I fell down on Thursday. A lot. This may come as a surprise to many snow-loving Seattleites but I never learned how to ski or snowboard as a kid. I grew up in a small town in Ohio and while everyone else was hitting the slopes, I was in the gym shooting hoops. I always meant to learn how to ride but as winter came and went through high school and then through college, I never made the time. <br>
Then last winter, my whole world was flipped upside down. Literally. I invited my then-crush, now-boyfriend on a weekend trip to a mountain in upstate New York. An experienced rider, he quickly taught me the ropes and I fell in love (with the sport and the boy).<br>
Fast forward to Thursday. As an early birthday present, my boyfriend bought me a snowboard and with less than 2 weeks of Seattle living under our belts, we headed east on I-90 to The Summit at Snoqualmie. The drive from Seattle is under an hour, making it an ideal location if you don’t have the time to go far. Although we bought lift tickets for a full-day adventure ($61/ticket), the resort offers a night pass option for only $38, which is perfect if you can sneak out of work a little early. Night tickets go on sale at 4PM and the lifts shut down at 10. <br>
We snowboarded on Central Mountain but there are a series of mountains belonging to the resort so be sure to check the website for different hours, activities and skill levels. I can attest that the bunny hill section of the Central Mountain is perfect for beginners. I wasn’t the only one falling all over myself, which was comforting. My boyfriend and a few friends tried their luck on some of the more challenging courses and were happy with the difficulty level.<br>
The main lodge is no frills: wooden tables with benches and a decent selection of food. Be warned though – I paid over $6 for a baked potato! My suggestion would be to pack a lunch if you’re staying long enough to build up an appetite and limit your use of the lodge to hot cocoa and espresso. (Sidenote: Only the Timberhouse Cafe was open when I visited but the resort has a wide range of dining options on the different mountains.)<br>
Other than the fact that I still can’t lift my arms over my head today, I definitely recommend giving snowboarding a shot. At the very least, it’s a much more exciting and vigorous workout than the treadmill down at Gold’s.