Exploration

Mark curved his snowboard sharply to the right and lifted his toes, pushing up the snow beneath him to slow himself down to a stop. He was maybe two thirds of the way down the mountain, but he had seen something on the way down that he wanted to take a closer look at. Slowly, he lowered his toes and settled his snowboard into the snow, ensuring that it would slip out from under him and send him careening down the mountain while he wasn't in control, before he pulled his pack off of his back. It was filled with a few essentials - first aid supplies, board wax, an extra pair of gloves and goggles, and most importantly for the moment, a pair of binoculars.

Mark was a backroad boarder, as he liked to call it. He wasn't a fan of taking the predetermined paths that ski resorts supplied him - even the double black diamonds had long since lost his interest. They were too... compact. Formed. He wanted something more natural, something wilder. He'd been a great boarder, competed in a few competitions that had earned him some rep and money, but even knowing that he had beaten other boarders in both speed and technique wasn't satisfying him. He wasn't interested in being the best. He just wanted to get out there.

It had started after he had accidentally taken a wrong turn on one of his runs, which had sent him deep into the wilds of the mountain, with uncontrolled drops and incredibly soft, powdery snow, that was only able to support him as he carved over it thanks to the speed with which he did so. He had weaved in between trees and over rocks, feeling his life expectancy dropping with the danger he was navigating, but reaching the bottom of the mountain he was still able to find a safe place to get back to the base. And when he looked back at where he had come from, he felt a thrill in his chest that he'd never experienced before.

Looking up the mountain he had come down with his binoculars, Mark searched for the spot he had thought he'd seen. Riding mountains like this was not only dangerous business for himself, but for those who helped him - without lift chairs to carry him, Mark needed to be helicoptered up to safe drop points. He was sponsored for the rides, and he knew the transport was paid well, but he wasn't satisfied with being dropped at the same point over and over again. So when he was out riding, he kept an eye out for new drop points - places that would be both exciting, and safe.

He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket when he spotted it again, and made a note of its location. He'd had practice - he was pretty good at taking notes so that he would later be able to find the spot on the map. It wouldn't be a long drop, but it would be exciting. And sometimes, that was all he needed.