Improvement or fun - which drives your ski mojo?

[liquidfeet]

So which is more important to you, doing what it takes to improve your skiing, or relaxing and having fun on the slopes?

Are you on the snow to enjoy the physical feeling of sliding on snow, the great views, the fresh air, the camaraderie with like-minded people, the speed, the exercise, and all that stuff that puts a smile on your face? Is your skill level just-fine-thank-you-very-much, you don't care about improving; you just want to have a smile on your face while skiing?

Or ...

Are you driven to learn new tactics, do drills, ski the same trail again and again until you get the new movement you're targeting nailed, ski alone because your friends don't tolerate this craziness, have little interest in stopping to take in the view, and find it really annoying if you have to go in and take a break? Do you remember what your last instructor told you to work on, and do you work on it with passion? Do you have a determined-purposeful-focused-forget-smiles-who-needs-'em look on your face as you try once again to do that thing that is just beyond your grasp? Do people keep telling you to relax and just enjoy skiing?

I have a hunch that some people fall more into one category than another, but I may be wrong. By the way, I'm in the driven-to-get-better category, but can tolerate skiing for fun on occasion.

 

[snowbunny1976]

I'm a little bit of both, but a little more on the "just enjoy skiing" side. I do want to work on my skills and improve, but above all I just love being on the mountain. Sharpening my skills just helps make the sport that much more enjoyable for me.

Although I do think that if I lived closer to a mountain I'd probably be a little more hard-core with training and conditioning.

 

[IntheClouds]

Balance baby, balance. The whole point of skiing is to have fun, in which ever way provides it for you. Maximizing the fun is sharing with others. Which means, you can't stay stuck on the green groomers or you will be left alone. You have to get better if you are going to go where others go. And do it safely & skillfully. Which doesn't just "happen". So generally the lift run for 7 hours a day. No way am I going to drill for 7 hours & not go out & have some fun with my improved skills. No way am I gonna have much fun if I spend the whole 7 hours alone each day I ski. I do drills, I can even do them while going down a slope with others. But at some point a persons gotta cutloose & just ski for the joy of it !

 

[num]

For me there are improvement days, and there are just grin and fly down the hill days, or improvement time and grin and fly time on the same day. I ski by myself in general, and I'm always happy to ski down the same run over and over and over. Maybe I'll get over that when my technique improves, but I'm just happy to be sliding down the snow.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Hmmmm....does it count, or is it cheating to say "49-51?" Won't say which is 49, which is 51! Depends on the day???

 

[Kimmyt]

Definitely Improvement.

That doesn't mean that I also don't aim to enjoy the heck out of it. I don't need to make major improvements each day, but as long as I do one little thing better than before, I'm happy, even if it's just one moment during the day when I manage to not skid over ice, or whatever.

K.

 

[greekpeakskier]

85/15.

i'm (for good or ill) a very social person. but there are some things that i just want to do alone: jog, cycle, ski.

if i thought i was going to ski the rest of my life like i ski now, i MIGHT stop. i like the improvement of it, and the way that working on improvement takes all my physical and mental concentration and then i get all this exhileration on top of it.


i skied a little in my early twenties and tried sky diving at the same time. after sky diving i said, "what's the big deal, skiing is a zillion times better."

so, i like counting drills, skiing non-stop, and it drives me crazy to chat on the way down. don't talk to me when skiing, but i'll be happy to make you dinner and invite too many people.

 

[Pequenita]

Let's put it this way: I can entertain myself on a small hill in decent to warming conditions for about 2 hours, max. Yesterday, I was skiing on barely covered thawed and refrozen sheets of ice with some granular coverage while snowblowers were on, in 50mph gusts and 29 degree air temps (and a corkscrewing chairlift - that was a little nervewracking). And I lasted twice as long b/c I was skiing with others.

 

[ski diva]

For me, fun is number one. Hey, if it's not fun, why do it????

Second is improvement. Part of the fun for me is getting better. Because by getting better, I open up my options for fun. But if all I had to do was drill, drill, drill, focus, focus, focus -- that sounds too much like work. After all, I'm not training for the Olympics.

 

[atlantiqueen]

I'm probably closer to 50/50. As a new skier, I want to improve. DH has been skiing for more years than I've been alive so I want to get better to enjoy some of the runs he does (and so he doesn't have to constantly wait for me )

I get out by myself a fair amount and I love the feeling of knowing that I'm outside in the wind and sun and snow. Added to that is the satisfaction of doing the same run 4 or 5 or 6 times and getting into a rhythm as I improve on a technique and think about shifting the lessons learned to the next run and the next and the next.

I guess my enjoyment is derived from learning a new skill and seeing it actually employed every time I am out there getting just a little better with each passing day.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^^^ Boy, I'll say amen to that -- you wouldn't believe the level of difficulty she took on this past weekend. You go, girl! Go on, AQ, you can brag about it! 3 tough undertakings, Last Tango, 3D, Obsession. A real achievement, for sure!

 

[SkiNurse]

There is always room for improvement, but...

I just love to be in the mountains. I love to be on my skis. I love the feeling I have when on groomers, inbound off piste, trees, bowls, powder. I love the sound the wind makes through the trees. I love the sound of the snow. I love the incredible views that our Colorado Rockies bless us with. I never get tired of any of this.

Now, I do ski more than half of the time by myself, but when I am able to ski with my friends, I also love the comraderie and drinking adult beverages on sunny patios at the end of the day.

.

 

[NannyMin]

I have to admit that before my whole ordeal, I was probably a 70/30 (improvement/fun).

But, I've had a ton of time to think and this experience has definitely changed what I what I want out of life. So, my hope, is to be about a 40/60.

 

[atlantiqueen]

^^^^ Boy, I'll say amen to that -- you wouldn't believe the level of difficulty she took on this past weekend. You go, girl! Go on, AQ, you can brag about it! 3 tough undertakings, Last Tango, 3D, Obsession. A real achievement, for sure!

Thanks MSL....I'm still smiling - even after the white-knuckle drive!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I have to admit that before my whole ordeal, I was probably a 70/30 (improvement/fun).

But, I've had a ton of time to think and this experience has definitely changed what I what I want out of life. So, my hope, is to be about a 40/60.

After thinking about your whole ordeal, I respectfully change my ratio to 45/55. Improving is fun, but on the other hand, I love a great laugh with friends on a chairlift as much as any learned skill ! Things like finding dead mice in gloves, you know....

 

[IntheClouds]

Hmmmm....does it count, or is it cheating to say "49-51?" Won't say which is 49, which is 51! Depends on the day???

I opt for - for depends on the day, who's there or not, & what you feel like.
I switch back & forth. Since I ski alone during the week when my son is in school, I drill then. But take fun runs too. Gotta test those new skills YA KNOW ! Unless, I have someone I enjoy to ski with. Then I just go with the flow. Which sometimes means some drills. Sometimes just enjoying the sights(which I truly am there for cause I kinda commune w/the mountain a whole lot ) Sometimes just keeping up. But when I'm with my kid, it's keep up time ! But I also try to take regular lessons, which means I'm falling down laughing at least once or twice. My 2 chosen instructors are awesome actors & just crack me up ! I can't stand on ski's & laugh that hard ! Good thing I grew up laying down in the snow ! And making the most accurate snowballs in the entire world ! Okay, I just read that, & there are entirely toooooo many exclamation marks there. But, of all the photos on Epic ski of ESA Aspen, who do you think is posted laying there in the powder ?? Yep, & I didn't even post that.

 

[NannyMin]

I opt for - for depends on the day, who's there or not, & what you feel like.
I switch back & forth. Since I ski alone during the week when my son is in school, I drill then. But take fun runs too. Gotta test those new skills YA KNOW ! Unless, I have someone I enjoy to ski with. Then I just go with the flow. Which sometimes means some drills. Sometimes just enjoying the sights(which I truly am there for cause I kinda commune w/the mountain a whole lot ) Sometimes just keeping up. But when I'm with my kid, it's keep up time ! But I also try to take regular lessons, which means I'm falling down laughing at least once or twice. My 2 chosen instructors are awesome actors & just crack me up ! I can't stand on ski's & laugh that hard ! Good thing I grew up laying down in the snow ! And making the most accurate snowballs in the entire world ! Okay, I just read that, & there are entirely toooooo many exclamation marks there. But, of all the photos on Epic ski of ESA Aspen, who do you think is posted laying there in the powder ?? Yep, & I didn't even post that.

Yep, and here it is ITC!

 

[IntheClouds]

I have to admit that before my whole ordeal, I was probably a 70/30 (improvement/fun).

But, I've had a ton of time to think and this experience has definitely changed what I what I want out of life. So, my hope, is to be about a 40/60.

NannyMin, I shoulda showed you my ski goals. My horse competition goals took almost 6 yrs. Coulda been faster, but I would have missed a few great opportunities. Learned more then if I would have been in a hurry & took a few short cuts.

So, I'll share my ski goals w/ya. Keep up w/the 10 yr old 'til he's 15. Be white haired, loading the lift to where ever I want to ski on the mountain, regardless of difficulty, or in case I get lost. I figure that will take a few years, but with luck, consistent coaching,work & absence of serious injury, I will get there when I get there. I have 5 years to keep up with the kid, which really ought to do it.

 

[volklgirl]

Years of teaching and being on the bunny hill, then clinicing, then racing and training for racing took the fun right out of skiing for me for quite a while. 2 years ago I was at the point where I no longer wanted to ski because it was all work and no fun for me.

So....I quit teaching, I quit training, and I went back to racing only 2 days a week while still spending 3-5 days a week on the mountain. I played with my snowboard, I tried (and fell in love with) big fattie trick snowblades, and discovered the joy of playing in the crud and pow and trees with a pair of twin tips (ahhhhh Karmas ). Every now and then I'll do some drills if I find myself getting lazy or struggling, but mostly I'm at the point where I'm just skiing for fun, visiting with friends and family, and jammin' to tunes.

 

[IntheClouds]

Years of teaching and being on the bunny hill, then clinicing, then racing and training for racing took the fun right out of skiing for me for quite a while. 2 years ago I was at the point where I no longer wanted to ski because it was all work and no fun for me.

So....I quit teaching, I quit training, and I went back to racing only 2 days a week while still spending 3-5 days a week on the mountain. I played with my snowboard, I tried (and fell in love with) big fattie trick snowblades, and discovered the joy of playing in the crud and pow and trees with a pair of twin tips (ahhhhh Karmas ). Every now and then I'll do some drills if I find myself getting lazy or struggling, but mostly I'm at the point where I'm just skiing for fun, visiting with friends and family, and jammin' to tunes.

Yep. If you aren't having fun & sharing, which having fun means sharing with others, then it becomes a Job. I personally look to what fun the mountain has to offer. If I can, I go for it... if I need some skills to tackle it, I take a lesson & practice, & go for it. You can do a lot of things, but having fun usually includes others to share with.