"Why we ski" - powder magazine

[bounceswoosh]

https://www.powder.com/stories/why-do-we-ski/#DrX6V1qRj7jOiEdv.97

"Mountain air, the smell of hot wax, the sound of cables on lift towers, laughing with friends, laughing at friends, testing your limits or just cruising and not testing anything at all, caring more about weather than you ever thought possible, sacrificing comfort, security, and relationships just to furrow fields of snowfall for no practical reason whatsoever."

 

[ski diva]

This is great. Why do YOU ski, Divas?

 

[jellyflake]

Haha, like it!

Sorry, @ski diva, no time to answer. I have to get up to catch the first lift!

 

[SkiBilly]

It's a sensory overload. The sights, sounds and feel of whizzing down the slopes is awesome. It's a thrilling challenge that scares and delights me. Sometimes it makes me suck it up and curse, and other times, whoop and giggle at the sheer joy of sliding down a mountainside. I just LOVE, LOVE , LOVE it!

 

[alicie]

Because it's something I've always done and it's feel weird if I no longer did it at all. It's also quite fun. And I love walking in ski boots (apart from stairs).

 

[SallyCat]

@SkiBilly can't improve on that perfect description!

I like also that it requires enough concentration to crowd out daily work/life worries and stress.

 

[Divegirl]

As a kid, I was desperate to ski, knew I'd love it, why - I have no idea. Tried it age 25 - loved it - love the snow, the cold, being outside. Skiing seemed to come "natural" to me, instinctive at times. Now I find it is a huge stress outlet for me - I take everything out on the mountain. For some reason, skiing puts the biggest smile on my face even more than diving.

 

[ski_hat]

It's a meditation for me. When I'm on the slopes, it's just me and the mountain. The only two thoughts in my head become a mantra: get to the bottom, don't fall down. Get to the bottom, don't fall down.

Add the exhilaration of going super fast, and it's simply the greatest.

Better than drugs, imo. :-)

 

[heather matthews]

To my eternal shame I think that I am more in the moment when I ski than at any other point of my life.Amidst all the noise and confusion that life can bring skiing for me has a quiet simplicity(even though it's actually a very complex thing).It makes me smile and has given me so much.

 

[JacksonJoanne]

To my eternal shame I think that I am more in the moment when I ski than at any other point of my life.Amidst all the noise and confusion that life can bring skiing for me has a quiet simplicity(even though it's actually a very complex thing).It makes me smile and has given me so much.

I agree. As soon as my mind wanders and I'm not in the moment I find myself on my face! My usual response is to laugh and chastise myself.

 

[newboots]

@heather matthews No shame! I think, as @JacksonJoanne pointed out, if one is not in the moment there is immediate feedback. Few activities in life help keep us mindful like that.

 

[heather matthews]

@heather matthews No shame! I think, as @JacksonJoanne pointed out, if one is not in the moment there is immediate feedback. Few activities in life help keep us mindful like that.

I think I feel a little bad because I know that the being in the moment that skiing brings is something that should be(but often isnt) a bigger part of the rest of my life.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I don't know if it's association or what, but it's not just skiing for me. Even when I can't ski, walking in the snow, or seeing the snow from the comfort of the indoors, makes me so happy ... like I'm a little kid experiencing it for the first time.

 

[Kimmyt]

Because its one of the few things I'm decent at!

 

[SkiBilly]

I don't know if it's association or what, but it's not just skiing for me. Even when I can't ski, walking in the snow, or seeing the snow from the comfort of the indoors, makes me so happy ... like I'm a little kid experiencing it for the first time.

Yes, me too. It's such pure joy! I think joy is such the best word to describe being in the snow. I agree about just being in the snow, in the mountains, seeing and being in the snowfall, seeing the the little sparkles in the snow, watching the skiers or the view out the window while having a coffee or lunch...the whole shebang. We usually go for a trail walk every afternoon after skiing and then get in the hot tub.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Joy. That's exactly it.

 

[newboots]

I think I feel a little bad because I know that the being in the moment that skiing brings is something that should be(but often isnt) a bigger part of the rest of my life.

Good practice for the rest of our lives. I am an utter beginner at skiing, but I've already noticed how important it is to pay attention! There are a few other activities where I stay in the moment, and I try to translate that to other areas of my life where I'm not as mindful.

 

[newboots]

Yes, me too. It's such pure joy! I think joy is such the best word to describe being in the snow. I agree about just being in the snow, in the mountains, seeing and being in the snowfall, seeing the the little sparkles in the snow, watching the skiers or the view out the window while having a coffee or lunch...the whole shebang. We usually go for a trail walk every afternoon after skiing and then get in the hot tub.

I love new snow; often I even love to shovel it. (Not always.) I am good at driving in it (I lived in Vermont during college; plenty of practice). So it doesn't hold the fear and loathing that so many other people seem to feel about it. I love the first snowfall of the year, I love a white Christmas, and I love when new snow blankets the gray and sad snow that's been around for awhile.

Especially, I love the near-silence of being in the woods while it's snowing.

I think choosing skiing was a good plan!

 

[Christy]

The NY Times devoted their magazine to the Winter Olympics last Sunday, and I think this article has a lovely answer to why we do winter sports. It's a great essay in general, with a surprise ending.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/31/magazine/winter-olympics-cross-country-skiing.html

Every winter sport is — in addition to being an inspiring triumph of elegant majesty — also a total hassle. It is not easy to convert your soft, frail, squishy, warm human body into something that can survive in the hard world of frozen water. It requires all kinds of logistics: fitting, strapping, buckling, bundling, clomping, shivering. But the effort is worth it, because the frozen water unlocks superpowers we would never otherwise have. It allows us to glide, slide, soar, whoosh and hurtle. Skiers go flying over moguls at 75 m.p.h. Speedskaters shoot over the ice, leaning and pumping, weaving through competitors. The payoff for the ridiculous logistical nightmare is the gift of fluid speed.

 

[Christy]

The whole issue is really good--I learned a lot about some of the other sports.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...lacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront#issue-overview