ABC's ski bumming season 2017, Part II, North America

[abc]

Of course, I may feel completely different in 20 years when I am living the result of my choices.

I'm perfectly aware every dollar I'm not earning & saving now, I will come to miss double or triple that 20 years later. It may make the difference on whether I should go cat skiing or just ski the WROD in resort.

But then, one can also say the same year after year and never get to retire!

On the other hand, I don't take for granted I'll still be skiing in 20 years. So the trade off is clear.

This season's road trip had re-calibrated my vision on what my priority is. This is not the first time I thought of working less and playing more. But I have yet to find the right situation that would provide the right balance. It's easy to just cruise on by as the resident cubical rat. It's a safe option. There's no risk of running out of money later on. Only the regret that I missed the sunshine, the blizzard and the powder!

 

[Jully]

I'm perfectly aware every dollar I'm not earning & saving now, I will come to miss double or triple that 20 years later. It may make the difference on whether I should go cat skiing or just ski the WROD in resort.

But then, one can also say the same year after year and never get to retire!

On the other hand, I don't take for granted I'll still be skiing in 20 years. So the trade off is clear.

This season's road trip had re-calibrated my vision on what my priority is. This is not the first time I thought of working less and playing more. But I have yet to find the right situation that would provide the right balance. It's easy to just cruise on by as the resident cubical rat. It's a safe option. There's no risk of running out of money later on. Only the regret that I missed the sunshine, the blizzard and the powder!

Exactly. Same reasons I keep reminding myself of as often as I can. It is difficult when working to remember that sometimes though! Following your story has definitely inspired me to double check my priorities.

 

[jimk]

Jully, WRT ski friends...when I took two months to ski around western US in 2015 my biggest pre-trip concern was would I have anyone to ski with? I don't mind skiing alone on a daytrip or even a weekend, but skiing alone for two months was another story. Besides the social aspect, it's important to have a friend for safety and guidance when skiing certain advanced, unfamiliar, or remote terrain. I used online sites like Epicski, AZ, DCSki, etc. to network and it worked quite well. I skied with one or more friends on probably 85% of the time during those two months, some days with large groups of friends. In fact, about 20 years ago many of my ski buddies from my youth started phasing out of skiing and that’s when I first turned to cyberspace for ski buddies. It was virtual at first until I built a trust, but soon I developed many in my local region and around the US that became real ski buddies. With EpicSki shutting down, Pugski will probably be my new place to connect with western ski friends.
PS: I am in my mid-60s and in a different place in life than you folks. I started collecting a good USG pension two years ago, so I played it safe compared to some of the financial/leisure trade-offs you all are considering. Life and our ability to stay active into old age is a crapshoot. I have a lot more ski days behind me than in front of me. Either way, all I can say is try to take care of yourself physically/medically so you have a better chance to go the distance.

 

[abc]

Jully, WRT ski friends...when I took two months to ski around western US in 2015 my biggest pre-trip concern was would I have anyone to ski with? I don't mind skiing alone on a daytrip or even a weekend, but skiing alone for two months was another story. Besides the social aspect, it's important to have a friend for safety and guidance when skiing certain advanced, unfamiliar, or remote terrain. I used online sites like Epicski, AZ, DCSki, etc. to network and it worked quite well. I skied with one or more friends on probably 85% of the time during those two months, some days with large groups of friends.

I too, paid close attention to that aspect of my 'bumming season. That's why I based myself on Summit county and got Epic pass.

Since I don't do really hairy terrain, skiing alone is less of an issue for me. But I have to admit there's been a few occasions I had to restrain myself from tackling questionable terrain due to lack of companion.

PS: I am in my mid-60s and in a different place in life than you folks. I started collecting a good USG pension two years ago, so I played it safe compared to some of the financial/leisure trade-offs you all are considering. Life and our ability to stay active into old age is a crapshoot. I have a lot more ski days behind me than in front of me. Either way, all I can say is try to take care of yourself physically/medically so you have a better chance to go the distance.

If I kept on working, I would probably be at a similar position as you're at similar age.

But looking at my parents, I can see my "window of freedom" could potentially slam shut just around that point!

Until this winter, I've pretty much accepted that I would just be satisfied with stealing a week here or 2 weeks there, working or retired, due to the above restrictions. But I got spoiled by this past winter's sabbatical...

Basically, I was reasonably content at sipping from "a glass half full" all these years. Recently I got a taste of what a FULL glass is like! All of a sudden, that "half full" glass look more like " half empty"!!! :-o

At the beginning of my road trip, I wrote: "this could also be the beginning of the end of my corporate life if I'm not careful". Seems I haven't been "careful" enough...

 

[Jcb890]

Great write-up, I have been lurking in this thread for a while. Thank you for sharing your experience - it sounded awesome.

A few follow-up questions now that you're done:
Did you tally up all of your costs and if so, would you mind sharing that figure?
I assume you had planned this out ahead of time and did some saving in order to afford it?
If you don't go back to "corporate life" as you put it, how would you afford to do this year after year?