So what have you missed this season?

[ski diva]

@ski skuhl 's post in this thread made me wonder: the season is starting to wind down (that is, the end is closer than the beginning), so how'd it work out for you? What did you miss from a "normal" season -- that is, presuming you missed anything at all?

I've missed a lot of the social aspects of skiing:

• Riding on the chairlift with friends. I've been riding up alone or with my husband all season, and occasionally, with friends if we can be space out enough.

• Riding up the chairlift with strangers. Sometimes you can have a nice chat or you can find startling connections. One time I got on the chair with my old sailing instructor, who I hadn't seen since I was 14.

• Booting up in the lodge in the morning (I don't know about you, but I HATE booting up in the car), not only because it's easier, but because of the socializing I like to do before I head out to ski;

• Taking a mid-morning break for a hot drink in the lodge, both to warm up and again, for socializing;

• Taking off my boots in the lodge at the end of the day. Doing it at the car is Such. A. Pain.

• Diva West and Diva East! As you know, we had to cancel both this year. I miss seeing you Ski Divas! We've always had so much fun, and it was sad we couldn't do it again this year.

So what about you?

 

[contesstant]

I've missed hanging out in the lodge to eat and have a beer with friends.
I WON'T miss the Covid-induced lift lines.

 

[Tvan]

I missed you! I missed skiing with all of you!

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I miss being able to boot up in the lodge. I like being able to leave my bag inside so that my extra layers etc stay warm. I don't hate booting up at the car as much as I thought I would, but I still prefer the lodge experience. Mostly I don't like doing all the extra walking in my boots (not because I have too much against walking in ski boots but because I can't help think it's just serving to pack down the liner faster).

Also miss being able to go into the lodge to just warm up for a bit. My hands and especially feet run cold so on a very cold day it's either back to the car or I'm done skiing earlier than I would like to be.

 

[Jilly]

@ski diva you beat me to it. I was thinking about the same thing.

1. Coffee breaks, lunch breaks with friends in the lodge.
2. Apres drinks with friends.
3. Company at the condo.
4. Dinner out!

But then again, I'm missing most of this at home too.

 

[newboots]

I missed skiing in Vermont! Since I moved, the travel restrictions made going to my preferred mountain (Okemo) out of reach. This meant no skiing with @Abbi or Mr. Blizzard, and no running into other friends or even just familiar faces at Okemo or Killington. And I missed skiing certain trails that I used to gauge my improvement season after season. I’ve definitely improved this year, but I’d love to ski Bittersweet at Killington and find it easy. Or my nemesis, Skyeburst!

I missed skiing close to home - the Catskill mountains are all over an hour away. Combined with unrelenting PT and OT appointments, this meant I skied much less this year.

I have had some great ski lift conversations with strangers, but I missed many others while riding alone. I don’t love a crowded ski lodge, but there’s something comforting about booting up early on weekdays at our usual table, surrounded by the others in the Medicare crowd booting up at theirs! Not friends, but acquaintances you nod to and discuss conditions with. Or even just the weather.

I missed the Bacon Bloody Marys at Killington. A drink with enough vegetables (celery, olives, stuffed pepper) and other food to call it lunch! Sometimes I’d get it with vodka. I miss ordering from the bartender who remembers your face.

I missed the women’s workshops and ski days at Suicide Six and Sunapee.

There have been new mountains and trails, great meetups with Divas, and free lessons with the Hudson Valley Ski Club, so the news isn’t all bad. And plenty of snow this year. Yay!

 

[liquidfeet]

My whole life shrank. I missed normal life. Still missing it.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Skiing, period.

An old, persistent injury (improving?) and the pandemic conspired to make me give it up - until, possibly/hopefully, late March (2 weeks post-vaccine #2).

In November, I rolled over my pass until next year. I have other ski area options. Maybe late March...

I hate to break a 45 year record of not missing a ski season!!

There have been sufficient distractions: we have demo’d and are redoing a finished room in the basement. Many decisions, much grunt work.

Still...<sigh>

 

[ski skuhl]

I missed you! I missed skiing with all of you!

I don't know you in person and I love the sentiment of this post. Instead of missing you, I'm looking forward to meeting you.

 

[ski skuhl]

• Riding on the chairlift with friends. I've been riding up alone or with my husband all season, and occasionally, with friends if we can be space out enough.

• Riding up the chairlift with strangers. Sometimes you can have a nice chat or you can find startling connections. One time I got on the chair with my old sailing instructor, who I hadn't seen since I was 14.

Yes - riding the chairlift with someone other than ourselves and immediate family!
Love your sailing instructor story. A woman I met on the quad became the renter of our in law apartment, has been a fabulous years long friendship.

 

[liquidfeet]

My whole life shrank. I missed normal life. Still missing it.

OK, I was in a dreary mood when I wrote that.

Here's a list of what I miss. This list matches what I am looking forward to reclaiming in a couple of months.
--grocery stores (haven't been in one since last March 1... I am so tired of Instacart ordering)
--pharmacies, convenience stores, home depot and the like (same, haven't been in one, but online ordering is OKish)
--restaurants (haven't been in one since March 1)
--take-out food (did this once, won't do it again)
--indoor time with friends, meals, book club meetings, garden club meetings, trips to museums and lectures and so on (haven't done any of these since last March 1 ... this self-quarantine has been very lonely)
--going skiing, parking in the snowy lot, walking through the crowded ski lodge, standing in the lift line, riding the chair, and the actual skiing ... I miss it all
--teaching ski lessons, seeing the progress of my students, talking with them on the chair, enjoying their progress and delight
--my weekly 3 hour drive north to camp out in a rented condo near the mountain where I teach (yes, I love to drive)
--the locker room at the ski resort where I work, and the camaraderie there with fellow instructors (my closest buddie died on a ventilator this summer)
--visits with my two grown daughters, either here or at their homes in cities far away (haven't seen them in person since Christmas 2019)
--watching my young grandchildren grow a year older, seeing them in person (they live down south)
--looking forward to anything in the future that holds promise and which fills me with enthusiasm (haven't felt that since before last March 1; looking to the future has been filled with caution bordering on dread since then)

Having had the first shot of vaccine, I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That last thing on the list is the most important of all the things I miss. I want to look forward to looking forward again - to all of those things.

 

[tinymoose]

I miss being able to boot up in the comfort and warmth of the lodge. Also, being able to grab warm food and drink at the end of the ski day vs. eating soup in a thermos in my car.

 

[Abbi]

I missed skiing in Vermont! Since I moved, the travel restrictions made going to my preferred mountain (Okemo) out of reach. This meant no skiing with @Abbi or Mr. Blizzard, and no running into other friends or even just familiar faces at Okemo or Killington. And I missed skiing certain trails that I used to gauge my improvement season after season. I’ve definitely improved this year, but I’d love to ski Bittersweet at Killington and find it easy. Or my nemesis, Skyeburst!

I missed the Bacon Bloody Marys at Killington. A drink with enough vegetables (celery, olives, stuffed pepper) and other food to call it lunch! Sometimes I’d get it with vodka. I miss ordering from the bartender who remembers your face!

Those are really amazing Bloody Mary’s! I miss all of those things and skiing with friends and familiar faces, too! @newboots and others.

On the other hand, I saved enough money this year not doing all those things to justify, yes you know who you enablers are, buying a new pair of skis! We had our first dance today and it was definitely wonderful!

I can’t wait to put my boots on in the lodge. And have a place to leave all my stuff that I find I want during the day. And see friends. And the list goes on and on and pretty much matches what I’ve been reading on this thread.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

Oh, how could I forget? I miss traveling to ski. I haven't left Massachusetts since early March 2020. I miss VT, CO and UT.
I hope I will at least feel comfortable skiing in the rest of New England next season--(assuming they will let me in) even if I still don't want to fly. I've turned into a major pessimist about this pandemic--I'd like to feel more optimistic, but I just don't right now.

 

[TeleChica]

Honestly, I miss skiing. I did manage two lovely BC days at Mt. Cardigan, but it's been hard to get to snow and deal with travel restrictions. I also really, really miss Vermont. Oh, so much. I miss the single chair and incredible skiing, lunch in the bar, Lawsons on tap, and the fun vibe of MRG. I miss all of Jay, I miss the adventure of the various gladed trails, the BC in the area, the wild beauty of the Northeast Kingdom, and I miss my ski crew. It's been a tough year.

All that said, I still have my health and my loved ones. So I aim for gratitude.

 

[teppaz]

Yes to all of the above. I missed my trips out West and the lift chats the most. And the coffee at Alta Java at the end of the day.
Only 4 days on snow for me this season, but at least some of them involved meeting @nopoleskier and @Mary Tee so that was great (and so were the conditions upstate NY). Nopoleskier’s form is exquisite and it was a pleasure to eat her dust!

 

[SkiGAP]

Access to lifts. They didn't open in France and Andorra it's been for residents...yes I did a bit of skinning and some snowshoeing but it wasn't the same.

 

[hollyberry]

Every post here had me nodding and wistful. Booting up in the lodge instead of the car, hot chocolate breaks, shopping for new ski stuff, lift line chats with like-minded folks who got up as early as we did to get first turns, traveling to new ski mountains in another state, the list goes on.

What I truly miss is skiing with my grown sons. I really, really miss that the most.

 

[contesstant]

All these things we've all missed, we'll have extra amounts of gratitude for going forward I will say as a mostly introvert, I can get pretty exhausted by lots of socializing and planning social events. I have a renewed energy for those things right about now. (We'll see how long it lasts!) I miss seeing faces, I miss having impromptu drinks with friends, I miss dining out even though I've gone more lately.

 

[former-boarder]

I miss my ski bus; I hope it's back next year. It's a combination of missing my ski bus friends (many of whom are older, retired folks who provide me with inspiration) and having easy transportation every week. I've been driving myself up, but it's a lot harder to get the motivation to go when the weather and snow conditions are not perfect.