When was the last time you crashed?
Last January I found myself unable to remember my last big, bold crash.
I used to crash a lot on skis.
These days its rare to have three or four of those a season.
Thats not to say I dont fall.
I end up laying down in the snow after messing up very often.
But I dont full-on crash anywhere near as much as I used to.
Thats sort of to be expected.
As we progress at skiers we get better at the techniques that keep us on our feet.
But, on the flipside, theres a lot to be learned from crashing.
The ease and relative comfort of crashing on skis was part of what drew me to the sport initially.
I had a background in basketball and lacrosse.
Both sports involve plenty of diving, hitting, generally crashing into other people and the ground.
Usually some floor burns, often an injury or two, many of which still nag me.
Skiing was the first time I got to push myself without immediate and painful physical consequences.
In skiing, its sort of the norm.
I embraced crashing for those first few years.
And then, slowly something changed.
Along with that, the kind of skiing I was doing became more consequential.
Backcountry partners look at you ascance when you crash a lot.
Its a liability to the whole group.
I got roped into skiing lines where crashing could spell the end of my life.
So I focused on not crashing.
And that focus carried into my day-to-day resort skiing.
My average speed around the mountain decreased, I sent big moves less often, and my tricks stagnated.
Maybe thats just part of growing up, but I decided last spring that Im done with this mindset.
Im going to build more booters into pow, and take a stab at get a few new tricks.
Come crash with me!
