I myself didn’t start skiing until I was a freshman in high school.
I skied on a pair of snow blades I pulled out of a bin at Goodwill.
I wore a spray painted bike helmet and a pair of goggles I grabbed at a yardsale.
I was pretty much the epitome of a gaper.
That’s me on the left, man I look gooood!
There is, after all a lot to regret.
Gapers are annoying, often obnoxious and they do get in the way.
Many gapers also have some of the best attitudes about skiing I have ever seen
.
I used to get so excited before skiing that I couldn’t really sleep or eat the night before.
I would get out all of my gear days ahead of time and lay it out.
As a gaper I would put on all of my gear and practice grabs in the living room.
James out of control for once
I’m still excited about skiing.
Eventually I grew up a little and progressed out of gaperville and became a more legit skier.
Rockered skis, real goggles, and season passes all transformed me.
I didn’t loose touch with my inner gaper all the way though.
I still rock carhartts and a fanny pack on occasion but a lot of that gaper spirit is gone.
I got to go skiing with all of my family.
We invaded a small resort in California and ticked off a lot of cool snowboarders and park rats.
We also Tapped the tube, Slid the stunt ditch, and grinded the playbox.
We were the opposite of legit skiers and it was one of my favorite days of all time.
James E knows how to have fun.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/649499/Crashes-and-burns
Now we spend a few days every year gaping.
They have been some of the most fun days we have ever spent on snow.
No pressure, no expectations, no judgement, just that pure unadulterated fun of skiing.
As annoying as gapers can be they have something very valuable to teach all of us.
We cannot forget that joy that came with those first few turns on snow.
That simple gaper stoke is the soul of skiing.
