Joanna Fletcher

Sloping off to train harder

Next February myself and five friends will be travelling to a small resort near Florence, Italy, for a snowboarding holiday.

The only problem is I’m still learning to snowboard, while the rest of the party have either been ‘riding’ for years or have picked up the art a lot quicker than I have.

I’ve had four lessons so far from a tolerant, patient friend at the dry ski slope in Brentwood, Essex.

One problem I do have is staying calm when the board begins to pick up speed.

Another issue is that I’m stubborn and become frustrated with myself if I don’t see any progress instantly.

I can, however, get from the top of the slope to the bottom, albeit slowly, without falling on my face – which is always a bonus.

My goal is to be able to snowboard before the six of us jet off to Italy in February.

Specifically, I need to be able to link turn, which is riding down the slope in a S shape to help avoid obstacles on the mountain such as rocks and small children.

So, over the next three months I will keep you updated with the number of bruises and tantrums it takes me to reach the target of linking turns before Christmas.