My name is Sean Blair and I am 33 years old; I love snowboarding, skateboarding, biking, fishing, and just about anything outside. Although I love many outdoor sports, I am going to relate my first experience snowboarding.
I started on Pajarito Mountain in Los Alamos, NM. My friend Simon and I decided we wanted to take skateboarding to the snow. I had heard about snowboarding through my brother, Tom and wanted to give it a try. The year was 1988 or ’89, (15 or 16 years old) and my brother was away for a couple years in Scotland, leaving behind a box full of Punk records and an old Burton Cruiser. The board at the time came with a fin, but my brother had removed it for some reason or another. Simon and I took our snowboards up to Pajarito Mountain and hiked all the way to the top of one of the mountains black diamonds. I did not know what to expect. No one really knew what snowboarding was in my home town, let alone, what to where and how to stay warm doing it. Once we reached the top of the run, I cranked the bindings down as tight as they would go on my Hi-Tec hiking boots. Simon and I were off. I carved much like I would on a skateboard if taking on a downhill speed run. The board was awesome and responded to each movement I made. I fell a couple times, but did not care how much snow was packed in my ears or in my nostrils; I had found a passion in the snow when the snow made skating impossible. As I carved down the mountain, I found myself wanting to get air. Simon and I built a jump halfway down the run and took our new found love to the air. We made the jump, much like a launch ramp from skateboarding, but with less tranny. We were in heaven; jumping and hiking back up to our runway. We had so much fun and completely lost track of time. Before we knew it, darkness was beginning to set in and our day was almost over. After a couple more method airs, Simon and I headed down the mountain and to our homes in the dark.
I will never forget that day and what door was opened up on my life. I am now 33 years old, stuck in a cubicle, and dreaming of the simple days of hiking in an old pair of hiking boots to strap in and rock the powder. I have never stopped snowboarding since that day and never will. I rock with Legion and invite every willing and able soul to keep your youth alive through the simple pleasures we forget all too easily.
-Sean
I started on Pajarito Mountain in Los Alamos, NM. My friend Simon and I decided we wanted to take skateboarding to the snow. I had heard about snowboarding through my brother, Tom and wanted to give it a try. The year was 1988 or ’89, (15 or 16 years old) and my brother was away for a couple years in Scotland, leaving behind a box full of Punk records and an old Burton Cruiser. The board at the time came with a fin, but my brother had removed it for some reason or another. Simon and I took our snowboards up to Pajarito Mountain and hiked all the way to the top of one of the mountains black diamonds. I did not know what to expect. No one really knew what snowboarding was in my home town, let alone, what to where and how to stay warm doing it. Once we reached the top of the run, I cranked the bindings down as tight as they would go on my Hi-Tec hiking boots. Simon and I were off. I carved much like I would on a skateboard if taking on a downhill speed run. The board was awesome and responded to each movement I made. I fell a couple times, but did not care how much snow was packed in my ears or in my nostrils; I had found a passion in the snow when the snow made skating impossible. As I carved down the mountain, I found myself wanting to get air. Simon and I built a jump halfway down the run and took our new found love to the air. We made the jump, much like a launch ramp from skateboarding, but with less tranny. We were in heaven; jumping and hiking back up to our runway. We had so much fun and completely lost track of time. Before we knew it, darkness was beginning to set in and our day was almost over. After a couple more method airs, Simon and I headed down the mountain and to our homes in the dark.
I will never forget that day and what door was opened up on my life. I am now 33 years old, stuck in a cubicle, and dreaming of the simple days of hiking in an old pair of hiking boots to strap in and rock the powder. I have never stopped snowboarding since that day and never will. I rock with Legion and invite every willing and able soul to keep your youth alive through the simple pleasures we forget all too easily.
-Sean
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