This may be a bit of a cheat, and the first day this year I wasn’t riding at Glencoe. But, I was suffering from cabin fever as summer is setting in. I also thought I could work on my switch snowboarding as well as try out the new boots! Yes I succumbed and headed for Soar, Braehead in Glasgow.
It’s a Wednesday night and I deliberately avoided the better value Monday night session at Glasgow’s Big Fridge. Opting for a quieter session albeit a tad more expensive at £21 for 2 hours. Starting at 8:00 p.m. after a day at work I had 2 hours of pretty much continuous switch riding with barely a soul on the slope.
The sugary snow was pretty slow. I don’t think it helped that my board had a fresh coat of wax that didn’t agree with the surface conditions. It did mean that the switch riding was pretty easy though and I found myself being able to get in to the carves riding backwards. I even took the poma drag lift up switch. This was a really weird feeling, having ridden so long leading with the other foot. When I got to the top I couldn’t even scoot properly with my other foot free.
Another reason I wanted to get on the snow in the middle of summer, was to loosen up my lower back. I think since the season ended I’ve seized up a bit and I just needed to loosen up somehow. I’ve also been doing a bit of yoga, which I hope will help next season.
Anyway, I’m not a regular on the indoor scene, but needs must. The boots rode well and I feel a lot more confident riding backwards. I think I’ll have to try a few more sessions. Maybe once a month, just so I can keep it up till next season.
I’m hoping to get out and about a bit more during summer so I can start getting some none snow related content written. Stay posted as I definitely have a few posts coming up. A big one on my Cuba trip last September and update coming soon on some of the projects I’ve been working on. Maybe even the mid summer slide at Glencoe – weather dependent.
Enjoy summer.
