“Ahhhh!” Those were the exact words that came out of Steven’s mouth as he hit the hard ice. My good pal Don and I looked in terror as he dared to go off the biggest jump on the hill. We both knew in our minds that either Steven was going to land the jump successfully and brag about it for the rest of eternity, or he was going to get seriously injured. He gave us the thumbs-up sign symbolizing he was actually going for it, and then, Wham! My eyes stared in dismay as I saw him land on his back and separate his shoulder in three places.
After that day, Steven had to go through four hours of agonizing surgery as the doctors reconstructed his shoulder. So, the question at hand would be, is snowboarding truly worth it?
I know for a fact that there is no other feeling that’s greater than shredding fresh powder on a crisp Sunday morning while the chimneys smoke and the flakes fall. But, with this comes a sense of daring in your self to try new things such as a bigger jump or a longer rail. Thankfully, snowboarders nowadays are smart enough to wear helmets, unlike twenty years ago when I hear that all you needed was a jacket and some gloves. The risk of getting hurt is based on you. If you want to try the big jumps, you’re going to have to deal with the consequences if things don’t go as planned.
In the end, I believe that as long as you are smart enough to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie on the mountain, snowboarding is thrilling and well worth spending those cold weekend days.