Then maybe you shouldn't fall so friggin' hard that you knock the wind out of yourself.
Rene and I accompanied Nat and a couple other buddies on a trip to Breckenridge this past Saturday for some snowboarding and....deep breathing.
The trip up to the high country was somewhat eventful this time mainly due to the constant snowfall we were experiencing from about 7000 ft and up. The roads were not necessarily bad per se, but bad enough to witness this in the east-bound lane.
Luckily it didn't seem as though anyone had been injured...and like most moderately-sane-minded individuals I slowed down the speed for the remainder of our commute.
Once we got there we were treated with fresh snow which kept falling the entire time in waves varying from light showers to full-on dumping. The brief commentary is spot-on.
Rene prepared to battle the elements
Rene in action
After a good number of runs it was time to head back. As we made our way down the final descent I soon realized that the mountain was ready to fight me. I was tired, the light was flat due to cloud cover, and I was enjoying my crash-free day to the point where I lost concentration and caught my toe-edge on a small pile of snow. I was moving along at a quick enough pace that when the edge dug into the snow I flew, an olympic-caliber distance, down the hill head first. I got my arms tucked in just soon enough to land on my shoulder which shoved my right arm so hard into my side that it knocked the wind out of me. I sat there gasping and laughing as best as my oxygen-free lungs could allow. Rene came up behind me and asked if I was ok.. and man do I wish I had this recorded: "I...heeeeehhh, kno-uuuhhh-cked the... wheeeuuu... wind...uhhhhhffeeehh... out of....eeehhhhff...I'm ok."
On our way home we noticed some people out on Lake Dillon with
power kites. These types of kites, even in 15mph winds, will develop enough pulling force to drag you across the ground. I was awesome to watch people being drug (on their feet) across the lake...
