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Skiing, Existentialism, and Narcissism

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Hodor
Posts: 503 - Karma: 2,578
So I am going through a bit of an existential crisis about park skiing. I got really stoned the other day and somehow starting thinking really hard about skiing. I know this thread will receive some hate but I think it would be fun to philosophize a bit.
Ultimately as I am getting a older (almost 22) which is sadly on the older end of those you would find riding park, I have begun thinking about what drew me to the sport and what it all means in the long run. I guess my main question is what is the whole point of our sport?

Why do we spend so much money on skiing and why so we subject ourselves to injuries that will effect us through the rest of our lives. My good friend took a big blow to the head this year and had to leave college, but for what?
Do we feel the need to ski park to impress others, to rebel against conventions? Why do we put so much money and effort into the way we look. Why is the longest thread on newschoolers about members latest material purchases?
Ultimately park skiing involves a lot of narcissism. Its a sport for those who want to impress others, want to be the center of attention and want to turn heads when they take laps. Is the only purpose of skiing park to look cool?
There is the purist explanation that we do all this simply for fun and for the feeling we get while smoothly landing a trick, but I simply can't seem to shake away all the narcissism involved in our sport.
I don't know, maybe I should just grow out some dreds and get some tele skis. Anyway I am curious what this site will say about this topic.
Jul 1 2013 12:49PM
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MilaKunis
Posts: 1480 - Karma: 3,646
LLAMA'S
Jul 1 2013 12:53PM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
The reason I ski is the feeling you get after trying a trick over and over again, falling and finally stomping it. That feeling makes all the injuries worth it to the fullest.
Jul 1 2013 12:53PM
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edai
Posts: 4987 - Karma: 4,653
I think it's fun that's why.
Jul 1 2013 1:01PM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
don't have time to respond fully cause i'm at work but dude cut out this "i'm old" stuff, you're 22..dudes 15-20 years older than you are sending mean cliffs, stop thinking like an old man when youre anything but

that being said, interesting thread, ill be back
Jul 1 2013 1:06PM
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Miomo
Posts: 4302 - Karma: 14,133
Yes.
Jul 1 2013 1:08PM
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Snowtorious_BIG
Posts: 659 - Karma: 1,467
This
Jul 1 2013 1:16PM
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LemmiwinksVT
Posts: 156 - Karma: -17
Well I'm 26 and ski park 75% of the time...Most who care what other people think or are hating on people for lack of skill are just young and ignorant ooooorrr they could be adult, which just makes them a total asshole. Don't be an asshole. Ski for yourself and your friends, dude.
Jul 1 2013 1:22PM
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petro
Posts: 657 - Karma: 456
lol 22

skiing is fun, i like fun. pretty simple concept really
Jul 1 2013 1:36PM
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Stose
Posts: 7109 - Karma: 4,123
I do it cause I like to get out and be active, and it just seemed natural to get into park because I could push myself and have fun
Jul 1 2013 1:40PM
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3mania
Posts: 2612 - Karma: 10,342
I regret nothing.
Jul 1 2013 2:01PM
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magicalkitten
Posts: 224 - Karma: 316
I feel like different people do it for different reasons
Some people do it for the reasons you listed like flaunting their new gear and hit a rail or two to show off their skills. Some people do it to express themselves in a sport where there are no rules and no right or wrong way to do a trick. Some people are very competitive with themselves and find joy in getting better than everyone that surrounds them so that they have a high status in the park. And for the majority of us, we just enjoy the feeling of landing a new trick and riding out clean.
well, that was gay.
Jul 1 2013 2:04PM
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UFOsarereal
Posts: 2285 - Karma: 1,132
threads -- fun shit to think about
Jul 1 2013 2:28PM
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papermache
Posts: 1097 - Karma: 616

I def share thoughts on this, threads for when i'm off work

Jul 1 2013 2:36PM
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Gr0mo
Posts: 707 - Karma: 3,663
I think it's less about what people think of me and more about what I think of myself. Admittedly I still do care what people think about me but for me, it's about living up to my full potential. I know I am capable of great things, I will push myself even into injury to prove it to myself.
Jul 1 2013 2:42PM
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~bagelz~
Posts: 1105 - Karma: 1,067
i feel like a lot of park skiers give way to much of a fuck about appearances, etc.(me too) and need to give less of a fuck in general. thank god im moving back to the pnw where i can ski pow
Jul 1 2013 2:53PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
This is something I've thought about a lot as well. I've made a few posts on it and no one really seems to care much, but whatever. Perhaps that's due to the over abundance of nihilists in our community.

Anyway, you pretty much hit the spot with existentialism, narcissism... I'd add hedonism, nihilism, and even spiritualism.

We are thrill seekers, pleasure seekers, and people who value personal experience. I'm sure there are some that do it based on trying to impress others or have a shared interest, but I can only hope these people are able to find the same passion the rest of us share.

In regards to fashion and materialism... that's because we are a product of our culture and it's a trend in every sport and every activity unless the trend is to be anti materialistic... and the only "sport" I can think of in this aspect is hiking, in which even still, you aren't a true PCTer unless you have a Hawaiian shirt and leggings. Attire, or lack there of, is part of culture, and skiing is a subculture.

In regards to psychology, there is something different in our brains that make us feel differently than most when we ski. It's the same as a cocaine addiction. Lower levels of MAO cause us to respond differently to dopamine allowing our brains to flood with adrenaline and feel an overwhelming sense of gratification, accomplishment, and even love for what we are doing or just did.

Combine the chemistry part with the sense of being in nature, around friends, and feeling so small... the only other things I think I could truly love are the things I imagine would cause the same effects... Surfing, paragliding, skateboarding.

I've now noticed that I have trouble connecting with people who don't have an insane passion towards something. I just sort of don't get how you can go through life not truly loving something.
Jul 1 2013 3:38PM
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bighomieflock
Posts: 2040 - Karma: 2,445
I can fairly confidently say that the only reason I ski is because it's fun and thrilling.
Jul 1 2013 3:42PM
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juicedrummer11
Posts: 1960 - Karma: 1,331

I just turned 22 at the end of the season and have also wondered this before.  All of my major injuries actually are from skiing. But for me, I would have to say its the one sport I can go hard in and make all my friends look on in awe.  Ha its weird i guess cuz i love the feeling of flying through the air and its hard to get that feeling of sending it on a big kicker in any other sport. i could straight air and 360 for dayyzzz!  but a lot of my other friends are good skaters or bmxers or rode motocross and all that other action sports jazz. skiing/snowboarding is the one thing they don't do as well haha. thats why i kinda like it.

i also hope to someday be on a ski trip either with some peeps from my company or some other group of friends that i've never ridden with before and then when they all say "let's go ride in the trick park" i will casually be sending it off every rail and jump to their amazement. even tho it wouldn't be anything special to anyone on here lol

Jul 1 2013 4:18PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
i'll tell you why we ski: sex. everything any human does in any avenue of life can be linked back to sex.

people will constantly tell you that "oh i'm doing it for the thrill seeking" or "no way man, i'm doing it because i love it". they are all full of shit.

athletes train to become better athletes, and you know what the best athletes get? hot bitches. lawyers and doctors work really hard in school and drop tons of money and time to get into professions where they make tons of money. why? so they can buy a fucking benz and wheel broads. some fucking mathematician locks himself in a room for 46 days creating some extensive algorithm to link buying and selling goods to picking up girls at a bar. you know why he does it? so he can win a fucking nobel prize and nail some skeezy swiss honey.

skiing is no different. some kid on newschoolers pre-orders the newest saga so he looks sick, even though he sucks at skiing. why? so he can work on that skanky snowboard skeezer on the chairlift and maybe get his fingers wet. dont act like when you land something sick or you stomp a huge cliff you don't look around to see if any hoes are watching. i know you kids are out there hiking a rail because you want to get that trick soooooo bad, but you know deep down why you want the trick? because you saw nick goepper land that trick and he's banging that gymnast, and we ALL want to bang gymnasts that win televised dancing competitions.
Jul 1 2013 4:31PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
You're half right....


Thrill seeking has actually been shown to create the same hormonal changes in the brain that having sex occurs, and more so with women can actually produce the chemical balance attributed with the emotion of love.

So basically... you can actually feel "in love" with skiing.
Jul 1 2013 4:36PM
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
You think I'm at Hood right now for the sex? Have you been to Govy in the summer?
Jul 1 2013 4:39PM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
I'll be honest. That's 100 % correct.
Jul 1 2013 4:49PM
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joshua
Posts: 5046 - Karma: 1,280
I think people exaggerate on the whole "life altering injuries" thing. Yes, some people do get some bad injuries and you might be a little worse for wear if you go hard, but the vast majority of park skiers aren't going to have a lower quality of life as they age just from park skiing. IMO anyway, not based on any hard data.
Jul 1 2013 5:04PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
This is something I have noticed lately as well. The idea of exposure being intrinsically desirable is rampant in this industry. It's simple confirmation bias: all the posterboy skiers promote themselves incessantly, therefore the consumer is led to believe that in order to attain their level of skiing and opportunity, one must follow suit and promote themselves. The truth is that you never hear about the guys who kill it and don't promote themselves, so our conception of the superhuman skier ethos is skewed.

How skewed? When a respected pro reaches that age when he realizes the egotism and pointlessness of self-promotion, he opts out of the spotlight so he can enjoy skiing in privacy and ambiguity, untinged by ego, thereby elevating the skiing experience to a state of nirvana. On the other end, we, unable to remove our status-tinted goggles, dismiss the rider's newfound appreciation for the sport with petty insults and circular logic: "he's washed up"; "he fell off"; "he's past his prime." (e.g. Laurant Favre)

The truth is that for every pro there are often two "nobodies" who rival their skill. Status in the ski industry is arbitrary. It is a testament to one's social networking skills more than anything. That's not to say that established "faces" don't deserve respect for their athletic feats (after all, the stuff they do is awesome), nor does it mean that the silent rippers are inherently more "pure" or some other bullshit ideal you hear hippies rave about. But keep in mind that while everyone has their head turned toward the athletic capitalist, who travels the globe surveying each location with a quick hit and a photo, there exists a bearded ghost-man who can rip harder than the pretty faces, yet understands the pointlessness of such a match and instead spends his time enjoying that which matters to him most: actually skiing.
Jul 1 2013 5:06PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
no but you're enduring the harsh summer of batting off stinky ass hippies while improving your skiing skills to plant yourself in some ski town next winter and impress some divorced cougar so much so that she'll let you munch her rug and buy you nice things.
Jul 1 2013 5:14PM
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danbrown
Posts: 11939 - Karma: 21,826
story of my life
Jul 1 2013 5:18PM
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juicedrummer11
Posts: 1960 - Karma: 1,331
now that i think about it, yeah it is for the sex.  i loved riding the lift with all the hotties from australia or other places in hopes i would sweet talk them into a lap and show them that i could do almost as many tricks as them and there was a lifty who was pretty sexy this year, i was so close to getting her number, but her shift ended on one of my laps :(
Jul 1 2013 5:20PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
spot on
Jul 1 2013 5:22PM
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CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5712 - Karma: 20,638
Being married, I don't do it for the sex. My wife doesn't see me ski cause she doesn't ski.

I don't do it to impress people, because fuck people.

I won't claim for "the love of the sport" because I'm not cheesy.

I do it for two reasons:

1. It's something I can do well. And we all like to do things we can do well. I can step into my skis and know that there isn't a single place on the mountain I can't go. After a shit week at work where I do things wrong and have people riding me, I go ski so I can do the riding.

2. I do it to be alone. It's calming. I don't get sweaty. I don't have to work on the house. I forget about everything and everyone, put on my headphones and don't say a word for 7 hours. I go alone and I don't pay attention to anyone on the lift, hill, or lines. Why? Because fuck people.
Jul 1 2013 6:15PM
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malonius_funk
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,500
had a conversation on my roof last night with my roommate about this.

i realized i ski because of the feeling it brings me after i stomp a cliff, trick, make a good turn, have a good run, or just the feeling of skiing great snow.

the difference between that feeling and others is that after i accomplish something skiing, the feeling stays with me forever. i can be anywhere and recognize the feeling it gives me, and to experience that feeling real time is the coolest thing in the world. it's kinda contrastable to smoking weed...sure it's fun and feels great, but i can't even compare the short term pleasure i get from smoking weed to the pleasure i get from skiing. the long term happiness skiing gives me is so much more satisfying and indulging in short term pleasures.

as far as specifically what that feeling is, i can't really pinpoint it. i guess it just feels good either conquering something your scared of or just cruising around the mountain with your friends, sharing an experience. it's easy to smoke weed, not so easy to commit to a cliff or a new trick, etc.
Jul 1 2013 6:51PM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5432 - Karma: 11,820
This differs for people. I would have agreed with you a year ago. I'm rehabbing a knee injury right now from a trick that I really wanted to land and I'm scared. I'm scared that my knee will hurt when I ski hard. I'm scared of the possibility of tearing it again. I'm fucking scared of being scared, that I'll never ski as hard again because I'll have all these doubts and fears in the back of my mind. If I could go back in time to that day and known that I would tear my knee trying to 3 a cliff, I would have been totally fine not ever trying to 3 a cliff again. I would have been very content straight airing it. But I don't know how my knee will feel next year. Maybe it will feel great and I'll be sending it harder than ever.

I want to be able to enjoy skiing for the rest of my life. You hear guys in movies saying that if they can't ski when they're 50 it will have been worth it. Maybe for a pro skier who's gotten to travel the world and seen everything that this great sport has to offer then they can be content with quitting when their knees wear down. But that's not me. I can't imagine I'll ever be ok with quitting.

Preservation is something I'll factor in when I'm sending it from now on.
Jul 1 2013 7:00PM
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terraclot
Posts: 438 - Karma: 665
The white room
Jul 1 2013 7:27PM
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Zimmy
Posts: 1258 - Karma: -1,327
You need big time steeze, and a lot of it, with a minimum of pain. You also need to be growing and learning.. to be in the flow.
Jul 1 2013 7:29PM
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linus_deboss
Posts: 1036 - Karma: 1,914
nailed it. fucking nailed it!

In the end all we do is to get girls. I'm not saying this disrespectful to girls or ironic or anything, it's just because it's true.

whatever you do, you do it in the end to get a girl. notice how, when you're fresh in love you don't give shits about anything else? I wouldn't say I've ever felt that ultradeep love, though whenever I had a new girlfriend I was like "meh, fuck it, I'll skip skiing and visit her"...

I dunno how everyone else out there feels, but if you hadn't had this reasoning yet you shurely come to a point where you'll realize.
It's just how our instinct works.

Besides that I gotta say I'm narcistic AF lol so I sort of like that standing in the centre of attention and yes I pay too much attention on how I look on hill. But I think freeskiing has two sides, the ones who do it and the voyeur-aspect; it's just amazing to watch people send switch dub 10s irl, especially if you do it yourself and you know how fucking hard such tricks are (I hope one day I get past 9s lol...)

last but not least it's just fucking awesome to do. fresh surfy powder or just blasting some rails and kickers... it gives you thrills, and sending it big is just and amazing feeling. also stomping techy shit on rails or doing steezy things is funny af.

saying this I realize: if it wasn't for the narcissm, there wouldn't be the hype about tom wallisch or making your things look good. if it just was for yourself and the technique noone would give shits and we would probably ski in gear that's practical and not just good lookng (soaking wet tall tees aren't fun at all lol)

just my two cents about this, *hatersgonnahate* (after all I don't give THAT many shits what people think xD)
Jul 1 2013 8:06PM
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Smuffy
Posts: 4686 - Karma: 3,408
"Ya dont do it to get paid, you do it... to get laid!"
Jul 1 2013 8:34PM
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reBlocke
Posts: 762 - Karma: 1,502
Sure, we're all selected to want to reproduce, but that's not a very convincing answer to why we ski. If I was looking to get laid, why would I possibly pick up a sport that a.) nobody outside skiing really cares about and b.) is overwhelming done by males? I'd be much better off choosing a sport that confers some status, like being a football quarterback, or at least has a decent proportion of lady participants.

Sex might be the ultimate answer to "Why is it fun to get good at something?" or "Why do we enjoy adrenaline rushes?", but it's definitely not the answer to why we ski as apposed to any of the other much easier ways to get laid.
Jul 1 2013 8:44PM
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linus_deboss
Posts: 1036 - Karma: 1,914
you don't think far enough outside the box.

it's just the overall result of our unconcious mind trying to lead us to sex. we don't do skiing for sex in short term
Jul 1 2013 8:51PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
you need to get so far outside of the box that you're INSIDE the box.
Jul 1 2013 8:54PM
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Jaskier
Posts: 335 - Karma: 733
I'm 32 and still go hard in the park , man up kids!
Jul 1 2013 9:12PM
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Giulio
Posts: 107 - Karma: 70
yea. that's the dream.
but all skiing is about hedonism. in no way is it ''something bigger'' so if thats what your looking for, quit
Jul 1 2013 9:15PM
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reBlocke
Posts: 762 - Karma: 1,502
Yea, I get it - the things we find pleasurable are pleasurable because they help us have more sex. And its true in an evolutionary sense... but that's just an argument about why humans are the way we are.

It's not an argument about why we do any particular thing (skiing) vs any other particular thing; all of which have the potential to help us get laid.
Jul 1 2013 10:01PM
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Z-Juice
Posts: 3151 - Karma: 1,504
Bam
Jul 1 2013 10:07PM
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nicetwins
Posts: 189 - Karma: -7
i like to ski thats all
Jul 1 2013 10:10PM
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wasatch_rat
Posts: 1772 - Karma: 2,951
i can definitely see what you are getting at, but in my experience, the more someone is worried about turning other people's heads the worse they are at skiing. everyone looks like an idiot when they fall, no matter what it was they were trying. its the people who keep going and don't give a fuck that end up getting better.

as to the ultimate point of it all, as cliche as it is its just about being in the moment and tuning everything else out and just enjoying what you are doing. people spend years working at meditation to achieve the kind of feeling and focused state of mind that goes with trying something risky and thrilling. improvement is addictive
Jul 1 2013 10:17PM
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will-blackwell
Posts: 382 - Karma: 365
are you me?
Jul 1 2013 11:26PM
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Mainah
Posts: 728 - Karma: 1,102
flying is fun and skiing park feels like flying everyone wants to fly plain and simple
Jul 1 2013 11:52PM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
What did you tear if you mind me asking?
Jul 2 2013 12:06AM
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thesatanist
Posts: 413 - Karma: 1,760
Logan imlach is literally my hero now.
Jul 2 2013 12:16AM
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GKO
Posts: 1467 - Karma: 1,410
IF3 makes so much sense now
Jul 2 2013 12:34AM
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then
Posts: 24 - Karma: -34
Your prob 27+ and haven't "given up on the dream." Get real son.
Jul 2 2013 12:44AM
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