Skiing

Position: 47°44’39.5″N 121°05’25.5″W

“He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Despite its 19^th century gender normative syntax, there is, as in many of Nietzsche’s ideas, a kernel of truth in this quote. If you want to put life’s miseries aside for a few hours, heading up to the mountains and skiing down them should come near the top of anyone’s list. Well, anyone who skis and enjoys it. And has the cash to indulge themselves. Which, come the think of it, is a vanishingly small number of people.

“The best place in the world to ski is where you’re skiing that day.” – Warren Miller

Given America’s recent tragedy involving a couple of self-identified Übermensch rising to positions of power that far exceed their intellectual capabilities, we couldn’t wait to laugh our way down the slopes of nearby Stevens Pass. Snow had fallen for three days at elevations above 4,500’: the sticky wet stuff so favoured by the mountains around here. It didn’t matter. By the time we woke up on Wednesday morning, a high-pressure system had moved in and cleared out the clouds.

Temperatures dropped overnight and by the time the lifts opened the pistes were smoothed and groovy. Plenty of soft powder spread across the mountainsides. Carol and Michael (our erstwhile crew member) headed for the trees as soon as they got off the chair lift. Powder doesn’t last long in this neck of the woods. Particularly when the sun shines. In a matter of hours, it is either skied out or turned into knee buckling stodge. I had purchased a pair of nearly new ski boots the day before, so I stuck to the groomers and shot video.

“It is better to go skiing and think of God, than go to church and think of sport.” – Fridtjof Nansen

Having skied only once in the past seven years, that was three weeks ago, my muscle memory needed re-educating. For my first 50 years of skiing, I moved from one pair of long, narrow skis to the next. Eventually, while living in Germany, I bought a pair of Völkl Renntigers 205s, with Salomon 747 bindings. Along with my Dachstein flow-fit boots, I had run out of excuses. It was time to ski like I meant it. I loved those skis. Flexible enough in the front for quick turns, they were stable enough for schussing the flats.

When I replaced them 30 years later with another pair of Völkls everything about ski design had changed. My new skis were much wider, much more ‘waisted’, and shorter. That makes them fiendishly easy to turn. Carving is now a matter of pushing a little weight forwards and leaving the skis to do the rest. Stability at speed is not, however, their strong suit. You’ll need to get a pair of long, narrow, giant slalom skis for that. But the performance enhancing properties of modern ski shapes are remarkable. It shows in the numbers of retirement-aged skiers on the mountain.

When I was learning to ski, anyone over 60 could ski for free at many resorts. Now at Stevens Pass you won’t get a discounted pass until you’re 70. It is the curse of my generation that all the benefits of getting old accrued to my parents are mere chimeras for us. Always tantalizingly out of reach.

“Skiing is expensive, but it’s cheaper than therapy.” – Anonymous

More than the equipment has changed in the past 30 years. Back then a bluebird day, sunny and crisp, would have shaken loose every dirtbag skier and student in the region and sent them up the mountain. Nowadays, there is never a queue in the middle of the week. Even when legions of schoolkids are sprung loose for mid-winter break, you rarely have to wait more than a couple of minutes. On the plus side, lifts are faster and carry more people per chair. On the minus side, an adult midweek day lift ticket at Stevens Pass runs $187. Add gas, gear rental, a burger and a brew, you’re close to $500 for a day’s outing. Arguably, it is still less than the cost of psychoanalysis. Plus, with a bit of planning and networking there are all kinds of discounts available.

The ski industry faces other headwinds. Climate change is shortening ski seasons everywhere. Europe, with its high peaks and robust infrastructure, has struggled for 20 years to keep its lifts running for a full season. As operators find it harder to break even, consolidation has gripped the industry. Many smaller resorts have gone out of business. That raises prices, further reduces demand, and, well, it’s not a great picture for the future of the sport. Before you start, nothing you say will convince me that wearing a pair of virtual reality goggles and standing on a wobbly platform will replicate the experience of charging down a slope in thick fog and driving snow in search of a warm mug of glühwein.

“Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.” – Werner Herzog

Coming off the mountain, the tang of snow still fresh on our tongues and a blush of wind on our cheeks, we felt like our 40-year-old selves. Energized, refreshed, a little tired, but happy. We had laughed, skied 29 miles off our legs and made the rest of the world disappear for a while. There is nothing like the outdoors, except perhaps finding warm shelter immediately after you’ve been there. As a proxy for sailing, skiing has a lot to offer. Like sailing, the air up there is fresher, the wind a fact of life, and once you are safely down the mountain (or at anchor), you can snuggle and together relive the adventure.

Video

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