What a difference a year makes

I'm working on my next column about snowboarding and downhill skiing. Last year I took a video clip while snowboarding down the mountain. And I have to confess, I was a nervous wreck about it. I had the office camera and I was afraid I'd wipe out and break it.

I fall down a lot on my board but have been told by several people that, "you're not learning if you're not falling." Well I've certainly done A LOT of "learning" in the three years I've been boarding.

But, I did make it through that taping without breaking anything (me or the equipment) and dubbed the clip Not the Easiest Thing

This year I decided to do another mountain action video on my board. At some point last winter it finally clicked in my brain how to switch edges without losing my balance. Now I'm a much better rider, relatively speaking of course -- I'll never be ready for the terrain parks.

If you don't know anything about snowboarding, there are two edges - toe (front edge of the board) and heel (back edge). Finding an edge and riding it is not that hard. It's the switching back and forth that gives a lot of people trouble. But, it's something every rider has to figure out.

So today I was editing this year's video clip, and I noticed a big difference in my attitude. Although I got a little too close to a Slow Down sign on the trail and had to switch edges quickly (it really is hard to see where you're going through a camera), I actually laughed about it.

Yup, I think I'm pretty cool now. Well not really, but it's nice to hope.