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December Powder

Skiing tests the mind’s ability to react instantaneously to its immediate surroundings. Complacently hovering inches above the geological formations of Earth, separated merely by a pillow of granulated frozen water, it’s the most rewarding sensation experienced by minimal exertion. Unprecedented amounts of latent risk are simply no match for a skier’s motive. Performing acts of athletic brilliance while dancing symbiotically with gravity has the ability to relieve confounding societal affairs.

To explain this feeling entails more than just an understanding of sport. For example, anyone can explain how to hit a baseball and appear as if they understand the bat vs. ball conundrum. However, even when the best skiers explain the feeling of skiing a powder run, it may still come across as gibberish or uneducated chatter even to someone who understands “skier lingo.” The unfamiliarity comes from the difficulty of expressing a particular emotion or sensation amidst the multitude experienced throughout every run.

Skiing’s varying factors exponentially change and create something new and exciting for each participant day to day. Each adventure yields a different, new, and enlightening yet inexplicable set of emotions. Each turn contains a different feeling or end result based on many variables and the amount of effort exerted. Emotions, conditions, and physical ability can skew one’s experience thus making an explanation of “the best run ever” seem like an enigmatic puzzle to those whom did not experience it for themselves.

The successes of skiing correlate directly to the efforts prior to and during the particular performance. For instance, strength of the body will make each turn more enjoyable, and strength of the mind will bring you one step closer to allowing tacit assent to your inner desires. Every turn yields a mysterious reward or unique feeling, where the harder you try the more rewarding the experience can be. Skiing is an activity of freedom and personal desire, even granting the most contrite or reprobated individual an escape from reality while frolicking methodically with nature.

However, there is an obvious gap in the understanding of skiing between the quintessential “weekend warriors” and the professionals who have progressed the sport. The common skier’s timid approach prevents a total understanding of the possibilities, as fear and apprehension linger lucidly in their actions. Nonetheless, some have developed a precocious and intrepid ability to defy the physics that apply to the mere mortals that have yet to discover the loopholes in gravity. Skiers have taken the limits of a motorless sport to the boundaries of human capability.

Many can watch and assume competence, but a true understanding of skiing, at a level where the consequences are pungent and palpable, can only be experienced. Performing each trick or turn, knowing it could be your last, yet remaining confidant and resolute in your actions is a skill only acquired through experience. The feeling of glissading down a snow-covered mountain with the intent to fly is the most exhilarating and emotionally powerful experience.

Despite an unprecedented amount of eminent risk and consequences associated with a sport that gambles with the forces of nature, skiing has something to offer everyone at every level. No matter what your ability (even if you just get dressed up in ski gear to enjoy the après-ski scene), skiing is a sport with a community built on passion and personal vindication. There may be a gap between levels, and therefore, an understanding of the sport’s limits, however the community and atmosphere itself is the reason people ski and not to defy the laws of physics. The vibe of a ski town can be felt and experienced by people on many levels, as the experience goes above and beyond the skiing itself. Being outside with friends and family while challenging your physical abilities and playing with nature is the reason skiing compels people to bundle up and brave the elements. Skiing, while sometimes cumbersome and awkwardly uninviting, can encapsulate your mind in a euphoric sense of freedom and become a part of who you are.

As the 08-09 winter season starts, and the snow begins to mask the imperfections of Earth, I will be sharing some of my experiences with you. I hope to convey the true nature of the sport from a unique perspective. Some stories will touch upon a particular jump, turn, or experience, while some will portray the camaraderie shared among the sport’s participants. Either way, a community has been created around the sport of swooshing down snow, and I hope you can all experience some aspect of its brilliance and use my words as motivation to either go skiing or experience something new in the process of life.
(As seen on my Universal Sports Blog)

Take a ride to paradise