Board Member Anna-Ellen describes her big moment on the slopes: "My first black diamond was with the OutRyders."
Snowboarding my first black diamond was achieved with the OutRyders. I had gone down black diamonds before, but it wasn’t pretty, they were nerve-racking and filled with many falls and high frustration, and ended with me pounding the snow with my little mittened fist. I mainly stuck to blue trails, those are my jam. My pals on the OutRyders for quite a few trips had been telling me my snowboarding skills were very good and I could definitely do black diamonds. I was still very hesitant.
Everyone in this organization has always been very patient and would often go down blue trails with me, never pressuring me, only being encouraging. Because of this low-pressure, high-confidence building atmosphere, one trip I finally said “OK, I’m gonna do a black diamond!”
My friends rallied around me and gave tips. One friend recommended that I should sing a lullaby in my head (I chose Sesame Street). Others gave helpful tips like staying relaxed, being centered in my stance, and just doing the same thing I did on blues because I could do it. They all took up little spots around me to make sure I had someone close in case the inevitable happened where I would go ass over tea kettle. You know the fall I’m talking about…where you see the snow and then you see the sky and then you see the snow again, until you finally slide to a stop. This somersault style fall is probably more common for snowboarders. So I took a deep breath and down we went. As the Sesame Street song says, it was a sunny day, and I was on my way.
Even though the run was pretty harrowing, it started off well. I was cruising along, and out of my peripheral vision I saw one of my more experienced snowboarder friends doing the slide where you’re on your back and can’t stop sliding even though you’re digging your board in. Good thing we had many other buddies around to assist him, as there’s no way I could stop. Plus, I was cruising right along. Shredding in fact. Crushing it. In the distance I saw friends stopping and looking back to check on me. I knew more supporters were to my left and right and behind me. I saw the bottom of the trail and the lift in the distance and was almost at the bottom. I was expecting to fall because there’s no way my first run could be this good. But I got closer and closer to the lift and finally made it, plus pulled off a perfect stop!
My friends circled around me screaming, "You did it Queen!" and giving me high-fives. I did it! I thought that was gonna be one and done, because I didn’t want to ruin my best black diamond to date. Yet up we went again to do the same trail because my friend who did the thousand meter butt-slide said he had to redeem himself. I definitely thought my second black diamond run would not be as good. I did a quick fall on my butt, but popped right back up and knew exactly what I did wrong. It was still an awesome second run.
Black diamonds are still intimidating to me, but I’m so, so happy and thankful for this group because they were exactly what I needed to be confident on new trails. When you’re around positive and encouraging people like that, your confidence explodes and you have a much better day on the slopes. This is one of the reasons I love the OutRyders so much, and look forward to doing more obstacles like jumps in the parks this season.
-- Anna-Ellen Lenart
OutRyders Board Member and Shredder
Hear from Anna-Ellen Lenart and her experience with the OutRyders!
