Snowboarding

I am a snowboarding teacher in the winter. In the summer, I teach swimming. In fall and spring, I do professional training. But nothing beats snowboarding. It's my favorite, through and through. That's probably why winter is my favorite season. Although there was one time I broke my hand while trying to catch a fall, I'm really good, I almost never fall over. I accept one class per season.

One season, there was a perfect time to go on a special trip. I got my student's permission slips so we could go for a few days. It would be a long trip, but worth it. We would be getting the best snowboarding experience out there while watching animals. Not only, that, but there was supposed to be the perfect amount of snowfall mixed with the possibility of seeing a rare snow animal. An opportunity to good to turn down.

So on the morning of leaving, I took my first headcount for the trip. Everyone in the class was coming and everyone was accounted for, so we hopped on our boards and kicked off. The first stop was a mile away. A restaurant and inn, where we were going to spend the night and eat tomorrow and today. It was a lovely experience really. I truly did enjoy going with my class. We all made it in ten minutes before I estimated, so I headed in and checked us in. One room for boys, one room for girls. I would be sleeping with the boys. We had funded this for months, getting ready for this.

I put their bags in their rooms. Everything was running smoothly. We had dinner and went to bed. We would be back here hopefully by tomorrow an hour after we arrived today. There was going to be one pit stop tomorrow so we could use the bathroom, sit, relax, and warm-up. It was going to be one hour to get there and two hours later we would be at the stop. We would see the spot, take pictures, two hours be at the stop, one hour back here.

I woke up the team and had breakfast. We went outside and left. We were kind of tired by the time we got to the pit stop, but luckily after the pit stop we were energized and ready to go. This next part of the trip was going to be a breeze. An absolute dream. The snow beneath our boards was fluffy, not icy or dirty or hard. But when we got to the spot, something felt wrong. It didn't feel fluffy the way it was before. Still, we went on.

We took pictures and found the bird. The snowbird. It was graceful and majestic, even better than pictures and descriptions of it. Undescribable what it felt like to be in its presence. I felt magical afterward. Even when I heard a crack beneath my feet. I could not believe that I had seen it. Crack. It was so beautiful. Cra-crack.

"Hey, um, I think that there is a bit of a problem," one of my students said. I turned to find them all freaking out.

"Everyone, get on your boards now," I say firmly. We quickly grabbed our boards and left. No time. The last person was my smallest student, they were on the last part of the ice when we hear the final crack, but we caught them just in time. We all sigh in relief when we're all back on solid ground. We decided to get to the stop as fast as possible.

The snow was smooth, but we had almost lost our lives. We were never doing this again, although we decided that it was kind of worth it for the snowbird and the smooth path. We got to the stop and my students looked worn. The workers didn't ask any questions, and we got going as soon as possible. We honestly just wanted to sleep. Tomorrow we would be home, and we were excited to be back in our own beds.

We got back, had dinner, packed up as much as possible, and went to bed. We rode in about the same time we did last night, if not 30 minutes later. I thought we would see the snowbird for longer. With the ice breaking, we had no other choice but to head back early. What we did see of the bird was beautiful. I dreamt of its beauty all through the night.

We woke up, packed, and had breakfast. We road out and I had to pep talk my students. "I know yesterday we nearly died and snowboarded the entire day, but honestly, we have the coolest story to tell. How many people get to tell a story like that? We even saw the snowbird. How many people have seen that? How many people have snowboarded on snow that smooth? Let's try to stay positive, right?" They nodded and smiled.

We got home and continued lessons. These past few years I have had classes, and we've had adventures. None have been that exciting or cool. The students in that class will always be in that class. I keep a picture of the snowbird in my office right above my desk so when I tell the tale people believe me.

Although the true beauty of the bird cannot truly be expressed, I find the true beauty of it was really the tranquility it brought us. It made us feel safe, even on ice. I had never felt that safe around anything like that before. I started having multiple classes. Those students I'm still in touch with, even though all these years. A few came to one of my classes.

I don't think my students have a cooler story. The youngest student at the time now is one of my teachers. We started school for year-round snowboarding lessons, as we live in a cold environment year long. Once I came up to them and told him there was another chance of the snowbird. He agreed. We didn't nearly die that time, luckily. Those are the only times I have ever seen it. I loved it, and even though I can't own one, I wish deep down I could.