Snowboarding at Granby Ranch - Day 1

After much anticipation, it was finally time to go snowboarding/skiing with my dad, my brother, and his family. It had been quite a few years since I had gone out with my dad, and I'm pretty sure I had never been out with my brother at all. So to get out on the slopes with them and my sister-in-law and two nephews was very exciting for me. 

Katie, my dad, and Blake making their way down the run together

For our first day of snowboarding at Granby Ranch we lucked out and got some very fresh snow on the ground before we even took our first lift. So I was eager to get out. And on top of that it snowed the rest of the day. So we had the real light fluffy snow to float through throughout most of the day.

Barbie, Blake, and my dad on the chair lift behind us. 
You can see how hazy and snowy it was.

Katie taking a break in the fluffy snow.

I made a snowboard angel.

I'm pretty sure Katie and I enjoyed the fresh snow the most. On a snowboard it just feels like you're floating along almost effortlessly down the mountain. Even areas where it had been skied out, the snow was so light it still felt smooth if you kept up your speed. The rest of my family didn't enjoy the fresh snow quite as much. There is a definitely a different technique for riding through powder, and it usually involves less use of your edges, which is what I think they were more used to. At least any falls they had were softened by the snow.

My dad making his way down through the snowy conditions

One other thing worth mentioning was how awesome Katie did on the slopes. She really got her confidence up in Utah with having so many good days. Well this day out things got even better. She really liked the fresh snow. I think part of it was that if she fell it was not very likely to hurt, so she could be more bold in what she tried. And probably an even bigger part was because the fresh snow was just so fun to snowboard through. 

Katie doing awesome

One of the perks of doing this kind of trip at Granby was that the ski in/out condos were very affordable. This means that when we wanted to take a break or go in for lunch we could just stop back into the condo. Our condo wasn't quite as ski in/out as many other condos in the area, but it was a very short walk across the road. This was especially nice the first day since we were all a little bit damp from being snowed on all morning. So while we ate lunch we could let our gear dry.

Barbie, Blake, and my dad making their way down for lunch.

Katie with me on the lift on our way back up to snowboard more after lunch

Barbie enjoying herself as Blake and my dad get ready for the next run.

Cael and Eli spent most of their day in ski school. But their lessons ended just in time to be able to ski the last hour with us before the slopes closed. Well it would have been a full hour had we not lost track of time. But we did manage to get them out for one run with us and we resolved to be more timely picking them up the next day so we could get in a few more.

Eli taking the lead while Blake helped out Cael

Blake and Cael making their way down.
This was Cael's first time down the non-bunny run. He handled it like a champ.

Cael took a few falls, but it was probably mostly due to the awkwardness of the fresh snow. Most of his falls came after spinning around and riding backwards for a few feet. It may not have been intentional but it was still impressive.

Eli zooming his way down the run. 

Eli and Katie waiting for the group to catch up.

And that was our first day of snowboarding/skiing. I was certainly sad when the lifts closed down. There was so much more untouched snow to explore. But it was nice to head in for the night since we had a whole other day on the slopes ahead of us still. That night Katie, my dad, and I made use of the condo hot tub to soothe our tired and sore muscles. Then after showers we all went out to a BBQ place for dinner. It hit the spot. When we got home we played some games including our favorite game we've talked about before: Hanabi! We even taught Cael how to play. Eli watched and learned and played with us the next day. It was a great way to end a lovely day.