I thought I knew how to snowboard until I moved to Colorado. Growing up in the suburbs of New Orleans, La., I had a leg up on my fellow Southerners, at least. Both of my parents skied in Washington State where I was born, with my dad proposing to my mom by surprising her with an engagement ring in her ski goggles on Christmas 1994. I took snowboarding lessons as a teenager on family trips to Alpental ski resort near Seattle and Park City, Utah.