363 Days Post OP

A lot of Refresh PM eye ointment and a great pair of Smith goggles, I strapped on my snowboard and hit the slopes yesterday. It felt so good to shred again! I spent the day at Brianhead, Utah with my friend, Joanne. Brianhead is conveniently located about 3 hrs north of Las Vegas. Like everything else I've set out to accomplish in this recovery it will take a lot of practice. There will be no cliff jumping or back flips quite yet....

I've been snowboarding since the age of 13 and its always been a huge part of my life. Since moving west in 2005 I'll never forget the first time snowboarding on a real snow covered 11,000 ft elevation mountain. I felt right at home! I grew up shredding fake snow and ice on the hills of Michigan. No comparison and I'm spoiled now with mountains surrounding the Vegas valley.  

The first decent down Giant Steps, the main run at Brianhead, was a little shaky as I tried to focus on keeping my balance. I was having a difficult time relaxing and maintained a stiff posture throughout the run. When I reached the bottom and looked back up at the mountain my emotions ran high. I couldn't believe I successfully conquered yet another milestone days before my 1 year ANniversary. We quickly jumped back on the chair lift and cracked an ice cold trophy brew to celebrate! Throughout the day as I worked on my turns, speed and maintaining my balance I was having a hard time with my peripheral vision. As I tried to scan my surroundings it would throw off my balance and focus. Some I've heard refer to this a wonky head. The mountain was fairly empty so I didn't have to worry to much about others crossing my path which allowed me a lot of freedom on the runs to practice. As the day went on I became a little more confident and started to venture off the groomed trails onto the fresh pow pow. The deep pow pow really tested my ability to keep form and balance. I couldn't bring myself to attempt any rails or jumps this time.... I'll save that for the next trip. I am just so happy I was able to make it down the hill keeping the bottom of the snowboard on the snow the entire time. I cannot wait till the next trip!!! Happy ANniversary to me! :)