I love skiing more than most things. I’ve made a lot of major life decisions surrounding my ability to go skiing, but I recently came to the realization that skiing helps me live happily, rather than being alive so that I can go skiing.
I love the sport, I really truly do, but I want my life to mean more than the number of days I spend on the hill each season. I talked with some close ski friends about the unfortunate season we’ve been having and I realized that while the snowpack has left much to be desired, my smile has been just as big.
The people around me and a desire to push myself mean more to me than traditional skiing ideals. It matters so much less to me that other people can do better tricks or some resort on the other side of the world has way more snow. I know these things are largely out of my control, so having fun on a bad day is more valuable to me.
This was apparent to me on my most recent ski trip that involved only one ski day rather than all seven. We trekked to Mt. Baker which was unfortunately closed for most of the week we were visiting. It was a refreshing feeling that I didn’t have to go skiing, simply because I couldn’t.
Missing a day of skiing often feels stressful and surrounds myself with guilt that I may not be working hard enough. It was nice to go on a trip and realize my life wasn’t about skiing, but rather skiing was just one part of a very full life.
I smiled just as much on this trip (off the hill) as I did any other ski trip I took this year. As I reflect on the skiing I’ve done this season and the places I’ve been, it’s become abundantly clear that the most important thing to me is who I am surrounded with.
I took this non-skiing ski trip with a bunch of friends I mostly know from the sport of skiing, something this community has provided me with. We all plunged into a tourist mindset while learning what else there is to do on a vacation other than skiing.
I saw the ocean, tried oysters, and wore something other than my snowpants for multiple days in a row. While I was initially disappointed with our inability to ski, I gained so many more new experiences instead of strapping on my uncomfortable race boots day after day.
I still love skiing just as much as before but I understand now it’s just one part of my very big life. I am grateful for all the endless fun skiing has provided me, but mostly the people I’ve met skiing and the places it’s taken me are certainly my favorite part.
Keep this in mind the next time you start to feel a ‘no friends on a powder mindset’ or consider bankrupting yourself over an Ikon Pass. Skiing is healthy, but living to ski might not be.