Springtime

As a skier, every season has a different set of emotions, expectations and experiences. Each change in temperature and weather throughout the year allows us to move and grow with the rhythm of the world around us. Summer is a skier’s hibernation period. This is not to say that a skier’s summer is filled with dullness and mediocrity. Far from it. Summer is the time to recharge and take a much needed break from our addiction to all things snow. It’s the only time of year where skiing can be let go completely and we can bask in the sun, enjoy other pursuits, and leave that never ending need to shred behind us for three of four months.

Fall is the time for anticipation. The temperatures begin to drop, the leaves turn and ever so slowly, winter’s slow and inescapable onset moves closer and closer. Fall is the waiting time. The period where skiing is still only a dream. There is hope in the fall; for an epic season, an early dump of snow, the first glimpse of snowcapped peaks. The fall ignites that obsession for snow deep within every skier and slowly fans the flame so when winter does, finally, make an appearance, our focus is solely on skiing and all it has to offer.

Winter. When winter begins, all bets are off. Life pursuits, professional development, sometimes even personal growth and relationships, come a distant second to our love and passion for skiing. Winter is the season where everything is firing. On most days we ski. Some days we rest. During an epic season, our rest days are few and our stoke is high. Winter is what we live for. Day in and day out, whether working or playing, we try and make it about skiing. Hill days, touring days, powder days, slackcountry days, epic objective days, groomer days, park days. All those days blend into one long season and we get the chance to experience bliss in its truest form: that of just being present while doing something we love. There’s no anger or torment on skis. No sadness or shame. There is only bliss. Even during the bad seasons, when snow is rare and powder days non-existent, our obsession is almost something calming. You see, we know ourselves and what we want. Our addiction to snow is familiar and comforting. During a bad season, when those few epic turns make themselves available now and again, we savour them even more than usual. One good lap will sustain us for months. Winter is the living time.

Springtime is different. It’s both the end and the beginning. For the world, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a time for thawing out and relaxing. Mother nature wakes up and tends to her gardens, landscaping our world into early blooms, budding trees and forest predators starting over again. For skiers, it’s the end of things. The season winds down. The snow turns to corn, the days get longer and the obsession slowly starts to abate. We linger in the spring. Our ski days are longer, spring tours more focused on things like food and drink, rather than climbs and descents. The mountains are beautiful in the spring. Long sunny days and warm temps make for a different experience on skis. With less crowds on the hill, the lift lines become social gatherings and apres can stretch into barbecues in the backcountry and long patio sessions in the village.

The sun’s warmth and the glory of a spring renewal make things easier for skiers. We are carefully let down with the start of spring. All those factors, from warm temps to corn snow to breathtaking sunsets, the spring gives us a chance to ease into our downtime that awaits us mid-summer. Instead of ending our addiction abruptly, we’re allowed to ease off our drug of choice and let a change of seasons bring us to a place of peace. The snow is ending, but we are allowed to begin again.

Be safe, ski hard.