Winging the pond skim

I decided to try snowboarding across the Blue Mountain pond skim this year. I made it on skis last year. Adding the wing was an new variable.

A little GIF of my adventure

The pond skim had already been postponed by a week due to weather. April 5th was the new date and then our area was hit by an ice storm that meant the ski lifts had no power. I waffled all morning about whether I would really hike up the hill with a wing in a backpack to do the skim.

I finally got myself to the hill and hiked up. The other participants were curious as I pulled the Duotone Unit 4m wing from its pack and started pumping it up. We all chatted about strategies for getting across the pond and also windsurfing, foiling and my school the Launch Pad Windsurf & Foil Academy.

I got to the front of the line and the starter radioed down… “We have a guy with a kite or something, is that ok?” Silence on the radio then “What?” I interjected “It’s an inflatable wing shaped floatation device!”

Then the organizer radioed from below “What’s your plan dude?” I replied “To go slowly and then fall gently into the pool”. Two seconds later the reply “Hell ya, go for it.”

So I went for it. Unfortunately I haven’t winged on a snowboard before and lost my balance half way down. I recovered quickly and then went straight to the jump at the front of the pool. I hovered briefly before splashdown and then running out of speed. The water was refreshing after getting my heart up to 130 on the hike up and my heart rate hit 140 on my down.

The crowd was cheering and the safety team helped me get out of the pool quickly. I was greeted by my wife and Len and Timo. They (and thanks as well to neighbour Dan) got some great video.

Thanks @duotone for the great wing. And @NorthLine Sports for recommending that Never Summer snowboard! Still waiting to hear from @BlueMountain whether I was the oldest pond skimmer at 60 years old? What a great event.

I'm looking forward to a good summer season sharing the stoke for wing adventures with my students.