Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe and the mountains
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We left Auckland at 7pm on Wednesday 7th February, and arrived in Los Angeles at 10am on Wednesday 7th February. That day was the longest of my life - we spent about 30 hours on the same day travelling to Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada Stateline. However it was a worthwhile trip as the Lake was the most beautiful sight with the mountains behind it. Although it was cold, it was sunny and great conditions to get on the snowboard!

I had been really looking forward to boarding and had received the prep talk from Lorna and Ben, both boarding pros, that perseverance is key and you will spend the first 3 days on either your bum or your knees, so I felt ready to feel the pain and suffer.

I am nowhere near gnarly enough to be a boarder

Lake Tahoe
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Well I started off well, it was a full 10 mins on the board before I fell and jarred my wrist, which resulted in a rather large growth, like an egg protruding from under my skin, a worried instructor and snow patrol insisting I go to hospital. Using my Mary genes and inner strength, I weighed up the options of waiting for ages in A&E and the hassle of getting there, and opted for a cardboard splint and some ice, much to the annoyance of snow patrol (fear of being sued I’m guessing!)

For those of you who haven't experienced the joy of learning to board, I have learnt that to be a true cool/able boarder you need to achieve the following:

At last, decent clothes and make up!
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*Know someone who has seriously injured a crucial body part, i.e. head or back *Be able to wear your ski pants with the crutch at knee level whilst keeping them on *Enjoy falling - it will never end

Needless to say, I am nowhere near gnarly enough to be a boarder, although I could stay on and turn by the end of the week my list of injuries incurred was as long as my arm - in fact included my arm, so I decided maybe it wasn't my thing and would go back to skiing. My once gnarly husband also decided after 10 years of boarding and a bad fall on our last day - which ended up with him in hospital again!! Also decided our boarding days are over!

Siblings!
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One rather large reason we had to try and stay in one piece for was Pete and Carol's wedding day, plaster casts are not a good look in photos and thankfully we managed to walk up the aisle with not so much as a band aid! The wedding was lovely and we all had a great day in the snow - a welcome break from the slopes for Ben and I!

As always when you are having fun the time flew and it wasn't long before we were setting off to meet Mary and Noel in Seattle!!