, you need to buy boots with corresponding clips. Snowboard boots with a dual BOA system (where each dial controls the instep and ankle tightness separately; some dual BOAs still don’t offer separate control) and the Step On clips cost a few hundred Canadian dollars. Step On bindings also cost over $400 to over $500 CAD, and the snowboard itself was another at least a few hundred dollars. This was not a price I could pay just to casually use the gear twice and then let it collect dust. Spending over $1,000 to $2,000 CAD on snowboarding equipment, especially gear that can’t be used in daily life and is only useful for snowboarding at the resort, required me to be sure I would get my money’s worth.

Other items like helmets and goggles are okay to buy and leave unused because they are less expensive, and they already served their purpose in terms of price (safety, etc.). I bought most of my snowboard clothes so they could also be worn in daily life, so they were also worth the price. But I haven’t even fully learned to snowboard yet; I can’t guarantee that I’ll love snowboarding and go often every winter. I felt I couldn’t guarantee that the equipment wouldn’t collect dust after purchase. After much thought, I gave up the idea of buying the snowboarding “big three.” I felt that buying the gear at this point would not be a wise decision. I decided to wait until I had truly learned to snowboard before reconsidering.

I decided to continue practicing, but my progress felt very slow. I carefully thought about where the problem lay. The snowboard boots and snowboard could be issues, but they shouldn’t be the decisive factor. Besides, I had successfully executed a C-turn before with rented gear, so the equipment should be adequate. The problem must be elsewhere. Why was I failing the C-turn? It was because the speed during the straight run state was too fast, which I couldn’t adapt to, causing me to lean back and fall every time. So, if the slope were gentler, the speed during the straight run wouldn’t be as fast—could I then practice the C-turn better? Thinking this, it was true; the main slope at the previous resort was indeed a bit steep.

Ski resort difficulty levels are generally indicated by colors and different shapes: a green circle for beginner slopes, a blue square for intermediate, a black diamond for advanced, and a double black diamond for expert. The higher the level, the steeper the slope. I had previously asked the instructor what level the main slope was, and he said it was roughly blue, but sometimes when the snow was hard and slick due to weather conditions, it might feel closer to a black diamond. I didn’t know the specific concepts, but when I practiced the C-turn, the slope did feel a bit too steep for my current level. However, the bunny hill didn’t feel much gentler either. So, should I try a different ski resort? With this in mind, I started looking for other resorts.

I found a resort about a two-hour drive from the city. This was the closest one to the city besides the one I’d been to. The reviews for this resort seemed very good. Unlike the previous resort which only operated in the evening, this one was also open during the daytime on weekdays. This reduced my traffic stress a little, as I wouldn’t have to drive two hours on the highway in the pitch black of night—a topic I intend to discuss in a later chapter.

So, I picked a time and went to this resort. As soon as I entered, I saw rows of triangular buildings, which must have been accommodation for ski vacationers. I wasn’t staying, of course, as I would drive back after my session. I thought there wouldn’t be many people during the day, so I could practice in an empty, uncrowded resort. But there were quite a few people. Apparently, this resort hosts school trips for students to ski during the day. There were rows of buses, all students. Fortunately, by the time I arrived, the students seemed to have already gone inside, so I didn’t have to wait in line to rent gear. I quickly made it onto the slopes.

This resort also divided into a beginner area and a main slope. I naturally went to the beginner area. At the previous resort, you had to walk up the beginner slope yourself. But here, they had a magic carpet. You just stand on the conveyor belt to get to the top of the slope. When I first stood on the magic carpet, it was a little hard to balance, and even though I was just standing, it felt somewhat tiring. But after a few rides, I slowly got used to it and it wasn’t tiring anymore.

The bunny hill at this resort was indeed much flatter than the previous one. The weather was excellent that day, and the slope conditions were perfect—not too much fresh snow and no ice forming. The slope was so flat that for the first seven or eight meters, I could barely glide and had to hop a little. I tried the straight run, and the speed was definitely slower, making me more confident in attempting the C-turn. Initially, I still leaned back a bit during the toe-to-heel turn. But after a few tries, I adapted to the speed, and my success rate slowly improved. Once I could manage the C-turn, I started trying the S-turn, linking two C-turns together. After a few attempts, I actually managed to succeed! Although the movement was still very clumsy, this was my first successful S-turn. I continued to practice the S-turn. Nearby children who were skiing saw me and told their friends, “Look, it’s the S-turn.” But truthfully, my movement was very unrefined—a barely successful S-turn. In any case, a gentle slope certainly helps beginners practice technique.

After practicing for half a day, I drove back home.

For my second trip, I chose this same resort. This time, I wasn’t as lucky. I arrived right as a few busloads of students were getting off. I had to join the long queue to rent equipment. I waited for quite a while.

The weather wasn’t particularly good that day; there was some accumulated snow, but it wasn’t very cold, causing the snow to be in a half-melted state. This made the gentler bunny hill very difficult to slide on. Standing at the top of the bunny hill, the snowboard essentially wouldn’t slide down. I only picked up a normal speed around the middle of the slope. For the first half of the slope, I was stuck in place and had to hop forward myself. After a few attempts, I decided it was unsnowboardable and tried another slope.

I chose to take the chairlift to the top of the main slope. I headed for the lift. I had taken the lift many times before, so this should have been routine. However, the lift here was so fast, much faster than the previous resort’s. Moreover, the slope at the dismount area was steep and long. To exaggerate, I basically rolled down the slope after getting off the chairlift. It was truly a harsh welcome.

Then I looked for a place to start snowboarding. I hadn’t noticed this when I was at the bottom, but once I got to the top, the main slope was so steep. It was much steeper than the main slope at the previous resort. I somewhat regretted coming up here. But since I was up, I couldn’t possibly walk down. Honestly, even walking down felt steep and difficult. I ultimately chose a quiet spot near the edge and slowly came down using the heel-edge sideslip. This slope felt too steep even for me to practice C-turn or S-turn, or even a simple falling leaf or toe-edge sideslip. I had to choose the safest and simplest heel-edge sideslip. But once I started, I realized even the heel-edge sideslip was difficult. I was looking down at the snow and slowly sideslipping. But the vast expanse of white snow looked the same everywhere, and I even experienced moments where my eyes couldn’t judge the distance. My nerves were tense, and I was highly focused. If I fell and rolled down here, it felt like it would be a major incident. It wasn’t until I reached a spot near the foot of the mountain where the slope softened considerably that I finally dared to relax. After that, I never dared to take the chairlift to the top again that day.

Fortunately, after reaching the top of the bunny hill via the magic carpet, walking to the right led directly to a spot on the main slope not far from the bottom. Here, I could slide down safely; the slope wasn’t too steep, and the current weather meant the snow wouldn’t stop my board. Plus, because this area was off to the side, very few people came down this way, making it safer. I practiced on this small slope. Although this slope wasn’t as steep, it was still steeper than the bunny hill, which decreased my success rate when trying the S-turn. I could only manage the S-turn with difficulty, and it was still the clumsy kind.

(Image of a clumsy S-turn)

After practicing for half a day, I drove back before dark. Although the slope gradient of the bunny hill here was perfect for me, the resort was just too far. A four-hour round trip of highway driving every time made it impossible to visit often. However, it allowed me to experience what it’s like for a beginner to practice on a gentle slope. It also made me realize that I could try different resorts for different experiences.

Afterward, I continued to practice at the first snowboarding resort I went to. After all, this resort was closer, about a 45-minute drive one way, which avoided the fatigue of a long drive.

My first time back, I went to practice on the main slope. On this gradient, I could still only manage sideslips and falling leaves. I could actually do the straight run, but only if I followed it with an immediate hard brake. I still didn’t dare attempt the straight run when trying moves like the C-turn. The temperature wasn’t high that day, which made the snow on the slope hard and slick. This increased my speed, making it even harder to practice.

The second time I went, I practiced on the bunny hill. Although the slope here was gentler, the hassle was having to walk up by myself every time I finished a run. Walking uphill while wearing snowboard boots was still a bit tiring. Here, I could manage the heel-to-toe C-turn, but I still struggled with the toe-to-heel transition. After practicing for an entire evening, I might only succeed once or twice. There was another beginner practicing next to me who looked like a teenager. An older lady, who seemed to be his mother, was teaching him. I watched him master both types of C-turn quite quickly. I felt like the more I practiced, the less I knew how to do it—it seemed possible, but then impossible.

After that, due to the warm winter causing the snow to melt quickly, the snowboarding resorts started closing down one after another as early as late March. Apparently, the closing time was earlier than in previous years. And with that, my snowboarding learning and practice for this year came to an end. I felt I hadn’t quite achieved my goal, as I hadn’t fully learned to snowboard (if “fully learned” means being able to execute the S-turn proficiently).

The experience of learning and practicing snowboarding this time didn’t just give me experience on the slopes. It also gave me some extra experiences. Among these were driving on the highway at night and driving on the highway during the winter snow season. I believe I had never driven on the highway under these two conditions before.

When driving on the highway at night, the primary impression I had was the difficulty in seeing the road clearly. Especially when the wind blew the snow, it became hard to discern the dividing lines between the two or three lanes of the highway. Fortunately, if I was the only car on the road, I could avoid trouble by trying my best to follow the route. If there were other vehicles, I could just follow them and everything would be fine. Also, when driving in the city, I almost never encountered a situation requiring high beams. But driving on the highway at night necessitates using high beams. I even specifically asked others and looked it up online myself. I knew that when there are no other vehicles on the road and no streetlights, I should use high beams. Then, if there is an oncoming car and there is no barrier between the lanes going in opposite directions, I need to switch from high beams to low beams. But what if I am a moderate distance from the car ahead, or if there is an oncoming car but there is a physical barrier between the opposing lanes? What I later learned is that when driving in the same direction, if the distance to the car ahead is far enough (at least 150m, possibly further if your car’s high beams are very bright), you can use high beams appropriately, but it is not recommended. If there is a physical barrier between the opposing lanes, you need to judge based on the actual situation. For example, if the barrier is very tall and non-reflective, it might be possible to use high beams. Also, when two cars are driving toward each other, but there is a physical barrier and several lanes separating them, it might also be acceptable to use high beams. However, when cars are about to pass (e.g., when the oncoming car is 150m away), it is still best to switch to low beams, even with a barrier, to ensure you don’t cause a visual obstruction for the other driver.

I encountered one situation at the time. Since it was night and the road surface was almost like ice, I was taking a highway curve (it was a circular ramp to get onto another highway) at the speed indicated by the road sign. Honestly, I felt that speed was already a bit too high because the road was so slick and the curve was wide. Then, an SUV behind me started tailgating closely and flashing its high beams to tell me to speed up. This ramp was maybe 100 meters long, and I was driving according to the safe speed limit sign. If they thought the speed was too slow, they could easily wait one minute and pass me right after getting onto the highway. I truly didn’t understand why that car behind me was in such a rush.

I also learned something about driving on snowy highways during the day: don’t overtake unless you have to. Since it was daytime, I drove a bit faster than I would at night. When driving the two hours to the snowboarding resort, there were long stretches of highway with a 100 km/h speed limit. I often encountered cars driving at about 80 km/h. Since it was a snowy road, driving at that speed is understandable and reasonable. However, I didn’t feel the road was slick or difficult to handle while driving at 100 km/h. So, when I encountered a slightly slower car, I would overtake when it was safe and appropriate. Later, I ended up driving behind a large truck. Because it was snowy, the snow kicked up by the truck slightly obstructed my vision, making the drive uncomfortable. So, even though the truck wasn’t driving particularly slowly, I wanted to find an opportunity to overtake it. I found a chance—the opposing lane was clear of traffic for a long stretch, and the road was straight. I felt it was safe to pass. But as I accelerated and steered into the opposing lane to pass, the car suddenly lost control. The road must have been slick, causing me to skid. The car started swaying side to side. I took my foot off the gas pedal but didn’t hit the brakes, and by making small adjustments to the steering wheel, I managed to stabilize the car again. I truly narrowly avoided a serious accident. After that, I didn’t dare to overtake again for the rest of the trip. I just maintained a distance from the truck so that the snow it kicked up would have minimal impact on me. After all, a snowy road can skid at any time; what looks safe may not be truly safe, and overtaking is generally not recommended.

One other thing is that while snowboarding isn’t like judo or boxing where you have a partner or are part of a class unit, there are still interactions between strangers. I am rather reserved and not particularly good at initiating conversations with strangers at the resort. Some people are like me and aren’t good at talking to strangers, but others are proactive in interacting with others. For example, sometimes when I fall, a few people occasionally come over to ask if I’m okay and offer help. Others initiate conversations, especially on the chairlift. Since it takes a few minutes to get to the top, some people use this time to strike up a conversation. Some chat about the weather to me, others share their snowboarding experiences to me, and they ask if I come here often. While I’m not good at initiating conversations, I always interact with them in a friendly manner. It’s not that I’m afraid to talk to strangers; it’s just that my introverted nature requires energy to do it. Without sufficient motivation, I default to not initiating to conserve energy. However, through these interactions with strangers at the resort, I felt that I should try to initiate friendly interactions with other people. Because when those people proactively interacted with me, I genuinely felt their friendliness, and I felt that even though we were strangers, the distance between us closed a bit. I hope I can give others that same feeling.