This is one of my most recent bucket list items and I’m delighted to say that I can now shred.
Crossing this off my bucket list started with a passing conversation between myself and a friend on a hot summer of 2020 day. What if we just spend the entire winter in Killington, Vermont…? Well, that ‘what if’ turned into a 2 month long Airbnb followed by a handful more Airbnb’s in January and February, plus some time spent in a Vrbo house.
I can confidently say that if I didn’t have this winter in Vermont and an amazingly patient teacher, I would not be writing this post right now. So, thank you to the Killington crew for all of the laughs and a special thank you to Jared for encouraging me to get up every time I fell down.
Day one baby!
We started off the season on opening day in November with all the VT locals and I’m not going to lie… it made me feel really cool. We hit up a local coffee shop and snagged some day one coffees before parking in front of K1 gondola and hitting the slopes with our walkie talkies in hand.
Morning of day one
I can not stress enough how patient Jared was with me during those first few days of learning. In this photo we had already spent the past 3 hours practicing the basics, fixing my bindings and watching me fall. He’s probably smiling under that mask… right?
Afternoon of day one
After falling all morning on the flat ramp into the lift, we decided it might be easier to practice if I pick up more speed. We fueled up with sandwiches at the car and then sent it up to the top of Snowden Six Express… otherwise referred to as ‘The Bubble Lift.’ The easiest trail open in early season was an advanced blue and I can only imagine it’s advanced because the majority of the run was covered in ice. Learning to snowboard on ice was definitely trial by fire.
End of day one
I eventually made it down Great Northern and I was able to stay up for parts of it. It took me an hour and a half… maybe even two hours to get down. I wasn’t kidding when I said Jared was a patient teacher. It’s hilarious to admit how long it took me to get down the mountain my first time because by the end of the season I could race down any run in minutes.
Keep watching until the end for a brief glimpse at one of my many falls Day two was hard
To be completely honest, day two was a lot harder than day one and I think that’s because I was covered in bruises from the ice. I spent most of the day practicing the basics on a make shift bunny hill next to the bubble lift. Having everyone who waited in line for the lift watch me fall for 8 hours straight was extremely intimidating, but the public spectacle of me learning to snowboard was definitely a great show.Day three
Falling with friends makes learning a lot easier and lucky for me, my best friend Elinor also decided to spend the season learning to Ski. She spent most of day one and day two learning the basics with her teachers, our equally patient friends Tommy and Pat, but by day three I finally felt confident enough to go up the gondola with the group and we were reunited once again. Having someone to share in the soreness and bruises made week one not only bearable, but a true joy.
Day four and things started to click!
For those who don’t know, the basic snowboarding motion is an S turn that is made when you shift your weight from your heel side to your toe side. I picked up the heel turn on day one, but I couldn’t figure out the toe turn to save my life. Then, magically, on day four it clicked! I made my first toe turn and followed it with a heel turn. Boom, S turn complete.
Unfortunately, when I got to the bottom of the run I went to high five Tommy, slipped and fell onto my shoulder…
Laying low on day five
Hurting my arm after finally making progress was definitely a bummer, but I made a make shift sling from my shirt and took day five off to rest. I spent the day driving into Rutland and went on a Thanksgiving meal shopping spree while everyone played on the mountain. There are also a ton of tiny shops in Rutland, so I was able to knock out some Christmas shopping while in town.
Day six and Thanksgiving!
Gobble gobble it’s turkey time! I took day six off from skiing because my arm still hurt. The injured arm and make shift sling were annoying, but I loved the added challenge of cooking a Thanksgiving feast with one hand tied behind my back. Everyone hit the slopes for a half day and when they got back the cooking began.
We truly made one of the best Thanksgiving meals I’ve ever had and we finished a box of wine in the process. We had Cornish hens by Pat, scalloped potatoes by Tommy, cranberry sauce by Elinor and a ton of other delicious sides, desserts and delights made by the team. I’m so thankful for this Killington crew, the past six days on the mountain, and the four months to come.
The feast at The Beast 
Thanksgiving fam 
Obviously we drink 14 hands in this house 
Tommy’s signature scalloped potatoes 
Elinor’s famous cranberry sauce 
Pat’s Cornish hens Cornish hens can’t fly, but they can replace turkey on the fly. 
Chess and naps after a Thanksgiving dinner well spent Day seven…my arm still hurts
I’m so dumb. Who hurts themselves snowboarding when they’re not even snowboarding. I decided not to push it and I took yet another day off from snowboarding. Luckily I have a season pass, so the days off only hurt my heart and not by pocket too.
While everyone was on the mountain I drove into Rutland and bought a gingerbread house kit for a little Après Ski fun.
Day eight was great… because I finally got back on the mountain
After crawling around the condo for three days I was dying to go up the gondola again. I still took it easy and didn’t try to practice my toe turn at all. I’m confident I can get down the mountain on my heels, but this damn S turn is going to be the death of me.
And in December, things finally clicked
This was technically day nine of me snowboarding, but I took off a couple weeks in between day 8 and day 9. I think the quick progress I made on day 9 was from a mix of real snow, rested muscles and hours of YouTube videos I watched over the past couple weeks. I can finally do my S turns! I was so excited on day 8 when I did a few turns properly, but on day 9 I was zig zagging my way down the whole mountain! I was so excited I facetimed my dad at lunch to show off.
If you don’t fall down, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. Or… it’s just really icy. Day 10 and I’m feeling cool as a cucumber
I love snowboarding! Now that I’m not falling down the mountain and I can actually explore… this is awesome! At this point I can ride up lifts on my own and go down any blue or green on the mountain.
And the rest of December was a dream
For the next couple of weeks I got to spend an extraordinary amount of time on the mountain with the best cast of characters. After breaking through the wall on day 10 I felt like I got exponentially better and more comfortable each day. While learning on icy and advanced sloped in November was painfully difficult, it laid the ground work for an amazing season and I couldn’t be more delighted with how it all worked out.Everyone loved my morning wakeups! 7am bright and early 🙂 
2 cool 4 ski school 
Après Ski under the stars Pow day number one!
On December 17th I woke up to my first ever Pow Day! Killington got two feet of snow overnight and it was wild. We had to dig out the rear door of the car in the parking lot to get our gear out and then we walked across the highway to the base lodge. As we were walking it kept dumping snow and it continued to snow all day long.
Snowboarding down the mountain on fresh snow feels like an entirely different sport. It honestly feels like you’re surfing or sliding smoothly over butter. Needless to say, our first run down the mountain was hilarious. Nobody knew how to ride on soft fresh snow and once you fell down it took forever to dig yourself out of the snow you fell in to. The positive side to the fresh snow was that you can test out crazy moves and the landing was soft each time, but we were definitely swimming in it.
Post Pow Day
While Pow day was delightful, post power day was perfect. Skiing on 2 feet of groomed snow made snowboarding feel like second nature. The fresh and packed snow made going fast feel really comfortable and because it snowed Killington was able to open a ton more trails. I spent the first half of the day with the group, but by lunch I was exploring new routes and getting lost on the west side of the mountain.
And in January… so much more skiing!
It’s amazing how much of a difference real snow and multiple powder days can make. In January my skills on the snowboard kept progressing and by mid January I was doing mini jumps and zooming down different runs. The whole mountain opened up by the beginning of January and after that things went from good to great!
The pitfalls of being group photographer First black diamond run at Pico!
After spending all of November and December on Killington we decided to pop over to Pico Mountain on a powder day to see what those trails were like. Pico’s tagline is “big mountain skiing, small mountain charm” and that is the most accurate thing I’ve read in awhile. It’s so chill and relaxed, but it’s scattered with sick black diamonds and trail runs. I am a huge fan of Pico!
The trails cross over each other a lot and after about two seconds on the mountain Elinor and I found ourselves halfway through a black diamond and we didn’t even realize it. We breezed to the bottom and celebrated our first black diamond run, then quickly hopped back on the lift with new found confidence and hit black diamonds for the rest of the day.
Elinor and I after doing our first ever black diamonds together! Crazy to see the progress from day one to now. 
Lil jumpies Killington Birthday Party
This year for my birthday all I wanted to do was ski with my friends and that’s exactly what I got. The entire week was perfect and the added pow day was icing on top of the cake. To treat myself I also bought a hoodie from my favorite ski shop, Black Dog Sports.
I am now too confident for my own good, ft. my wipe out while recording
Roommates that shred together stay together 
Risking the elements for those Pico pow days
Switching it up for Valentine’s weekend
While I spent the entire season learning to snowboard, my family kept telling me if it was too hard I could just go back to what I originally learned…skiing. After dedicating my whole season to snowboarding and mastering it, I decided one switch day was in order. I decided to switch back to Skis on the same day my friend Morgan chose to learn for the first time. It was exciting getting my ski legs back at the same time Morgan was learning everything for the first time. Just like everyone says, it’s all muscle memory.
On Valentine’s Day… we wear pink
We decided to put on pink makeup for Valentine’s day and head over to Pico Mountain. For the first run I felt like the prettiest snowflake on the mountain, but after run the mascara was running down our faces and it looked like heart break season on the slopes.
Next up… hands stands and cartwheels
When you’ve mastered black diamonds, trail runs and jumps… what’s next? Well, in my opinion that would be hand stands and cartwheels. I didn’t necessarily figure out how to do this yet, but everyone has to have goals and this is my new one.
Friends help friends do stupid things 
And just like that… I learned how to snowboard
By the end I was good enough to follow Jared off jumps and through the woods, I could go down any trail on the mountain, and I knew all the routes like the back of my hand. I’m delighted that I had this time and these friends to make this bucket list item come true. I can’t wait to all my future seasons of snowboarding and skiing around the world.
Stuck waiting for your friends at the lift. No worries! Just make a chair from your snowboard and pop a squat. 
Elinor after getting taken out by a little kid and a cement wall Until next season… stay chill!
