Some days I wake up and the thought of snowboarding just doesn't excite me. Mostly on these days it’s raining or I am damaged in some way or another. This day was one of them, it was blowing a houllie outside and I could hear the slosh of water as cars drove by. After I turned my alarm off for the third time I eventually dragged myself out of bed, ready to ride some gnarly line down a 49-degree slope in the mist and rain. I considered 'dingying' the event - but that’s not cool, and knowing that my hyped up mates were ready to 'give er' I had to give this a shot. After all the Coe Cup is great craic and a bit of sliding could be just what I need to start my day.
A musician once mentioned to me "you can only focus on one thing in life to excel at" and on this day it was proven true. He's an extremely famous musician, so maybe that alone should have confirmed this statement. Since the start of the Scottish Enduro Series in February and after a small knee injury my commitment to the Ski season had been almost non-existent and I couldn't even remember the last time I had been snowboarding - perhaps the last postponed Coe Cup??
None the less, I got my shit together and hauled my sorry little ass up a mountain. I headed straight over to the competition face for a practice run and the first thing I encountered as I peered over the edge of the Flypaper was a crevasse that a mini cooper could quite easily fit into, with room for the family too. It was nothing short of terrifying. After a run of 'spot the crevasse' and some catching up with the lassies for some girly banter, I spectated fellow competitors hitting some fantastic lines with double rock drops and witnessed some mega sketchy crevasse jumping, verifying to myself this was a day for others, not me, to be riding crazy shit. I was craving an eloquent and relaxed slide on the Main Basin, in order to become reacquainted with my snowboarding legs, but I had to dig deep and swallow my fear. Time was ticking, and with the weather due to change in the afternoon so I dug deep and set off for a another practice run.
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| A small Crevasse on Rannoch Glades |
The weather was very fickle, turning over from zero viz to bluebird faster than the fleeting Onesie trend in suburban Essex. It was potluck if you had some runs in sunshine or the cloud, and the majority of competitors lingered in the haze until glimpses of blue sky appeared.
On my next practice run I decided to go over to Baileys gully. It was the steepest I had ever seen it, which left me a bit on edge. To my right, I spotted a huge crevasse more than 10 feet wide and God knows how deep, and straight below me was another of the gaping chasms waiting to swallow me up. Warning a fellow boarder who was making what I thought was an unintentional B-line for the monsters mouth, I shouted "There's a huge Crevasse there eh!' and gesticulated to the danger zone, "YEAH COOL!" he enthusiastically acknowledged and then proceeded to jump round, straight toward the massive thing and ollied right over it - "THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A WARNING!" I shouted back. At this point I felt way out of my depth. I was so distracted by the prospect of plummeting into one of these icy pits, I could barely get a turn in, but I did manage to pop over a few of them, after all that was the only way to get down.
With my competition run came the sun and I started to feel lucky. I decided to do the same line again, as it was crazy steep, and the whole crevasse factor could gain some extra points before it flattened to a natural booter I had spied, with potential for some spinny action to impress the jusdges at the bottom. I dropped in again spotting the crevasses but I left it too late to traverse back into Baileys and completely missed my line! I spent the next part of my run trying to work out how to get back onto Baileys or find things to hit that didn't send me into oblivion, and by that time my run was almost over. Doh!!!!!
Unfortunately I didn't get another run as the weather closed in and I was so annoyed with myself for not committing to dropping higher onto Baileys that I sulked in the cafe for a bit and then headed home. At least I got to grips with conquering my fears of crevasses.
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| Sporting a goggle tan will only get you noticed. |
I snapped out of it pretty quickly when I discovered my friend Katie had won the ladies skiing competition! Later I found out that I had made 3rd place for the snowboarding girls.
It was a challenging but fun day and I was really pleased to find out that out of the 6 ladies who made it onto the podium, half of them were over 35 and mothers, proving that the older ladies with responsibilities are still up there! I know the other mothers through the Glencoe Ski Club Junior training, and we meet fairly regularly on the hill while our children ski in the club together, on occasion helping each other with our kids.
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| Ailsa Clark, last years winner and fellow mother, came 3rd in the women's skiing. |
In reflection I considered the importance for me as a single parent to remain involved in local sport clubs for the social and physical benefits. Glencoe Ski Club has given me an opportunity to engage with other skiing parents, as well as my daughter to meet with her wee pals. The social opportunities and avenues of support that arise from these groups meetings allow for unique and specific friendships for both parents and children. This is definitely something the Glencoe Ski Club Training has provided, making the club training specific for children to develop their skills and allowing the parents to meet and ski with each other.
A week later I went back up the mountain with Katie determined to take on the Flypaper for the last day of the season, and watched Katie attack Baileys with ease and flow - that girl can ski! Later whilst on the T-bar I asked her if she thought the Coe Cup competition had brought on her skiing? She thoughtfully replied that in prep for the comp her participation in more physical exercise such as cycling and fitness classes had really improved her agility and strength, helping her to turn on the steeper terrain, along with her fitness so she could ski harder and for longer.
There are definitely no more excuses for me then...
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| End of Season Selfie with Katie |
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