abc
Well-known member
I'm on the nordic ski patrol of Mohonk Preserve. For those who don't know, it's a quite sizable nordic ski area of some 30-40 km of cross country skiing trails, GROOMED and track set! It sometimes gets good amount of snow but other times bare ground. Still, it being only an hour from my house, whenever it has snow, I'd go. it's a great exercise, the peace and quiet in the woods, the effortless gliding along the tracks. I usually enjoy xc skiing A LOT.
But last season, I didn't go even once!
Why?
I was skiing at Stratton and Sugarbush, because I felt I want to "use the days" that comes with my $800 IKON pass!
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy skiing some of the more "iconic" destinations the pass offered: Big Sky, Jackson, Snowbird/Alta... to name just a few. I do not regret buying the pass, and will do so again. But Stratton...???
OK, Sugarbush is a mountain I wanted to ski and I got to ski it. But to be honest, the condition wasn't the best when I was there. I went only because I have it on the pass "for free". That is, instead of doing some cross country skiing an hour from my house, which is just as enjoyable and probably better for my cardio health.
I was out riding my bike up to Mohonk again last weekend. I was huffing and puffing and suffering. That's when I hit upon the possible connection between not even xc ski ONCE in the winter and my suffering on the bike!
With the unlimited pass of IKON/EPIC. There's a temptation to "eat" as much as possible to "maximize" the benefit of the pass, to "make the pass pay", to lower the average per day cost etc... But I'm beginning to wonder, am I becoming a slave of the "good deal" pass? To the point I'm not doing what is actually good for me (which in my case is a mix of downhill and xc skiing)
Like stuffing oneself in a Chinese buffet? Or eating at McDonald's because it's cheapest way to not feel hungry even though the food isn't the most healthy?
Years ago, I typically had a western season pass (A-basin, Mt Ross, or later RMSP) for my western trips. But locally, I would downhill or xc ski based on condition and expense (xc always wins the latter, because it's either free or only $20). However, since the days when multi-resort passes includes northeast mountains, I had unconsciously got sucked into downhill skiing as many days as possible, rather than a balance of whatever other winter activity/sport I normally be doing.
Basically, I felt like I'm becoming one of those lazy fat people who, without thinking, had been eating too much junk food! Only in skiing terms.
So, those of you who had season passes, do you ski too much the first few years you got the pass? Do you "recover" after a couple seasons?
With the constantly changing pass affiliation of EPIC/IKON, there's the added pressure to ski the new mountains before they change to "the other" pass. Kind of like being in the first year of a new season pass, only every year is "new"!
Like, there's a new McDonald or similar opening up a block from me every couple weeks, offering deals. Then closing shortly. And I got suckered into "capitalizing their deals", eating fatty burgers every meal instead of a salad...
(wait! McDonald does have salad, albeit not all that good! I'm lost! if you know what I mean)
But last season, I didn't go even once!
Why?
I was skiing at Stratton and Sugarbush, because I felt I want to "use the days" that comes with my $800 IKON pass!
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy skiing some of the more "iconic" destinations the pass offered: Big Sky, Jackson, Snowbird/Alta... to name just a few. I do not regret buying the pass, and will do so again. But Stratton...???
OK, Sugarbush is a mountain I wanted to ski and I got to ski it. But to be honest, the condition wasn't the best when I was there. I went only because I have it on the pass "for free". That is, instead of doing some cross country skiing an hour from my house, which is just as enjoyable and probably better for my cardio health.
I was out riding my bike up to Mohonk again last weekend. I was huffing and puffing and suffering. That's when I hit upon the possible connection between not even xc ski ONCE in the winter and my suffering on the bike!
With the unlimited pass of IKON/EPIC. There's a temptation to "eat" as much as possible to "maximize" the benefit of the pass, to "make the pass pay", to lower the average per day cost etc... But I'm beginning to wonder, am I becoming a slave of the "good deal" pass? To the point I'm not doing what is actually good for me (which in my case is a mix of downhill and xc skiing)
Like stuffing oneself in a Chinese buffet? Or eating at McDonald's because it's cheapest way to not feel hungry even though the food isn't the most healthy?
Years ago, I typically had a western season pass (A-basin, Mt Ross, or later RMSP) for my western trips. But locally, I would downhill or xc ski based on condition and expense (xc always wins the latter, because it's either free or only $20). However, since the days when multi-resort passes includes northeast mountains, I had unconsciously got sucked into downhill skiing as many days as possible, rather than a balance of whatever other winter activity/sport I normally be doing.
Basically, I felt like I'm becoming one of those lazy fat people who, without thinking, had been eating too much junk food! Only in skiing terms.
So, those of you who had season passes, do you ski too much the first few years you got the pass? Do you "recover" after a couple seasons?
With the constantly changing pass affiliation of EPIC/IKON, there's the added pressure to ski the new mountains before they change to "the other" pass. Kind of like being in the first year of a new season pass, only every year is "new"!
Like, there's a new McDonald or similar opening up a block from me every couple weeks, offering deals. Then closing shortly. And I got suckered into "capitalizing their deals", eating fatty burgers every meal instead of a salad...
(wait! McDonald does have salad, albeit not all that good! I'm lost! if you know what I mean)
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