We've got our reasons to ride, we've got our reasons to ri-hi-hide.
Posted
by
WinterKids
on Monday, January 21, 2013
With Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month in full swing, we got to thinking about the reasons that we ride, year after year. We started to think about why we all took out newcomers this month and shared our love for the sport with them. No matter what your reason for beginning initially, if you are anything like us, that time hooked you in, and time has elapsed rather quickly from your days face planting the mountain, to the days where you were flying down them. We are hoping, that with this month especially, we have an entirely new generation of passionate shredders.
I. "Humans were never meant to hibernate." This mantra for Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month speaks directly to the hearts of all active adventurers and explorers. Even though the snow is, you guessed it, cold and wet!, all of us take advantage of our earthly playground all year round. We are passionate about exploring the world in all conditions, during every season of the year (mostly in Winter). What makes our sports perfect for fulfilling this adventurous itch? they take you all over the globe. There are famous mountain destinations world wide, which give an entire list of resorts that we just MUST TRY at some point in our lifetimes. Seeing these spectacular sites from a distance, or in photographs, is just not enough. You dream about the powder and terrain of some of these destinations, and you figure out "how can I make this trip happen?" When you actually get to ski/snowboard in that snow, you feel like a part of something so much larger. We feel spoiled living in Colorado, as many of you are traveling here, to experience what we do on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, when reviewing the lists of best ski resorts for the year, Colorado is a repeat offender: Vail, Snowmass, Steamboat, Breckenridge, Telluride, Winter Park, Crested Butte, Cooper, and Aspen all made Ski Magazine's Best Ski Resorts publication for best resorts. Other places we are dying to check out:
. Heavenly, California.
.Stowe, Vermont.
.Innsbruck, Austria.
II. "I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky."
To be completely honest, we just like to see what exactly we are capable of on the mountain. You start off learning, and falling down the bunny slope, and eventually reach a point, like the gentleman above, where you literally take flight. When I was little, I had dreams about flying (what little kid does not, especially after watching Peter Pan?) and skiing presented me with an opportunity to make that a reality. It proved to be a much better outlet for this desire than trying to jump off the top of my dresser. Even though for brief moments in time, you get to completely leave the ground, fly around in the sky, and then touch back down to Earth. It is such a feeling of peaceful serenity. I am not a professional by any means, but I can certainly appreciate them for all that they are capable of accomplishing. They test the boundaries of human potential and capability. It is undeniably an art, and artists are getting increasingly more talented with snow as their medium.
III. Tradition: when you are old enough to walk, you are certainly old enough to ski. Skiing is a sport that is rich in tradition and heritage and a lot of families self identify as being part of a "ski family" or a "snowboard family." These are the families in which everyone participates, everyone is passionate, and everyone wants to share their love through the generations. Most of us came from families where the natural progression for mobile life is: crawl, walk, ski, drive. This sport stays in families for generations, where it is tradition to teach the new additions, the favorite family pastime. It becomes tradition to frequent the same resort year after year (with the entire extended family), the same time of year, rent that same cabin (that everyone loves), and build wonderful memories. Your traditions change over the year, and you may ad to your repertoire of favorite places to go however, the tradition of skiing/snowboarding all winter remains. The parents endure all of the "it is so cold" tears and sniffles because they know that eventually, everyone will get to ski together. They pick you up from the ground in hopes that after a great deal of practice, the sky, not the ground, will become your home.
IV. Family. Skiing/snowboarding are social sports that everyone in the family can enjoy together. We all know, too well, that the days on the mountain can be really long. Even if at the top you stick in your ear buds, and take your own personal time on the slopes, there is a lot of time to spend together getting outfitted, traveling, fueling up with food and hot beverages, meeting new people on the gondolas, taking pictures, and of course, taking breaks. Your family and friends also encourage and motivate you to reach your maximum mountain potential. They watch your technique and your skills, and they provide helpful critiques and advice on how to improve. If you had a New Year's resolution on your list to spend more time with family and friends, skiing/snowboarding will have that eliminated by next season.
V. Peaceful, stunning scenery. No gym can possible provide this kind of visual experience.
VI. Passion. We are passionate about skiing. We are passionate about snowboarding. We are passionate about snow. We are passionate about the world as a year round playground. We are passionate about winter. We are passionate about the mountains. We are passionate about our potential. We are passionate about flying. We are passionate about incredible gear. We are passionate about powder. We are passionate about sharing our love for the sport in as many outlets as possible.
VII. Oh yea, almost forgot, skiing/snowboarding is wonderful exercise (which we sometimes forget: something this incredibly fun is a workout?).
We would love for everyone to share the reasons that you turned to skiing/snowboarding in the first place.  We would also love to know what keeps you going back to the slopes.
Categories:
Skiing & Snowboarding
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