This past Sunday I enjoyed my second day on the slopes this season with the same group that headed up two weekends ago.  This time we decided to check out Breckenridge.  The snow wasn’t as good as we had at Keystone on our first day, but it was still pretty good in spots.  Down low on the mountain there wasn’t much snow and even the groomers got pretty rough toward the end of our day.  However, Rob and I found some good snow up higher on peaks seven and eight.  In order to reach these slopes, I had to conquer the t-bar.

I had never tried the t-bar prior to Sunday, but have had my share of falls on rope tows and a platter lift at Vail.  Before hopping on the t-bar I sat just above it and watched other snowboarders use it so I got an idea of what to do.  Though the t-bar can accommodate two people at once, the first time up I decided to do it on my own.  Just before grabbing the pole, I asked the lift attendant for any advice and he told me to stand up.  I chuckled quickly before it was time to grab on and go.  I surprised myself by not falling down right away.  After a quarter of the way up my arms began to ache and I struggled to keep the t-bar parallel to the ground.  It was at that point I realized that I had the bar too high and I moved it down lower under my butt.  The remainder of the ride went smoothly.

At the top we enjoyed some of the best snow we had seen all day.  Once back at the bottom I knew it was time to ride the t-bar again.  This time I decided that Rob and I should easily be able to catch a lift together.  While waiting our turn Rob let me know that he had never ridden the t-bar with a snowboarder before.  I think he was a little nervous too.  Again I had no problems catching the bar and starting up the hill.  In fact, this ride was even easier than the first time.  Not only was the bar in the correct position the whole time, I didn’t have to use my right arm to try to keep the bar parallel to the ground.  It was a great success!  I look forward to many more rides up the t-bar in the future.