Blog #5 - Oliver Hamlin

     Prior to living in Vermont when I was sixteen, I was always surrounded by warm weather. When winter came around up north, I immediately became immersed in winter sport culture, the lifestyle adopted by the majority of teens in the Green Mountain State. A friend of mine invited me to come to the park area of a local ski resort, where skiers and snowboarders practice their tricks, and support him in a tournament he was competing in. Upon arriving, I sat impatiently waiting for the spectacular to begin. Once it started, I was in awe. Each contest flew through the air with grace, performing flips, twists, grabs, and grinds on the shiny rails and ramps. When I saw my friend go up and win the competition, I decided I had to look into snowboarding.

     Before jumping right in to buying a board and taking lessons, I had to do a little research to make sure snowboarding was something I definitely wanted to do. After all, equipment, lessons, and a ski resort membership would definitely take a toll on my wallet if I decided to make it a hobby. I started out informally by watching YouTube videos on the basics of how to ride a snowboard and googling where the best place to learn snowboarding was in my area. After speaking to a representative from a winter sports school and booking a beginner lesson, the next step was finding equipment. I visited a local ski shop and became educated on the different types of boards, bindings, boots, etc. and learned what equipment would be best suited for me. I also had the chance to read a map displayed in the store showing all the trails of Killington, the local ski resort, and seeing which 'green' (easy) level trails I would be able to ride on, hopefully, after my lesson. Following purchasing the bare essentials, I headed back to my home to watch The Art of Flight, a documentary covering the daredevil adventures of the Red Bull snowboarding team.

    Doing my research on snowboarding before setting foot onto a board definitely helped me make safer, more educated decisions while riding for the first time. I am always one to do research on a hobby before taking it up, because I tend to feel much more comfortable doing it in beginner stages than if I didn't conduct the research. After a year of practicing, I decided to work at Killington so I could be surrounded even more by winter sports culture and, of course, get to ride more often. To this day, snowboarding is one of my favorite sports and it is one of the many reasons I love the winter and snow.