The conditions out there may be marginal. In fact, let's be honest…they are. Too much warmth and wind has left things hard packed and slabby. But that's OK. Cause it's not just about the turns. It's about getting your lungs going as you fall into a rhythm on the skin. It's the smell of the trees, the sound of the snow – today, loud and crunchy. It's about going uphill, the best way to go I believe, and looking to your left and watching the valley below get more distant, the peaks to the west emerge more and more. It's about venturing, ever so slightly, into the wild…the land of coyotes and fox and deer and moose and grey jays and hawks and owls. It's about the summit, basking in it, feeling the morning sun on your face. It's about enjoying this magical place and celebrating with family, be it an embrace with my wife, or having Stella jump up and giving her a hearty pet. And then, the downhill. On a powder day, blissful, but on a day like today, a challenge. A little challenge, a little risk is a good way to start the day. To do it with some style, to blend with the hillside…that is the goal. If you can feel that for a few seconds on the run, that's good enough. And then it's about the completion of the ski, the wind down. Listening to the expanding creek, hearing a bird chirp, enjoying more of that sun while you load up the truck before heading to work. That's why I ski regularly.. It's about making a choice, every day, to choose that path a little less travelled.
P.S. – I believe that the wilderness grounds you. It makes you a better person. In this world of crisis, my perspective is this. Go into the wild. Watch the ways of nature. Sweat a little, get sore. It will put it all in perspective and will make choices more clear. I believe all world citizens, all leaders, all members of the human race should practice this…regularly. Our world needs it, it needs the grounding.
Alta Backcountry 