It was Saturday morning, the race to get the car packed up and head to the mountain started at about 8AM. I look everything over before shutting the trunk, looks good, “we got everything” I told my girlfriend, so we take off. Three hours later in the parking lot, I’m gearing up to head on out and guess what, I didn’t pack my good jacket. I figure I can survive with my skimpy fleece, my girlfriend thinks otherwise.  I end up heading to the pro shop and luck out on a deal for a Mount Washington branded outer shell - $80 tax in. Better then dropping $450 on a resort-priced name brand.

Sixty or so minutes later, we’re waiting inside for my little cousin to get her rental gear on. I go outside to catch some fresh air and guess what. My board is gone.  With brand new Forum 1.8 bindings I got Thursday afternoon to test out (these toe caps are much nicer and better built, more on them later).

I feel like the world is closing in on me, what else can go wrong. Just let me get up on the mountain, please. Is there a snow god watching, help me for crying out loud. I file a report with security, they say clueless renters sometimes grab any board they see, and hit the slopes. I think this rental kid will get a run for his money, considering I just put those new bindings on and waxed her all up earlier in the week. The security guy Ron is completely compassionate with my unfortunate turn of events, especially after I tell him my jacket story, so he gives me a free rental board since I just got there and didn’t even have a chance to do one run. I decide to go back outside and have a look around. I recognize a couple that has been standing there the entire time, so I ask them if they saw someone walk off with a board from here earlier? They laugh, “Actually someone knocked a board over here and it shot down the hill so fast no one could catch it. Was it orange and green?” That’s my board I say. I head down the hill and find it sitting nicely, guarded by the chair lift crew.

The moral of this story is.. who knows.. But things happen for any reason and no reason, these things helped me enjoy the time so much more once I finally got to hit my first run down. It seemed that everything was trying to stop me, but I kept fighting and going strong, not losing hope, and the snow gods came through in the end, and we watched the horizon of snow capped mountains, trees and puffy white clouds together.