highpeaksdrifter
New member
Now you're talkin BigBog.
Let's go with the Supercharger Blower
110 underfoot. Greg ain't skiin no bumps with those. 8)
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Is it possible to lose the passion for skiing?
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
Now you're talkin BigBog.
Let's go with the Supercharger Blower
110 underfoot. Greg ain't skiin no bumps with those. 8)
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No funk here. I'm still as amped as ever. Just trying to come up with some new topics until we can start commenting on each others' trip reports, that's all...
Thems is some fat skis... :-o Definitley ain't my style...Now you're talkin BigBog.
Let's go with the Supercharger Blower
110 underfoot. Greg ain't skiin no bumps with those. 8)
jimme
New member
In short, yes. I lost it for a couple of decades and then found the passion again. The "drive" combined with the passion got me out 35 times in 200/1 season! This caused a bit of a stir at home so I've cut doen a bit. The passion and drive got me to Alta/Snowbird and the JH. The passion is still there, but I feel my drive waning a bit. The "drive" got me to make a day trip to MRG which is a 3hr 45min drive for me. Not sure if I'd do that again, but. . .
The passion causes me to think about skiing several times each day, every day of the year. And now, I'd rather ski a foot of powder than have $ex. (Well, one day anyway. ;-) ) I define myself by being a skier.
Side note: I've mentioned that I ski to a few guys who responded "Don't ski, but I hunt." I guess they're just trying to match the "toughness" non-skiers must associate with the sport. Ladies, you're just as tough too!
The passion causes me to think about skiing several times each day, every day of the year. And now, I'd rather ski a foot of powder than have $ex. (Well, one day anyway. ;-) ) I define myself by being a skier.
Side note: I've mentioned that I ski to a few guys who responded "Don't ski, but I hunt." I guess they're just trying to match the "toughness" non-skiers must associate with the sport. Ladies, you're just as tough too!
riverc0il
New member
i think you would be really hard pressed to find many folks that turned to turn earning because lift serviced skiing became boring. i can think of lots of reasons to never ski lift serviced again, but none of them would include being bored with the terrain. aside from the presidentials, katahdin, mansfield, and the notch, there is not a huge amount of back country that is more difficult than the hardest trails in bounds (em, excluding lift assisted side country... that is still lift serviced). back country certainly has its challenges, but in bounds has plenty of challenge if you go to the right mountains. speaking from a new england perspective. the earn your turns mentality only fosters more passion for the sport, not less. i have a season pass and i am a turn earner. maybe i will play a day differently, skin up for a run before the lifts start or ski till noon at the area and then go have some fun off the backside or where ever my skins take me. i don't see the two as mutually exclusive but rather fostering a deeper passion for all things skiing.
it is really easy to get caught up in a particular aspect of skiing. i used to race and never left the groomers. the way greg approaches bumps, i used to approach racing that way. i lived for it. every run was just another practice session in which i work my technique. then i found bumps and brought that same dedication to improving to the bumps. then i just said the hell with it. ski it all, love it all, go for it all. i will loose my passion for skiing when i become disabled and can not afford to take a fall. but i will walk away at that point knowing i left nothing on the snow that i didn't leave intentionally.
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See? That's what I don't get. You make it sound like focusing on one aspect of skiing is a bad thing. I really love the challenge of learning moguls. Those runs where it all clicks are few and far between for me right now. I'm in constant pursuit of making runs like those happen more consistently. I love that challenge and it's truly fulfilling for me at this point. I will continue this pursuit until either (1) it becomes boring or (2) I discover something new and/or am confident enough with my skills to take it to the next step; most likely in bounds tree skiing.
riverc0il
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i didn't mean it to sound like a bad thing, not my intention if i did. i think what i meant by saying "it is really easy to get caught up..." is that you can begin to focus on one aspect of skiing to the exclusion of other aspects of skiing. e.g. my example of racing exclusively for so long that i neglected the rest of the mountain. i had no idea how fun bumps and trees and powder were when i did not consider skiing them. i sucked pretty bad when i first started branching out, but trial by fire sure helps you improve quickly! :lol:
i just love skiing it all. my goal when i first got off the groomers and put my racing past behind me was to be able to ski any open trail, any where, any time, any conditions. that pursuit definitely begins in the bumps, but you don't move on for lack of passion or enjoyment, you just spread the passion and enjoyment around as you keep progressing.
fwiw, i rarely have a bump run where it all clicks. once i was proficient in the bumps, i began exploring other parts of the mountains and developing my technique. bumps are still my least developed technical skill off the groomers, but i don't focus on them so that is all good with me.
i just love skiing it all. my goal when i first got off the groomers and put my racing past behind me was to be able to ski any open trail, any where, any time, any conditions. that pursuit definitely begins in the bumps, but you don't move on for lack of passion or enjoyment, you just spread the passion and enjoyment around as you keep progressing.
fwiw, i rarely have a bump run where it all clicks. once i was proficient in the bumps, i began exploring other parts of the mountains and developing my technique. bumps are still my least developed technical skill off the groomers, but i don't focus on them so that is all good with me.
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No worries. I think we agree more than anything here. "Getting caught up" just has a negative connotation to me.
SkiDork
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The http://forums.alpinezone.com/17383-fair-weather-skier.html thread reminded me of this one.
After you master the bumps you will be able to go wherever you want and kick arse.
You will find out sooner or later that deep powder is where its at and those fatties are fun. There is nothing like taking giant gs type turns on pitches you would never think of when its packed. Having the cushion of the powder slow you down when you initiate the turn. Getting into that bouncing rythm with snow blasting over your head. No fear airs, your only fear is losing you ski after the biff.
Yup no more pasion here
I
eastcoastpowderhound
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my grandmother started in her 20's and didn't stop until she was 93...even as her ability and agility began to diminish she never lost the love for sliding downhill and the freedom of going with gravity. About the only place she skied in her last 20 years on the hill was Shawnee Peak...same runs she'd skied since they opened nearly 70 years ago.
Maybe if I was stuck skiing on 400' of vert, man made blue ice, the same run all the time, the passion may wane...otherwise, not a freakin snowballs chance in hell.
Maybe if I was stuck skiing on 400' of vert, man made blue ice, the same run all the time, the passion may wane...otherwise, not a freakin snowballs chance in hell.
Vortex
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I stopped for a few years in the late 80's. Got laid off from a ski area and it was the worlds fault so I did not ski for a few years. Kids came and passion came back. Remembered my parents efforts to get me into the sport.
GrilledSteezeSandwich
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When I lived in Bozeman, one of my roommates was so Jaded that he only skied on the 10 or so jumbo powder days..I'd go on a cloudy day a week after a snowstorm and still find fresh Poe in the trees and he'd bail on skiing to do his laundry and play video games. It's easy to get that way for people who live out west. So if they ever move back east..they abandon the thought of skiing in the east and might just take one or two weeklong trips out west each season. For me I enjoy every aspect of skiing so much and it's pretty much the center of my life other than work, family, and close friends. Being a skier is a part of my identity. I read somewhere that only like 15% of skiers become lifelong participants. I believe it. Alot of people I skied with in high school and college no longer ski. They have debt to pay off, families to raise, and demanding careers..and leisure has taken a backseat. Some of my current ski buddies ski less and less each year..bailing due to poor weather/conditions...luckily a few people I know are out there almost everyday rain or shine. There is nothing negative to me about skiing. If it's solid ice you go wicked fast without fresh wax..and can make mach 4 carves if the skis are turned well or straight line if you have dull edges. Powder is the best and can happen at anytime like the epic April dumps at Stowe this past season...I need to post some pictures of that on here..Bumps are great..solid ice bumps on a tiny hill makes things exciting..but corn and chalky bumps are my favorite..Every season I get to ski the awesome bumps right under the Thunder Chair at Jackson Hole..that in itself is a reason to always ski..Nothing like Grilling Up Some Steezy under the lift..miss a turn on the edge and you're headed for a tree or lift tower..nail every turn..IPOD on..Crazy by Gnarls Barkley..beat the song to the bottom..loosen the boots..back up for seconds..Then meeting hundreds of new people every season on the lifts....I can see why others lose their passion for skiing...but I don't care about them..as long as I always ski, that's what matters to me...There are already enough skiers...if everybody loved the sport the way Alpine Zoners do...it would be so crowded..Holla
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