Anyone else suffer from end of season depression?

[ski diva]

I know that some of you are still skiing. I'm not. Haven't for a couple weeks. :(

The end of the season is tough for me, perhaps because skiing occupies such a large part of my life during the winter. I'm either skiing, working at a ski shop, or tending to the forum (which, again, is more ski stuff). So now two out of three are gone, and I'm somewhat at loose ends.

I know, I need to find something else that'll get me through the off season. And I do have other stuff to do: biking, swimming, hiking, etc. And I have to write the next Ski Diva mystery. Still, nothing does it for me the way that skiing does. My husband says it's like there's a chemical switch in my brain that goes off when I go skiing. Maybe so.

Who else feels like this?

 

[altagirl]

I definitely used to but now that "chemical switch" is turned on more by biking than skiing. It definitely took a while before that kicked in, but I distinctly remember taking my DH bike down a twisty, swoopy trail and announcing that "that was just as fun as a powder day... maybe more because I can go do it again and it won't be tracked out!"

I think it's any sport/activity where I can combine an adrenaline rush with being "in the zone" - where I've gotten good enough at it that I can turn my brain off and flow through what I'm doing and it just feels GOOD. That mental state is the high and I even started feeling it speed skating too. It's similar, but not quite the same as the endorphins from just long cardio - the kind you get from running or a long road bike ride, etc. Those make me feel good, but the addition of a little adrenaline and feeling like I'm putting a lot of technical skills together is what really makes me fall in LOVE with a sport.

It's funny - one of my favorite bike trails is on the way to go skiing. And there were times where I was driving up to ski this winter and was just buzzing with excitement... and then realized that my trail is under snow and I was going skiing, not biking and was a little disappointed... Heh. I used to be 100% the opposite and would have my heart racing just at the sight of snow.

That said - I totally dread the heat of summer.... Bleh.

 

[Kiragirl]

simply put...yes

I've been bumming out big time, but am also thinking of different things to do like biking, hiking, swimming, reading, watching BASEBALL, etc.

Go Yankees, beat Boston tonight!

 

[sdskiqueen]

I'm with you. There's nothing like skiing and I'm really bummed when the season is over. But, then again, I find some great sales on gear so that's some consolation. The other thing is when it's ski season, I can eat just about anything I want and never worry about gaining any weight. When the season is over, so is my "anything goes" diet. Again, another reason to be bummed!!! However, it also means hiking with my dogs - so at least they're happy.

 

[SnowHot]

Ahhhhh, the neutral position.

For me, it takes several activities in the summer months to help me pass the time until I can ski again. Golf and Mt Biking almost gets me jonesing as much as skiing but not quite >there<.

So, its the tween times, what I call the neutral position, when I have a bit of anxiety(not really depression)......
Like this.......
When I'm in 5th gear in my Ski Stoke transmission, I need to go into neutral before shifting into another gear.......this is the place in time that causes anxiety. I'm not sure what to do with myself.......so I fumble around and try to find something, until I ride my bike or hit some golf balls.

Once I get out of neutral, and into another gear, I'm okay until its time to ski again.....







How long until we can ski again anyway?

 

[Skisailor]

I'm done. :(:( Last day was at Big Sky almost 3 weeks ago and I'm bummin' big time.

Now starts the beginning of my competitive sailing season (on the Chespeake Bay) and I do love it, but though I've been skiing for a very long time, I've been growing increasingly passionate about it just over the past 5 years. Now it surpasses sailing for me (which is saying alot). And I know I just have to find a way to spend more than 4 months a year doing this!!

I'm trying to find a way to move to Colorado, WY or Bozeman, MT - but it can't happen (job-wise) for about 3 more years. So here I sit on this beautiful spring day, not being in the moment like I should, but wishing it was a blizzard outside instead.


Everyone here thinks I'm nuts . . .

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Ski Diva, methinks perhaps you ought to consider the possibility of making "The Pilgrimage:" Tuckerman Ravine. Not that bad of a trip for you and truly is THE New England skiing journey to remember!

I'm thinking of those from here who are going to make the trip this weekend, in what now promises to be off-the-charts weather.

Hopefully, the trips reports will entice you to consider it for next year? The region alone, if you've never been to it, would be like a mini-vacation, and the bowl itself isn't much steeper than a lot of stuff in Utah (the hike in/uphill is the hard part!).

Definitely put it on your bucket list!

I tend to shift into overdrive at home, trying to beat the annual bug invasion, so there's tons to do here post-season. When I lived elsewhere and used to water ski more, it was only a short gap between seasons. (And some years, by fall, I wondered if I enjoyed waterskiing even more than snow skiing. ) By mid-May, I'm stuck indoors until mid-July .....

 

[Christy]

I HATE getting up early. I'm a huge baby about it. My husband has to make breakfast AND pack the car AND walk the dogs on ski mornings. So when ski season ends I'm sad but I think, at least I don't have to wake up in the dark on weekends anymore.

Also it's nice to see the sun again. We don't really see it here in the winter. So it's hard to be depressed.

 

[plainjane]

Yup, sure do miss it, a lot!!!
Have other activities going on now--training for open water swims, road and mt. biking, trips to our cottage on the lake. But nothing for me matches the exhiliraton I get from skiing. I was meant to be a skier!

 

[Swamp Dog]

Who else feels like this?

I do, big time. Four weeks post-op/post-ski and I'm dying here. I had planned on doing a lot of cycling and swimming to be in better shape for next ski season and I can do neither.

It's gonna be a long summer...... :(

heh....I bet the Sox delivering a good beating of the Yankees will cheer me up for the night

 

[SkiBam]

Yup. Definitely on the depressed side. It's nuts, but the older I get, the more I love to ski. It's like an addiction; I can't get enough.

Sure, I do summer stuff: cycling, hiking, swimming and while I enjoy those, it's just not the same. Once summer truly comes, it's better and I can get into the groove. but at the moment, I'm still in withdrawal mode. I wonder if waxing my skis and putting them away will help. (Or not!)

Roll on November!

 

[tradygirl]

This year was really the first that I fell into a total funk when the season started winding down. I was so depressed, and I felt like winter just hadn't been long enough.

But lo and behold, all it took was finally getting out on my bike last weekend and wearing SHORTS in the sun, and my disposition improved immensely. I suddenly got excited about all the summer stuff coming - road trips, biking, hiking, eating fresh herbs and veggies out of the garden, wearing sundresses, flipflops and other comfy warm weather clothes, and just sitting on the front porch with the hubby and pup and a beer.

Although skiing is really my favorite sport, each season has a special place in my heart. It just takes a little while for me to switch gears.

 

[SnowHot]

Tradygirl, don't forget the mojitos!

 

[dloveski]

Not depression, but definitely withdrawal and the dread of facing all the housework and work/work that I put off all winter.

I feel a tinge of sadness that another season has come and gone, as I put away my ski toys and clean my clothes/gear.

Though I run and have started biking again, I hate, really hate, hot hot weather, especially because I must work. I have to make up for my 'ski days' taken all winter.

 

[volklgirl]

Normally I'm just as stoked about mtn biking, so no depression season for me. However, this year, with my ski season cut short by almost 4 months, and no biking anytime soon, I'm here, too..........

I do, big time. Four weeks post-op/post-ski and I'm dying here. I had planned on doing a lot of cycling and swimming to be in better shape for next ski season and I can do neither.

It's gonna be a long summer...... :(

 

[Jilly]

I'm hanging in there. This coming week is gym workouts. But Sunday May 3rd the Dragon Boats go in. So a quick paddle on Sunday, and full paddle on Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. Fly to Denver on Thursday and ski Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Back to paddle on Tuesday!!

I don't think I've time for depression this year. If I wasn't going west, then it would be paddle season, so I don't think I've had time yet to realize that its over! Plus I have all this s(*t on the spare bed - ski stuff and paddle stuff.

Which season is it??

 

[beckt]

I get a little antsy ---- but then it's KAYAKING season!!!!!! Went out today in " hazardous small craft conditions"!!!! YEE HAW - the waves were huge!

 

[cinnabon]

This used to be more of an issue when I lived in NJ, and spent much of the winter in VT. I'd miss not just the skiing, but the trips to VT and my "ski" friends.

This year was a really weird ski season for me. As much as I love the sport, I had so much anxiety with my new skiing situation, mostly going it alone, and skiing on snow and terrain outside of my comfort zone... well all of this took some of the joy out of it. I think next season will be a lot better for me.

The other big change is having my first spring and early summer out here I am so excited about all the cool stuff there is to do out here besides skiing. I don't yet have a summer sport to replace skiing, but I am heavily into photography, and I've been doing some of that. I hope to do a lot of hiking, and maybe some rock climbing.

So all in all, I'm not all that bummed out by ski season ending this year. In fact, Snowbird is getting still more snow right now, and I could go this weekend and squeeze in another day on decent conditions... but I'm not sure I even feel like going.

 

[gr8outdoors]

I do experience some end of season depression - I wasn't ready for the season to be over as early as it was this year. Trying to look at the bright side that I've been able to take it easy on the weekends and just relax and clean the house.

I'm looking forward to kayaking and camping now!

 

[PowLizard]

Feeling lost. Slackcountry season is over. Still waiting for "spring" snow to make some tours worthwhile but definitely feeling like another relationship just ended. While I'm looking forward to getting some good mountain hikes in this summer I can't help but look at my summer activities as ways to get my ski legs even better tuned up for next ski season. True enough though....my house is showing the neglect of a winter with a ski pass.