Lately I’ve been in a vicious cycle where I wonder what I am doing with my life.
Just like with anything though, if you aren’t growing, things tend to lose their appeal.
A mountain top in the backcountry is a very powerful place.
The word freedom is almost an understatement.
On November 9th, 2013 NS member ‘Lou.’
made this thread:http://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/763563/asking how to stay motivated to keep trying after taking hit after hit.
Between the years of 2003 and 2006 I kept getting stuck in ruts as far as park skiing goes.
I just wasn’t pushing myself while out skiing.
Obviously this was NOT an option, so I made a promise to myself to get my shit together.
Since that night I have purpose on the hill.
If you don’t try and push yourself, you WILL get bored and quit.
Use that as your motivation to hike back up and try that rail again.
You have to give it another spin for the sake of the future skier in you."
Yes, I am using Dynafit FT’s in this picture.
Progression, at all levels, can take many different forms.
One can only do the same thing for so long without it losing it’s something special.
I find the natural progression of an individual skier beautiful.
We do something special, there is no doubt about that.
Here is where I start to lose myself though.
You see, I’ve been in love with skiing for as long as I can remember.
I was around 4 or so when my parents put me on skis and sent me down the hill.
Mogul skiing set me up perfectly for the upcoming park movement during my teenage years.
Once I was in the mountains though, things got harder and more complex.
Once I refocused my energy into progressing my skiing in any way possible, everything clicked.
Looking down the guts of the aptly named Forever Young couloir before dropping in.
I’m sure not in Ontario any more!
A funny thing happened to me over the past two years though.
As my mountain skills improved over time, my thirst for bigger mountains and more consequential lines grew.
Does that mean the past two seasons were a waste?
Not in the slightest.
You’ll never know what you don’t want until you try it.
This natural avalanche happened right behind the hut on the day we arrived.
Turns out, I was looking at the whole thing with the wrong mentality.
Photo by: Ian Stibbe
This is my happy place.
Stacks of pillows in the safety of the trees.
Not sure if I’ll ever get bored of skiing this kind of terrain.
I believe Warren Miller said it best at the end of Level 1’s Refresh.
“Skiing’s become very popular for a very simple reason.
Man’s basic instinct is his search for freedom.
A lot of peoples first taste of freedom, is they traverse across a hill and make a turn.
There’s something about putting those slippery sticks on your feet that gives you freedom… And quite often when I’m skiing with people, all I tell them is ‘Look it.
