It was only a matter of time with this blog before before some my philosophies and diatribes on skiing would come out, today is that day. The past two weeks have been some of the worst I can remember as a Colorado skier, we have had almost no snow. The conditions in the middle of January resemble something more akin to late April, its just sad out there. Last Sunday I was riding lift 5 out of the Sun Down Bowl at Vail. Myself, Jeny, and our friend Andy were discussing how depressing our current surroundings were, pointing at dirt patches, and commenting on the distant sounds of riders slip sliding on two week old ice when Andy said something that really put all our whining in perspective, he said
It’s the sour that makes the sweet even sweeter.
That one resonated with me for a while, just as the summer makes the ski season that much more cherished, as can poor conditions when the sky decides to puke again. Einstein’s special relativity speaks to much more then time dilation and length contraction. Our ski season may be letting all of us pow hounds down right now, but thinking back to some of the “land on your head deep” days of yore and viewing them from my seat in the 09/10 ski season, just makes me that much more stoked on what I had, and what’s still to come.
As a college freshman in Intro to Psychology I was introduced to the concept of hindsight bias, a term for the outcome of an event seeming more obvious after it took place then it did initially. Today in making my typical rounds on the internet, I am again exposed to a perfect example of hindsight bias that would make any skier blush. The video below is something so obvious and so awesome that now in hindsight I can not believe I have not seen it before. It’s awesome, it’s rad, of course it works and it’s make me just a little upset I didn’t do it first.
As the seasons continue their unrelenting march into the future, we are again treated to nature’s most wonderful show. We watch as all of the scars, holes, bumps, and imperfections of the Earth get covered with one single sheet of brilliant white snow. Again, I find myself standing at the top of a peak, in wonder at the gift that nature has so graciously granted to man, skiing. This year, as with most, I did not stand alone. At my side for the season opener was the Switchskier crew: Brandon, Ben, Lindsey, Rachel and Jacob. We made our way to Copper Mountain this year, as our passes this year are for Winter Park, Copper Mountain, and Steamboat Springs. Copper’s opening day offering was a single run from top to bottom along with a small terrain park sporting about 5 rails, 5 boxes and one small park jump.
The Syncro 180 is hugely under rated, it takes serious talent to do well, but when successful everyone in the park know just how cool you are – Brandon
Moab, Utah if you were unaware is billed and the “Mountain Biking Mecca” however unlike the Saudi version is not nearly as exclusive. Mountain bikers from across the globe make the Hajj, and once you are there it is easy to understand why. If brake modulation, bunny hopping, track standing and manualing are the first four pillars of mountain biking, then I would certainly have to say Moab’s marketing department got this one right.
The Switchskier Team decided it was time, as all able bodied mountain bikers are required to do, to make the trip out to Moab and leave a rubber mark on a piece of slickrock for ourselves. Ben and Nick, were ambitious enough to leave Wednesday evening and stack up four full days of riding, Danny and myself were not quite so ambitious and only put in one and two days respectively.
As you know capturing great moments is key to any successful ski day. Here is a little quote I thought make a lot of sense.
Q: Do you need a $10,000 camera system to shoot like a pro? A: No, I don’t think you do. A camera is essentially a tool, just like a hammer. You can take pictures whether it’s just a simple point-and-shoot or a serious professional camera. It’s just a matter of knowing what to shoot, when to shoot and how to shoot it…Having better equipment can give you better control over how to take the photo, but I don’t think it necessarily makes you a better photographer. Someone who’s a good photographer can take a photo with their telephone nearly as good as they could with a professional camera.
Paul Mitchell World Series of Moguls, Vail, CO, 1995: This was Shane McConkey’s coming out. Earlier in the day, he was banned from the competition for throwing a backflip, so he convinced a patroller to let him go back to the start to get his bag. Instead of picking up his things, he took off all his clothes, did a spread eagle, and was once again banned from Vail.
Freeskier had a cool article on Shane McConkey through the years. Can you imagine hitting the bumps completely nude and throwing a giant spread eagle like that?
Hermann Maier decided to end his ski racing career today after a knee injury last season, and subsequent surgery prompted him to make a long term health decision. Maier entered the ski racing world at age 23 in 1996 and has won four Olympic medals (two Gold) and six world championship medals (three Gold). Maier was an amazing skier, but most probably remember him from “the” crash in Nagano which he walked away from to return two days later and snag his first Gold.
Hermann Maier decided to end his ski racing career today after a knee injury last season, and subsequent surgery prompted him to make a long term health decision. Maier entered the ski racing world at age 23 in 1996 and has won four Olympic medals (two Gold) and six world championship medals (three Gold). Maier was an amazing skier, but most probably remember him from “the” crash in Nagano which he walked away from to return two days later and snag his first Gold.