An Epic ski book

[ski diva]

Anyone who frequents EpicSki.com knows of ssh, otherwise known as Stephen Hultquist. Steve's the Epic site administrator, and works part time at Copper Mountain in Colorado as an instructor and Over the Hill Gang guide.

Now Steve has a book out about skiing called "Open Your Heart with Skiing: Mastering Life Through Love of the Turns." In the book, Steve not only teaches skiers how to improve their skiing; he also teaches skiers and non-skiers alike how to face their lives and see their experiences in a new way.

Here's a description from Deb Armstrong, Olympic Gold Medalist, U.S. Ski Team member, and Professional Ski Instruction Association Alpine Team member:

"Skiing offers challenges for all of us, from Olympic medalists to the novice taking her first hesitant slides down freshly groomed snow. Skiing also helps us to see more about ourselves than we might otherwise know. In this book, Steve shows us some ways of finding those connections and expanding our joy in skiing and in life. Read it and strengthen your experiences."

You might want to check it out. I skied with Steve at Steamboat this past season, and he's a great guy and a terrific skier. And he really knows his stuff.

Here's a link to the book at Amazon. If you use it to order the book, you'll benefit TheSkiDiva.com, too (that's our affiliate link).

 

[NannyMin]

I couldn't get the link to work :-(

 

[ski diva]

Thanks for letting me know! I'll fix it and let you know when it's working.

 

[ski diva]

Fixed! Sorry bout that!

 

[NannyMin]

Fixed! Sorry bout that!

Thanks!

 

[ski diva]

Here's an excerpt from Steve's book, chapter one:

The sky was Colorado blue, the air alive with crystalline sparkles appearing from nowhere. The sun awoke magic dancing stars across the untouched snow, and Linda gasped at the view across Union Bowl toward Tucker Mountain and the Ten Mile Range beyond.

I smiled. This is going to be good, I thought, as the rest of the group spread out across a section of Union Bowl under the Sierra chair. It was a perfect morning. It had snowed overnight, but the day had dawned clear and bright. It was cold enough that the snow was light and dry, a perfect powder day.

I scanned across the slope below us and saw a section of untracked powder just waiting for us. I motioned to Linda, smiled, and dropped in. As I sank in to the first turn, I knew just how good this was going to be; I didn't hit bottom. A second turn, then a third, linking a dozen turns in the deep, seemingly bottomless snow; feeling the dance of mountain, snow, sun, skis, and skier. The sensations are impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced them, and impossible to forget once you have.

As I turned to look uphill, Linda skied up, a broad smile lighting her face and amazement in her eyes. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "I've never skied anything like that before! All I did was follow you in your line . . . the snow . . . the powder . . . oh, my!" She stood in speechless wonder, staring up at the mountain and reliving it. She told the story the rest of the day as we continued our search for powder, finding some in the stashes that the locals know, looking for more of that elusive sensation that keeps us coming back for more. That night, over an excellent Italian dinner, four of us laughed together and recalled the day with a joyful reverence. That's skiing.

Think back to an ah-ha moment in your life: a time when you discovered a new truth, connected with the Spirit, moved somehow beyond where you had been before so your life was never the same again. Sometimes you seek to recapture that same experience, only to be disappointed: It seems to move just ahead of your reach. You can't quite reach it again until you let go of the striving and allow the discovery to happen again on its own.

 

[Ski Spirit]

I ordered it and am anxiously awaiting its arrival!