I Only Meant to Praise

So Christian and I were skiing/snowboarding (respectively) today. It was kinda icy and windy. We're in a chairlift when we see below us a guy on a snowboard. He was going over some really tough terrain -- moguls and drops and stuff -- and doing a great job. Christian and I were look "whoa! Check that out! He's handling that stuff really well."

So I wanted to give him a little cheering on. From the chairlift, looking down, I shouted "looking good!"

Immediately I regretted it. There is nothing you can say in .5 seconds from a chairlift to someone below that does not sound snarky and sarcastic. I went over a few other phrases that I could have shouted instead:

"good job!"

"awesome!"

"way to go!"

"props!"

All of them sounded equally sarcastic and frankly, even mean.

Then I thought about the snowboarder: picking his way down some tough icy terrain and then getting a sarcastic heckle from above. I hope he knew I meant it in the nicest, most sincere way possible and that it didn't ruin his day.