On Saturday, I took Đán and Xuân to Whitetail. I wanted to learn the hop turns on the blue slopes, but they were harder than they look. I could do the toe turns, but I had a bit of a hard time getting the board around on the heel turns. Because of the rain and warm weather, Whitetail closed its double-black diamond. I encouraged Xuân to switch to snowboard. With Đán’s help, the three of us snowboarded down the long green trail. It was a fun day hanging out with my two boys. We left around 1:00 pm so we could attend the Scout party.

Because Đạo had scouting on Saturday, he didn’t go with us. Today he and I went together to Liberty. I started off skiing because I didn’t want him to wait too long for me on snowboard. We hit the double-black slope three times. It felt a bit strange at first to be skiing again. I wanted to ski moguls, but that terrain was closed. The rain and warm weather had washed away all the moguls. After lunch I switched to snowboarding. I also switched my 156-cm Capita to 143-cm Burton. The shorter board made turns easier, but it was less stable. I caught the edge a few times. Still the major issue for me was uncomfortability. I did two runs on the blues and couldn’t snowboard anymore. We headed home at 1:00 pm.

I think the Flow’s step-in bindings were the culprit. I ordered a Rome Snowboards United-G1, which was on sale for $103, to see if this will solve the issue. I am also so attempting to buy the Rossignol Circuit, which is currently on sale for $156.95. I’ll wait for the bindings first before I invest into a board.

After two days of skiing and snowboarding, I am exhausted. Getting old is catching up to me. Snowboarding alone is putting a toll on my body.

I just found the tutorials I have been looking for to snowboard down the steep slopes. Snowboard Dojo Wiz has done an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating the techniques. I am going to work on these in my basement and hopefully I will be able to execute them when I hit the slopes next time.

Đạo participated in rock climbing yesterday; therefore, he couldn’t ski with us. Today he wanted to go to Whitetail. Xuân joined us once again. Unlike yesterday, however, the double black diamond terrain was filled with high moguls. I struggled snowboarding around the moguls because I haven’t nailed down my quick turns. I tried and fell. After two runs, I was exhausted. My legs were burning. We went back down for lunch and took another blue run. Đạo was also tired from rock climbing the day before. After three days snowboarding straight, I couldn’t keep up anything. At 1 pm, we called the day. Despite the warm weather and not ideal condition, we managed to ski and snowboard.

Highlight of today was watching a snowboard patrol maneuvering around the moguls. Her quick turns were so effortless as if she was just hopping around the humps. I wanted to learn her techniques. I am going to start searching for YouTube video to teach me how to ride moguls. I was thinking of taking a private lesson, but I didn’t want to spend $200 for an hour of private lesson. Maybe I’ll try to book group lesson in advance next time or just continue to learn from watching YouTube video.

When I got home today, I gave my snowboard a tune up and a wax. I won’t be back to the mountain at least next Saturday. I need to take some rest.

I took Đán and Xuân to Whitetail. I managed to snowboard down the double black diamond terrain without falling. I did two runs with the kids then went back down for lunch. I drank some wine and went back up myself to do four more runs. I got exhausted. We left Whitetail around 2 pm.

My snowboarding is catching up with my skiing. I am so happy that I am determined to take up snowboarding this year. It is quite a learning experience and the reward is just gratifying. I didn’t think I could pull it off, but the hard work paid off.

I have to give Đán the credit for inspiring me to snowboard. Last year, he just decided to pick up snowboarding instead of skiing. We took a semi-private lesson together. I gave up and went back to skiing. He advanced at snowboarding and he is just so darn good that I have to give it another shot. I want to be young and cool too.

I encouraged him to pick up skiing again. He gave it a shot, but didn’t want to do it. He has gone to the dark side. As for me, I still love to ski. I like them both and don’t have to choose one over the other. I am trying to get Xuân to snowboard, but he is not interested. Because he’s so comfortable and confident on skis, he doesn’t have the patience to relearn snowboarding. He rather skis fast with his cousins and brothers on blues and blacks then being stuck on the greens with a snowboard. I hope he’ll give it a shot in the future.

I’ve always loved skiing down the double black diamond terrains. With short turns, I could control my speed and maneuver around the moguls. I want to get to that level with snowboarding as well.

I went to Liberty all by myself this morning. With the warm weather, the condition was a bit icy. Nevertheless, I went for the double black diamond. The first run, I fell at the top as soon as I tried to turn. I slid head first all the way down. I couldn’t stop myself. Luckily I didn’t steer off the terrain. The second time, I fell at the top, but managed to get up for the second half. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time, I continued to fall. I have yet to master quick turns on snowboarding. I couldn’t get the board to turn around quick enough.

By the seventh time, I decided to ride as wide as I could and find good spots to make my turns. Instead of trying to do quick turns, I let the board go straight down for half a second before I commit my turns. The speed increased, but I managed to bring my board around.

I survived the double black diamond. It was a great learning experience. I am no longer in fear of snowboarding down the steep slope. I still have to practice more to master my quick turns. Once I could snowboard down the double black without falling, I will have accomplished my goal for this winter.

Our family went to Liberty today. I skied with Vương on the green terrains and switched to snowboard on the blues and black. Liberty opened its first double black diamond this season. I attempted to try snowboarding down the double black, but I was not sure if I was ready. In addition, too many ski students were there. I switched back to my skis and went down. I also hit the moguls. It was a nice trip with the family including my wife’s mother, her brother’s, and sister’s families. Back to work and school tomorrow.

Today my wife and I went on a ski date at Liberty. It was nice to go skiing without the kids once in a while. I taught her how to turn and how to fix her skis from pizza to parallel. She is getting there. I also started to learn carving on the green terrains. Carving was the technique that I had wanted to learn on skiing, but I switched to snowboard. My goal is to learn to carve on ski this season. We haven’t had any snow day this year. I am still holding out hope that we will get some snow this winter.

I took Đạo, Đán, and Xuân to Whitetail today. We arrived around 10:30 am and left around 2 pm. I snowboarded first and switched to ski for two runs. Whitetail has big, wide blue terrains, which were great for snowboarding. Whitetail blasted snow guns even when the temperature was warming up. We had a great time together today.

This week, the boys have Thursday and Friday off for student holiday. I took Đạo, Đán, and Xuân to Liberty today. Since today is weekday, the resort was not crowded. All four of us hit the blue terrains without having to wait in line for the lifts.

I worked on short turns with the 156-cm Capita Indoor Survival. The board is a bit taller than me. Turning was a bit harder at first, but quite effective once I could initiate the turns. I am starting to appreciate its sturdiness and stability. I made some great runs today on the blue and black terrains with my sons.

I got my snowboard boots back from Đán. He took over my boots and gave me his crappy rental boots since we both wear the same size. His rental boots hurt my feet so much that I made him exchanged it for another pair. The latest pair seems to work well for him. As for my boots, they helped tremendously with easing the burns. My feet were still uncomfortable in the first few runs, but they were fine afterward. I am still looking into buying a new pair of traditional bindings. That might be more comfortable than the step-in bindings.

After some googling, I learned that the Capita Indoor Survival was released in 2006. Even though it is 17 years old, the board is still in great condition. In retrospect, the board and I meant to be for each other. When the previous owner listed it on Facebook’s Marketplace, I thought it was a 110-cm board for kids. I contacted him to buy for my son, but he said it was definitely not for kids. Since he only asked for $35, I went to check it out. When we met up, the board still looked new. When I rubbed my finger on the bindings, microfibers came off like dusts. In addition, the board was way too tall for me. I declined the sale and walked back to my car. Then I changed my mind and wanted to just get it. At the same time, he drove up to me and said he would sale it for $20 because he just wanted to get rid of it. I smiled at him and handed him a $20 bill and he told me to pick up the board off his truck. Now thinking about it, I should have paid him $35 or $50. It was definitely a steal. I am going to maintain and use this boards for many years to come.

I have been learning to snowboard on the 2008 Burton White Collection (143cm). Other than being uncomfortable on my feet, I am doing fine with it. As I am doing more research, however, I am learning that the board is not appropriate for my weight. I am weighing 156 bls.

Last Saturday, I switched to the 2006 Capita Indoor Survival (156cm). The board is as tall as me. I had trouble with my toe turns. I need more time to readjust to the longer board. Uncomfortability remains an issue for me. Maybe the Flow step-in bindings aren’t good for me. I might need the traditional strap-on bindings.

I didn’t realize that the board is already 17 years old even though it is still in good condition. It is time for me to invest in a new board and bindings since I am digging snowboarding.

My next goal is to learn how to make short turns. Malcolm Moore’s video looks promising. I hope I can pull this one off.