Saturday morning. 2 AM. Seven friends set off on a mission. We left Aviano in a rental van headed for Hintertux, a glacier in western Austria. Our purpose? Snowboarding.
We arrived in Hintertux just after 7 AM, and immediately began putting on our gear.
On this trip was Keena, Jason, Shaun, Ruben, Jarred, Nate, and I. It didn't matter that none of us had slept more than a couple hours. We were just ready to hit the slopes.
We parked in a valley at the base of the mountains. We left in the middle of the night, but after the sun came up, there was some really amazing scenery. I think the Alps are the most impressive mountain range I've ever seen.
45 minutes and three gondola rides later, we made it to the top of the glacier, an altitude of 3250 m (or 10,662 ft). It was sunny and about 40 degrees outside; and we were excited.
It felt good to be strapping on my board again. Plus, it was the first time I got to break in my new snowboarding pants I got for a super discount just before I left Utah. (Thanks, Scott!) All seven of us were looking forward to some serious carving.
And then we went down the first run. Have you ever been boarding, and you occasionally run across an icy patch and it freaks you out because you can't manoeuvre at all and you start bitching about how crappy the conditions are? Well, imagine if the whole run was like that. We got about halfway down, and realised we were boarding on a solid sheet of ice.
We all looked at each other and the gleam that was in our eyes a few moments earlier turned to an expression of "What the F were we thinking?"
But all hope was not lost. Not being the type to give up easily, we headed to another section of the glacier, and found much better conditions. It was somewhere between powder and slush, making it much easier to navigate and less painful to fall.
Most of the guys spent the day at the park, but I took turns between the park and carving down the slope. There were some serious boarders there doing 720s and flips and stuff, so I felt a little insignificant when landing a 180, which is my greatest accomplishment thus far.
See, Jarred? This is what happens when you throw snowballs and hit people in the junk.
Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the fact none of us had been boarding in several months. Regardless, by 2 PM, after six hours of solid boarding, we were exhausted and decided to call it a day.
On the way home, I realised I'd forgotten to wear sunscreen. The lower half of my face, below where my goggles sit, is totally fried and I look like a freak. Along with everyone else, I'm tired and sore. But I don't care. We went snowboarding.
On a glacier.
In Austria.
In July.
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