Even though I was hurt pretty bad the first time I went, I decided to give snowboarding another go. This time we went to France! A mountain called Les Angles just on the other side of the Pyrenees was our destination. Not to toot my own horn, but I really think I’m getting the hang of this! Only one real horror story from this adventure. Since we were all on different levels of snowboarding ability, we decided to all split up and meet for lunch at around noon. Sounds easy enough. Well, I was at the top of the mountain at 11:30 and figured 30 minutes was more than enough time for me to make it to the bottom for some pre-made pb&j still allowing for falling and standing time. I started my run on a green slope and took it surprisingly well so at the next fork I veered off to a blue slope. Again no problem. I cut back and forth all the way to the middle of the mountain when I thought, “Oh look, a red slope! I didn’t see that one on the map. I think I’ll check it out.” So I did and I managed to speed my way all the way to the bottom with 10 minutes to spare. I looked around for the lockers to meet my friends and realized that nothing looked familiar. I checked the huge map at the lift I was next to and realized I was on the other side of the mountain! At this point I was very hungry and very much looking forward to a little breather and some sandwiches. But if I wanted to eat, I had to go back up the mountain and surf down another slope. OK, shouldn’t be a problem. Then I looked at the lift and noticed that it wasn’t a chair lift – it was one of those tow lifts (a nightmare for a beginner snowboarder). I had tried and fallen off of these things about a dozen times. But I had no choice so I got on line, grabbed the pole, and to my amazement, rode up the mountain. Well, actually about 5/6 of the mountain. And then I hit a bump and fell off. So there I was, 5/6 of the way up the mountain sitting on my butt. Now in retrospect, I see that the smartest thing would have been to surf down and try again. But I knew I was very close to the top so I stepped out of my board and attempted to walk up the remaining 1/6. What a mistake! The mountain was so steep that I had to stop and rest every 12 steps and the sun wasn’t making it much easier. I had another one of those reflection moments sitting there and staring over the French Pyrenees. Very beautiful. A little over a half an hour later I finally arrived at the top again – completely exhausted and too late to catch the others for lunch. I strapped on my board and hit the correct slope to take me to the bottom. I guess I was a little too tired from the climb because I wasn’t able to turn as easily as I’d remembered. After not falling nearly as many times as my first excursion, I made up for it all with one huge wipe-out that sent my tumbling for what seemed like an eternity and, two weeks later, I can still feel in my butt. I’m going again in two weeks.