AlexFogo85Looking to hear some other opinions to see if how I'm feeling is normal.
The start of this ski season has me feeling less than excited to get back on the mountain. Typically I'm dreaming up new tricks and jumping around spinning off sidewalks when I start to feel the new season approaching, but this year it's just not there. I'm 24 and have been skiing since I was a kid. I've gone through a number of injuries and always came back ready and happy to be back in the park. I went to Killington over the weekend (more out of peer pressure and less out of excitement) and felt discouraged in trying any bigger tricks and could barely do the tricks I'm used to. I have a lot of other things going like work, football, the gym, and being with my friends in the city and I'm starting to feel like those have taken priority over skiing and I'd rather spend time on that than risk getting injured and losing some of those things. This year feels different and I'm having trouble knowing if my time with skiing is really over or if it's just a bump in the road. Has anyone else felt this way, taken a break from skiing, or quit entirely? Curious what others have experienced - thanks for the input.
dude i have definitely questioned why i continue to pursue skiing or what my involvement should be but ultimately life is about balance and its all good whatever you choose. especially growing older your risk tolerance decreases because you have other things that your passionate about and can't get hurt for. i've come back to it after a few bumps in the road because its hard to find anything else in my life that gives me that joy or feeling of freedom and access to a flow state. just the opportunity to cruise around the resort bumping some tunes or just enjoying the sound of the snow under your feet is a privilege.
being a skier means saying yes to going outside and having a good time with your buddies. if you have something else you want to get after like the gym or professional goals or studying you gotta do it, but its always gonna be a really nice way to recreate. weird as it sounds but society doesn't offer many avenues for "play" once you're an adult but skiing can always give that to you. i like having lots of different activities to fill my time with other than just hitting the bars and watching sports, which is what 90% of America does with their free time. thankfully fellow skiers have introduced me to stuff like mountain biking, backpacking, climbing and floating, so I'm more stoked on summers than ever before and I definitely don't want to spend any more time on crutches. i also still like to get in some gym/yoga time, its been a huge goal of mine the past few years to not let that stuff slide just because its winter all ppl wanna do is want to ski and party.
maybe you just don't care about park skiing that much anymore and that's fine. sometimes you get hooked on progression and other times your like meh so you just gotta go with the flow and have a good time. i've seen dudes who are absolute rippers (like 65ft nosebutter cork 9 first hit) be like nah im snowboarding today just for fun and they just snowboard with their friends and fam for literal weeks at a time.
or for example my roommate is an ex d1 racer who chucks dubs and charges fat lines, this last winter he basically totally stepped away for a good job and a cool girlfriend. he still got out for good turns with good friends and the occasional bc mission, and then this fall after a summer of taking good care of our bodies we had a super fun mini rail session and he was lacing up 4s off just like your 15yrs old again.
my worst injury was a backslap that landed me a $5000 ambulance ride with 3 broken vertebrae, and fractured pelvis, femur, tibia along with cartilage damage. i was a useless sack of shit and unable to work or get off the couch for months as medical bills were piling up. that recovery process made me super hungry to get back to physical activity because i was down and out for so long, but it also taught me some pretty real world consequences about not looking out for your body, its the only one we ever get!
so now, to me being a skier is an outlook on life that says, yeah I'm getting off the couch and getting after it today, no matter what. i think keeping that attitude at heart is key even if you do move to a big city or just simply start to care more about other things. this summer at 27 i've gotten back into pickup soccer and vball. i've even started skateboarding and blading again for the first time since i was 12 and even though i suck and and look like a total gaper idrgaf its super fun. some days i deal with some chronic pain from old injuries and some days i feel amazing and totally forgot i ever went under the knife. but even when i feel really good and start sending a little or dig into the old bag of tricks I always think about all the other great stuff i can do if i stay healthy and don't get hurt! live to ride another day, always.
/endrant go outside and have fun!
