Anyone else experience end-of-season depression?

[SnowGlider]

I used to have seasonal depression from October through May. (Whew!) I hated winter, especially the 6-month winters in the East. Learning to ski changed all that several years ago. :-)))))

Now the hard time is March and April, when skiing has finished but it's too early in the East to transition to biking, hiking, and kayaking. I went biking yesterday and came back with my bike caked in mud.

Does anyone else experience a letdown with the end of the ski season? Many people can't identify because they're uplifted by the arrival of spring.

 

[SnowDancer]

you are not alone

SnowGlider,

I prefer winter/colder weather and tend to get annoyed when news anchors and weather forecasters start talking about how it's about time for some warmer weather, how spring is "finally" here, etc. People talk about getting the winter blahs but never seem to give a thought that some of us may get the summer blahs instead! Esepcially when the Northeast doesn't get much of a winter season.

However, the end of the Northeast ski season for me means racing season is about to start. I'm involved in SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) road-racing as both pit crew (my guy drives) and a licensed official, so the two seasons dovetail rather nicely. In fact, tomorrow we will be trailering our race car to its annual safety inspection. But when we're at a race track and it's 100+ degrees - oh how I wish for the slopes!!!

 

[ski now work later]

Yup, I can definately relate to a let down feeling at the end of ski season. :( I don't really have a warm weather sport/activity that I adore or seem to be able to find/make the time for like skiing....

But tomorrow I'm taking my 10 year old to Stratton for our first experience spring skiing and to watch the Vermont Freestyle Open for a bit. She's ready for a bigger hill and Stratton is expecting 6-10 inches tonight and warm temps tomorrow. Then on Wednesday I join my husband and 2 more of our daughters (the 13 year olds) at Smuggler's Notch VT (I've never skiied there before) for another 3 days on snow. And I might go to Stratton on April 8 for the last day of the season/pond skim event. So I'm basically in denial that the season is ending! This year I'm going to join a gym in April and try to keep my fitness level higher to inspire me to try new things. I was horseback riding last year twice monthly, but can't afford it this year (am going to spend what lessons $ I have on my kids).

And there's always next ski season!:D

 

[volklgirl]

Yes and no. I'm finally to the point where I can ski all day without a break and the season will be ending in 2 weeks. :(
However, we've already been out on the bikes 2x this week - on road because all the trails are either still covered in snow or in the middle of their thaw cycle and riding on them will destroy the trails. We'll be road biking and rollerblading until the thaw is finished (usually May), then we'll be beating ourselves up on the trails. Come June/July, I'll be out on the Hobie Cat (sailboat) and windsurfer on hot/windy days when we're not riding. The whole thing repeats itself in reverse until Thanksgiving when we're back on skis.

 

[ski diva]

I definitely have end of season depression. Melting snow, bare spots on the trails, warm temps -- all these give me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hate knowing that once again i'll have months and months stretching out before me before I can go skiing again (didn't I just go through this?????).

Each year I vow to find something I'll enjoy as much as skiing, so I really have to work on that. So far, it hasn't happened, but I'm trying!

 

[SnowGlider]

Yes and no. I'm finally to the point where I can ski all day without a break and the season will be ending in 2 weeks. :(
QUOTE]

My feeling exactly! I just barely worked through my boot, ski, and health issues and had exactly one superb ski day with great conditions and it's over! Almost.

Ski Diva, do you spend the summer in Vermont as well? Aren't there tons of great things to do over there? If not, come to New Hampshire for some great kayaking in our crystal clear lakes and ponds. And hiking and biking.

 

[volklgirl]

Each year I vow to find something I'll enjoy as much as skiing, so I really have to work on that. So far, it hasn't happened, but I'm trying!

Have you tried mountain biking? And I don't mean dirt roads and fire trails.....I mean REAL mountain biking - trails snaking through the woods, around trees, through creeks, over rocks and logs, down hills and scary jumps. Its gives me the same WOW feeling that skiing does and offers many of the same challenges - balance while moving, looking where you want to go, not where you are, and the mental toughness to attack when things get scary . Plus it helps to develop full-body fitness (arms, shoulders, and hands from steering and lifting the bike to clear or jump obstacles, legs from pedaling, and obviously the heart and lungs).

The real trick is just the learning part. You need to find somewhere to go that offers enough challenge to keep it interesting so you don't get bored, but doesn't scare the cr*p out of you so you're afraid to try it again (many men I know take the SO somewhere they love, only to have the SO freak out because it's too scary, and they never want to go again :( ).

 

[ISki]

Yes, I get the blues annually when skiing ends. I miss it. Nothing else compares. At least next season is on the way. :o

 

[SkiMonster]

I'm feeling a little blue about it. There are so many things I still want to work on; and I'll only get one more chance next weekend (this one fell through due to being too busy) if I'm lucky and conditions hold up, to work on things until next year. I'm not ready!!

Ironically; until I learned to ski I HATED winter because I didn't like the cold and dark, and I was a surfer so I wanted warmer more comfortable water/ less wetsuit to deal with. I always liked fall best, because spring was a nasty time of year where I grew up, whereas fall had warm temps & water, and storm surf, without the tourist factor.

Now, I don't get to surf much at all anymore because I had to move away from the beach; it's much easier to go skiing because Mr. SkiMonster (the creator of the 'monster') skis too. So, I'm sad to see the winter go because I don't get the same opportunity to indulge my warm-weather passion these days.

I want to teach him; but everytime we get down to my parents' where my board and all are it goes flat, pretty much, so 3+ years of trying and I still haven't gotten to him.

I'd be thrilled if it got cold again for a few weeks. Besides, that's what wetsuits are for; and no one has yet invented warm-weather snow. :p

ETA - i am def. scared of mountain biking. I'll go inthe woods on small hills, but an actual mountain? My fears of heights/falling/moving downhill go back into full effect. I'd freaked out by the whole, my head is pointing straight downhill, aspect of it. I have respect for anyone who can get past that fear factor; I don't know if I will be able to.

 

[Pequenita]

no one has yet invented warm-weather snow. :p

except for those nutty folks in Dubai that have their biosphere enclosed ski slope. If I remember correctly, they sell 2-hour lift tickets, and there is a 200 ft vertical. :D

 

[dburdenbates]

Yes, yes, yes! I start feeling the blues on the last two or three days of our final ski trip of the season. Then I obsess over figuring out how I can sneak in another trip (which never happens). Not only do I loathe hot weather, but it is SO hot here in Texas, that even if I had a summer sport to ease the skiing jones, it would be pure misery (I remember how miserable it was inline skating in Tennessee in July and July in TN has nothing on August in Texas). I do my best to just bury myself in work and try to ignore the fact that the A/C never cuts off until the next ski season rolls around. :(

 

[skigirl]

I am sorry to say that the only thing that makes me sad when winter goes is the MUD season!!! I have 3 horses and 3 dogs and there is MUD every where!!! I love winter and skiing but it is time for me to trade in my ski boots for my riding boots. The end of winter for me means I can get my hose back out in the barn and I no longer have to lug water buckets. I no longer have beat the ice out of the water buckets either. I will miss skiing but I am ready to ride!!

 

[abc]

Now the hard time is March and April, when skiing has finished but it's too early in the East to transition to biking, hiking, and kayaking. I went biking yesterday and came back with my bike caked in mud.

Does anyone else experience a letdown with the end of the ski season? Many people can't identify because they're uplifted by the arrival of spring.

March is never the end of skiing season. Sometimes even April can be counted on for good skiing. This year being one of such. For those of you who hadn't tried spring skiing, it's the best skiing at all! The sun is out, the snow is soft, and the slope? It's empty! And the lift line? What lift line?

My season kind of ended premuturely due to the accumulation of several minor injuries. But it's still tempting to fit one or two more weekends in. I have to tell myself to take it easier and let the body heals. There's always next season... But it definitely isn't for lack of snow.

Many years, I would go out west in early April and got some really, really nice skiing in. It's never the lack of snow that ends the season there. It's the lack of skiers. It's one thing if you got other activities gearing up so you call it the end. (I do because the whitewater kayak season is right now very much in full swing) But if you really want to ski, you should really just head either up further north or out west where the snow is still deep!

I like the sun and the warmth. I love spring when the flowers bloom. As for skiing? There's always next winter.

Failing that, there's also Chile and Argentina...

 

[volklgirl]

ETA - i am def. scared of mountain biking. I'll go inthe woods on small hills, but an actual mountain? My fears of heights/falling/moving downhill go back into full effect. I'd freaked out by the whole, my head is pointing straight downhill, aspect of it. I have respect for anyone who can get past that fear factor; I don't know if I will be able to.

Just start out slowly on a mostly flat trail. Never let anyone talk you into riding anything you're uncomfortable with. EVERY feature and obstacle can be walked around, under, over, or through. There's several downhills I've carried my bike down and obstacles (like a combination A-frame ladder over a huge log with a 6" wide teeter-totter 2 feet later ) that I walked around the first year (or two :o ). I conqured the downhills 2 years ago and that combo finally happened without a crash last year. When you finally do something like that you get the same 'high' feeling you do skiing something scary for the first time.

I still avoid trails with tons of steep or long climbs. I HATE the uphill parts and I'm not very good at them - but the downhills are soooo worth the pain and agony of the climb.;)

 

[altagirl]

I used to, for sure. But I've been mountain biking for about... 7 years now and honestly, when the skiing conditions drop off, I'm really anxious for my favorite trails to melt off.

So I'm great in spring, fall, and winter. My depression hits in summer. It gets SO HOT you just can't do anything. We often get a stretch of a week, to a few weeks of 100+ degree heat and I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT. There's no degree of cold that's ever kept me inside, but the heat does it. I get unbelievable migraines from the heat and sun. We travel in the summer to higher elevation to try and escape it a bit, but it still bums me out.

So as much as I love mountain biking (a good full suspension bike on a good fast twisty trail with some drops and roots and such is every bit as good as skiing), the temperatures don't suit me as well.

Volklgirl - I used to REALLY hate to climb too. We race DH mountain bikes, mostly because I hated climbing so much and it was a good excuse to ride the lifts in summer a lot. But the more I do it, the better I get at climbing and I'm enjoying the XC side of biking more and more. Spin class has been helping as well.

The only problem I have with spring is that there aren't enough hours in the day. Today I went mountain biking in the morning and skiing in the afternoon, and I just wish I had more time. I want to go on longer rides, ride my motorcycle, ski more...

 

[ski diva]

So I'm going up the lift this morning, and I notice that the trees are getting that reddish hue they get when the buds are emerging. And I hear birds tweeting. And the stream below the lift is rushing with snow melt. And there are bare spots expanding on the trails.

This is not good.

 

[SnowGlider]

You see! The rest of the world is perking up at those signs of new life, while skiers are down in the dumps.

Today I answered my question, "What are the redeeming qualities of spring skiing?" Answer: None. Unless you have wax on your skis. I actually had to walk down a hill because my skis wouldn't move. They stuck like glue. Thank God I was on one of the lower hills. People were leaving the mountain in disgust by 10:30 a.m. Now it's raining.

I fear it's time to bid good-bye to skiing for this season.

 

[persee]

mememe! I haven't skiied nearly enough and I fear my season is done already :(

In the few times I was out I made some great new strides and I'm really frustrated to not be furthering them :(

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE mothernature send northern NH a big winter storm on April 10th or 12th?????!

I just want one more day on a mountain this year....


The other sad part about winter ending, is not only do I lose my skiing, it means it is time to tend to the yard, for which there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. especially in spring.:mad:

 

[Little Lightning]

On the other hand, I stayed home yesterday instead of skiing to get some work done in the yard. It rained on Sat and the ground is really wet so I could get the border around the flower bed in that I've been trying to do for a year. Last winter we watered grass in Jan and Feb. because it was such a dry winter.

My last Women's Wed. class is this week so skiing is given. However, I need to start training for Ride the Rockies, a 400+ mile bike ride in mid June. I'm getting anxious because I've only ridden 10 miles since Thanksgiving. 2 mos of training isn't much so I'm worrying that I won't be ready. Next week a friend from Tenn. is coming so I'm skiing for another 2 weeks then I done! Time for spring, bicycling and warm weather.

Kathi

 

[Greeley]

I don't usually get depressed at the end of the season since I usually come back from Snowmass in early April and start waterskiing the next week (drysuit time). In fact some of our crazy friends were out waterskiing yesterday. I think the ice just went out last week.
I usually get depressed about mid-October when I have to put the waterski away and won't be able to snow ski until mid-December or later.