Losing my MOJO

[EAVL]

Hi Ladies!
Has anyone else had a season that wasn’t great and it killed your enthusiasm? This is my fifth season and up until this year I have always wanted to get out there early and go all day all the time. Weather conditions didn’t scare me. We are in the mountains every weekend but this year I am feeling like the drive, the crowds, traffic are getting me down. It took a while for our mountains to get good snow coverage here in CO this year so I purposely just let my husband bring our competitive snowboarder up and I stayed home early on. I finally really got going right after Christmas and fell and injured my knee/leg. Took a couple weeks off and have been easing back in however I also had days over the past few weekends where I woke up with a migraine, a GI bug and last weekend stayed home with my youngest who was sick. The powder days seems to keep happening during the week when we have to work and be at home. Our snowboarder is 18 now and other than getting her up here, she doesn’t need us to get her here and there as much as she takes buses, gets rides from teammates. In other words I don’t have to be up and out on the mountain by 8:45 as much. I find myself dropping her off at skier drop off in my jammies when I do give her a ride and then tell myself I will ski after lunch but then it gets windy, colder or I lose all motivation. My husband does his own thing most of the time because he skis way better than me and I have no desire to hit back bowls and waist deep powder like he does. My youngest could sit inside all day if we let her so usually I am the one pepping her up to get out there. I just don’t have the pep this year. The longer it goes on the worse it is! I just got my mountain bike back from the shop all tuned and shocks serviced and I am about to stay home on nice weekends and ride instead. I think I need a girls’ ski weekend (and not my daughters when I say girls) or something. Anyone gotten over this hump?

 

[liquidfeet]

I have had mornings when my get up and go got up and went. Without me.

 

[Jilly]

I think we all go through this, whether it's the whole season, or a month. I decided early this year that this was the year of quality skiing, not quantity. So I don't make 52 days this year...too bad. The days I do ski will be great. We're into a rain cycle right now. I'm not coming back up next weekend as the conditions should be worst than now.

So I hear yah. Maybe a girls weekend away...spa, ski, wine....there's a plan.

 

[kiki]

I get that with golf sometimes.
I find switching things up helps-- a differnt course, a lesson, a tournament, differnt partners...
Maybe try a different part of the mountain, or take a class, or have lunch in a different spot--your brain synapses need change from time to time.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I hear you loud and clear. Actually, demoing some new gear got my motivation up a bit, even though conditions were horrible and my boots are a wreck (thus my waning motivation; boot woes). I'm with @kiki, maybe switch it up with something new...perhaps demo something that interests you?

 

[MrsPlow]

Any way you can get a mid-week ski in? Get away from the crowds a bit?

 

[Tvan]

5 days at the Okemo Women’s Alpine Adventure cured me of my skiing ennui. It was very empowering and lots of fun. That, and a Diva trip!

 

[newboots]

I'm having trouble with motivation too. Last year - my first - I was so eager to learn, and I went every weekend. (I couldn't manage more than one day/weekend very well last year.) I didn't get in good shape before the season, when I was battling a lay-on-the-couch sort of depression for a couple of months. I don't miss work when I feel like this, but I sure do lay about on the weekend.

The r**n hasn't helped, one bit. With the ice there's very little opportunity to hike, either.

Supposed to ski tomorrow; I'll go to bed early!

 

[VickiK]

Feeling a lot of frustration here too. Hang in there.

 

[mustski]

Yup. This is the first year that I didn’t go every weekend. Our no show winter meant that only a little terrain even opened locally. It’s just not interesting enough to suffer a 3.5 hour drive on Friday night.

 

[Christy]

Definitely. We used to go every weekend and the last couple years I've been feeling burnt out on getting up early in the dark on a weekend plus the almost 2 hour drive each way. Case in point there is 2' new snow here and my husband is going tomorrow but I made other plans. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, right? I'm with Jilly about quality vs quantity. I sure do like our Sun Valley vacations where I can sleep in, not see lift lines, etc. And I might get powder flu on Tuesday cough cough when everyone else is back at work. But I don't feel compelled to ski every weekend anymore. Why do it, if you're not feeling it?

 

[EAVL]

Yup. This is the first year that I didn’t go every weekend. Our no show winter meant that only a little terrain even opened locally. It’s just not interesting enough to suffer a 3.5 hour drive on Friday night.

That is how I have been feeling - not worth the 3 hr drive.

 

[EAVL]

Thanks ladies! I am glad it is not just me! I want to want to ski every weekend but totally feeling like the drive on Friday night after work is a drag especially if it is snowing in the mountains. Always wrecks and road closures. Took my husband and oldest 7 hrs when it usually takes 3 one weekend early in the season. When the snow is good and I feel totally into it I can somewhat overlook the driving drama. Today I was on the bunny hill with my youngest so she could practice her snowboarding (she already skis) and she took a hard fall onto her shoulder and I think she may have a broken collarbone! Will find out tomorrow, but here I am again up here with plans to get out there tomorrow morning, a day I took off work for fun, and now I will be at urgent care instead! Then we plan to drive home before the snow gets so bad it makes our drive really awful! Now my husband and I are thinking if she is truly broken she will be out for weeks and we will have to take turns skiing. I am really not this negative but when I think about all the money we paid for our passes and I am not getting my money’s worth I get frustrated. I took my bday off in March to ski and let’s hope that pans out!

 

[vickie]

I have experienced a slump in my skiing since I moved to Portland. Before the move, I envisioned more snow, better conditions, more mileage, improved skills. Failed to deliver. We get a lot of rain and varying degrees of fog. It's hard to ski a mountain you don't know and can't see.

I recently retired and am looking forward to moving, likely to Denver, and getting a fresh re-start on my skiing.

 

[ski diva]

I think everyone goes through this, but I have to add that sometimes the best days are the most unexpected. I've gone over to the mountain thinking 'why am I here, I'm not feeling the love, etc., etc.' and three hours later, it's 'holy cow, what a great day!' But I don't have a big drive -- it's more like five minutes -- so that makes it a lot easier.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

It's not just you. While I haven't experienced that feeling yet with skiing, I have with other sports. Agree, since it's supposed to fun, if you're not feeling it then do something different (either change up your skiing routine or do another activity on the days you just don't feel like skiing).
What about trying another winter hobby? Snowshoeing, XC skiing or something like that--might just be fun to do something different, especially when it's really crowded on the mountain. I don't ski vacation periods specifically because I don't like crowds, so yesterday I went snowshoeing instead.

 

[Abbi]

I'm having trouble with motivation too. Last year - my first - I was so eager to learn, and I went every weekend. (I couldn't manage more than one day/weekend very well last year.) I didn't get in good shape before the season, when I was battling a lay-on-the-couch sort of depression for a couple of months. I don't miss work when I feel like this, but I sure do lay about on the weekend.

The r**n hasn't helped, one bit. With the ice there's very little opportunity to hike, either.

Supposed to ski tomorrow; I'll go to bed early!

How did you feel after today? I am home in Rhode Island but I see Vermont court conditions are iffy at best.

 

[newboots]

How did you feel after today? I am home in Rhode Island but I see Vermont court conditions are iffy at best.

Minor migraine today, and BF is sick. Skipped it! Hoping for some snow after this non-frozen precipitation that's coming.

 

[Abbi]

Oh dear! I hope you both feel better fast! I think all of us in your general region are praying and begging mother nature for snow!

 

[Tvan]

I went Nordic skiing at the town park with DH today and it was really fun. By this afternoon, the snow will be too thin to ski on, but it was fun while it lasted.