Back on the 'board at Baldy

Thanks to the El Nino weather, the slopes and lifts were still operational last weekend -- so I decided to get back on the horse again and give one final go at snowboarding before the thaw, hopefully ending my season on a good note and not with the painful memories of a swollen and bruised bum from Mammothing.

Since Groupon offered reduced price lift tickets for Mt. Baldy, that's where I went. And I was surprised by the quality of the snow for late April, not nearly as slushy/icy/compacted as I would've expected -- though that could've been attributed to the recent storms that probably laid down some fresh powder.

And I definitely love how uncrowded this mountain is, definitely a great place to learn without worries of being run over or barked at by the more experienced.

As for the run itself, I finally re-taught myself how to link turns and carve (albeit with all the grace and speed of a turkey.) And I still took a few tumbles and falls but they're nowhere as hard as ones at Mammoth. But at least I ended this season on a positive note.

Let's see how much I retain come next season . . . in the meantime, I'm definitely looking forward to hitting those end-of-season sales for some protective padded gear and, if the prices are good enough, my own board and bindings!