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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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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5432 - Karma: 11,823
ACL, MCL and Meniscus. The doctor called it the triple threat.
Jul 2 2013 12:49AM
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McLeod
Posts: 1762 - Karma: 1,582
stop and read this again.

As you get older you start to realize that in the grand scheme of the world, skiing itself is actually incredibly minuscule and petty.... but fuck, here we are still doing it.
Jul 2 2013 1:03AM
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DsMoK3
Posts: 467 - Karma: 198
This dude gets it. I personally have no hate against ant anyone in the park, unless you're a clown ass parent taking your little kids through the big park
Jul 2 2013 1:18AM
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ClassicBrian
Posts: 51 - Karma: 359
I totally agree that kids try to be and look cool, plain and simple. There are way too many kids here on the east coast that get the top of the line gear and equipment, spend tons of money on season passes, and then absolutely suck. Plus, all of these kids are the pricks of the park, yelling at others and being douches. I ski park for the adrenaline rush i get before taking off on a jump, or jumping onto a handrail. I don't need to look the coolest or draw the most attention, and I wish there were more guys out there like that. The best guy in my local park is also the nicest, and always talked to me whenever he saw me at the top of the park. He'd give me a run down of his line, and then ask me about mine. He'd give me confidence and motivation that I think is needed in every mindset of every skier before they drop. More guys need to stop trying to be cool, calling others out, and start motivating others so that we can all do better. People nowadays are calling haters "motivators" and that they love them, but people encouraging you to do well and giving you that fist bump before you drop - thats what everyone needs. Keep shredding, keep skiing, and start to fucking motivate kids. Don't be pricks, be those who persevere. It would make the skiing community a lot better and maybe we wouldn't be looked on as inconsiderate assholes who are constantly out to get each other.

Peace and love - Brian
Jul 2 2013 1:46AM
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1tenthmoney
Posts: 212 - Karma: 32
How has Master Keefer not weighed in on this psychological discussion yet? Isn't this his area of expertise?
Jul 2 2013 2:21AM
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CJ_Brown
Posts: 418 - Karma: 171
I think this is a great thread. I too have thought long and hard about this and I and many others I ski park with do it for the rush. That oh shit feeling as you leave the ground on a 40ft kicker. It's a way to have fun with friends and challenge each other to progress. IT'S A WAY OF LIFE MAHHHHNNN
Jul 2 2013 4:31AM
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steelogreens
Posts: 73 - Karma: 58
cuz there is nothing more fun than bakin and skiin..except bakin and fuckin, which is a whole nother world.
Jul 2 2013 5:30AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
riding pow is sooo much fun, but i have to admit that easily 80% of what i experience in the park is done to impress others. this whole "how was that trick?", "was i cork?",... blablabla stuff means nothing else.

i know a few guys who are seriously stoked about skiing park, but apart from that its a jealous and narcisstic shitshow. might or might not include myself.
Jul 2 2013 5:56AM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2089 - Karma: 1,346
Thou speaketh, yet again, the truth.
Jul 2 2013 7:47AM
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13stripes
Posts: 3795 - Karma: 273
I believe that everyone over 20 goes through this, it may be spurred by an injury or a friends injury that really makes you look at the bigger picture. I am a little older then you at 25 and I know that since I tore my ACL at 21 I have defiantly scaled my park skiing back, however age and injury is no reason to give up something you love to do. Skiing isn't simply about impressing others and its not simply about having the best gear or whatever. Im sure you got into skiing for a less shallow reason. What you really need to do rather then questioning all these reasons to leave skiing is question your self about what you enjoy in skiing. Thats what I did and thats where I found my reason to keep skiing. I know I love to ski with my friends. I know I love to see people get better, I know I love to give little tips to help people get better. I love getting creative with features. And I know its never been about massive tricks and impressing others. Its about the little butters and slow spins and challenging yourself to improve not caring about who is watching. I started working at my resort, teaching skiing and now I instruct a park group. There is little in skiing now that is more fun for me then teaching kids who hang on your every word and look up to you. And you can teach them all the intricacies of tricks and keep them from getting hurt and watch them learn tricks 10 times faster then you ever did. And the biggest thing I learned is that age is truly just a number the other instructor I work with is 37 years old has been skiing park since day one and still enjoys every minute of it, so you may be sore the next day you gotta live while you can.
Jul 2 2013 8:14AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
I think it too often gets missed the fact that everything in our society is trend-based and that fashion is a super important part of life.

Hell on the 'do it for the bitches' front, even animals display their prowess as an alpha male through either fashion (peacock) or badassery (lion) - or both. Its intrinsic animal nature to care about appearance and physical prowess for the purpose of mating.

I love the fashion aspect of skiing. Its part of the fun of it, and its why we are able to actually have an industry. Hell, what better do you have to do in a chairlift lineup than look good?

We're all enjoying a sport, and there isn't anything wrong with a little bit of fashion. If you don't want to partake, nobody has a gun to your head. I think that the philosophical aspect of whether its right or wrong is irrelevant - fashion in some way or form as you said exists in every sport. Even if you are hardcore and only functional, there's a certain fashion statement about being that way too.

I like skiing because it is fun, and its more physical activity than sitting around eating Doritos. I wholeheartedly enjoy carefully selecting my outfit to push out whatever current trend I'm partaking in, and I absolutely love it when people tell me I'm ridiculous.

Jul 2 2013 9:44AM
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CashmereCat
Posts: 2211 - Karma: 2,394
That sucks man, I tore my medial meniscus and partially tore my MCL. I feel the same way about the trick though. Never again will I try a misty 7. Never.
Jul 2 2013 10:01AM
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skiwisconsin
Posts: 288 - Karma: 1,487
FIrst off, you're young. So fucking enjoy it, because it'll last longer than you think, but not forever.

Second, you're overanalyzing the crap out of this. Yes, of course, skiing is stupid. It's an incredibly, mind-bogglingly absurd thing to do. Go ask some random stranger if you can strap some fiberglass to their feet and then throw them in a chair suspended 50ft above the ground. Watch as they laugh in your face. And that's all before you get into the explanation of handrails for non-existent stairs, and so on, and so on.

My point is, everything in life is absurd. None of it makes much sense. If you spend all your time trying to justify the meaning of every single thing you do, then you're going to be really bored and confused, especially as you get older.

Maybe you're the kind of person who needs answers, but I, for one, am not. I don't need to search for any deep and intrinsic value to skiing in order to want to keep on shredding. I like being in the mountains with my friends, that's pretty much all it comes down to.
Jul 2 2013 11:32AM
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Saga.
Posts: 3812 - Karma: 45,331
If this IS your reason for doing anything, not just skiing park, you're doing it for the wrong reason. And the people who do it for this reason don't last very long. Ultimately you do anything to have fun and create new experiences. When that is no longer your motivation you find yourself starting to lose interest and pick up new hobbies and activities to enjoy.

The reason I believe people get so involved in wanting new products and wanting to talk about them is because in this community not everyone can have everything. This creates desire and jealousy. If people want things that others have they're going to talk about them when they can finally get them.

I don't really see anything wrong with the newschoolers community of skiing. Sure there are jerks and people skiing for the wrong reason but that isn't specific to skiing. You have these types of people in every facet of life. As long as the community on some level can still create interest for new members then its a good thing in my mind.
Jul 2 2013 11:41AM
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SIMPLE.
Posts: 1093 - Karma: 15,191
I never thought it would happen.. but Logan Imlach has just gone from my favorite skier to my least or least at the bottom of my favorites. Someone actually ruined logan imlach for me and it was..... Logan Imlach.
Jul 2 2013 12:01PM
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SIMPLE.
Posts: 1093 - Karma: 15,191
I have thought about this concept in great detail because of the changes such a sport has made in my life. Everyday of the summer I trampoline, rollerblade and if I'm lucky ski the glacier. Hell the only reason I have a job this summer is for the sweet sensation of a t3i in my hands. But honestly, I do it for the pleasure you get when you ski a sick line in the park, or land a new trick, or the best of all do something in a way nobody else has. The feeling of success you get knowing you just did something no one else has attempted on the feature, that you not only landed a trick but to some effect invented one, Nothing can surpass that. I also do it simply because I love it. The way a man loves his wife. When I started park skiing 3 years ago I was in like a park lesson at my local hill. Ever since that day I've known that everyday of my life I want to be skiing and if I can't do that, then I geuss I'll come as damn close to it as I can. One can't really explain their personal love for skiing cuz everyone's is different. At one point or another, something just goes off in your head and you know that this is your passion, where you're supposed to be, what you're supposed to be doing. And of course..... I DO IT FO THE RATCHET HO'S.

oh and someone get hoodcrew in this bitch I wanna know why the ski. Should be good hahaha.
Jul 2 2013 12:08PM
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arthurvc
Posts: 42 - Karma: -2
logan, preech
Jul 2 2013 12:29PM
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EMC207
Posts: 15 - Karma: 10
One word, Freedom.
Jul 2 2013 12:36PM
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Hypeman
Posts: 20 - Karma: -21
If your really questioning why you ski, then maybe you should just quit. Skiing is the only thing I have really ever stuck with for more than 5 years because its so much fun
Jul 2 2013 12:37PM
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Hodor
Posts: 503 - Karma: 2,578
Thanks for all the responses. this has been a really interesting thread. Pretty much everyone has made good points on this topic. FYI, the questions I put foreword are not representative of my actual beliefs on why we ski. They are just some things I have thought about that would be worth discussing.

I do think that logan imlach's explanation is probably the best of any. This got me thinking a bit.
So when it comes to natural selection, for most of human history males (and some females depending upon the particular culture) put themselves in harms way in order for their family, tribe, city, country etc. to survive. This concept is known as the disposable male. Through natural selection males who made poor decisions and were less athletic or physically able would either die or injure themselves to the point where no woman would want to bang them. However, the males who took the greatest risks, but did so successfully and brought home the meat, were far more likely to spread their seed and pass their genes on to the next generation. In todays society, the life expectancy is 4-5 times higher than it was in 90% of human history and people do not experience the as many risky life threatening situations as they did in the past. This has slowed down the natural selection process because in modern westernized societies with advanced medicine those who would have died 10,000 years ago in a natural environment survive and reproduce.

This leads to my point.

Skiing and perhaps all extreme sports exist as a replacement for hunting mammoths, running from saber tooth tigers, fighting a neighboring tribe etc......Just like in prehistoric times, there will be those who take too great of risks too soon, either trying a trick to early or going too big and then either die or get injured. This makes them less likely to pass on their genes. However, the guys who do not go big at all or do not take risks look like pussies and also don't pass on their genes. So who gets to pass on their genes?
The ones who take high risks when appropriate and are confident and athletic enough to succeed. This is why Nick Geopper is banging Shawn Johnson. So in a society where natural selection has been compromised, Skiing and extreme sports serve as a new form of weeding out those who are too risky in the wrong situations, and those who are just pussies. It just interests me that even when natural risks are taken away, people still find a way to create natural selection artificially through dangerous recreational activities.

Jul 2 2013 12:52PM
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Saga.
Posts: 3812 - Karma: 45,331
Not bad. But don't forget about the massive population of hillbillies and rednecks who just sit around getting drunk and shooting shit that have nothing better to do than pop babies out. Have you seen the movie Idiocracy?
Jul 2 2013 1:03PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
woah.

now instead of solely thinking about hot chicks while i'm skiing, i'm going to think about hunting sabertoothe fucking tigers too. i love skiing.
Jul 2 2013 1:22PM
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Ribss.
Posts: 3442 - Karma: 3,344
I have to say, if you feel in the older group of skiers and snowboarders you must be skiing on the east coast. The scene seems much younger there. Come out to Tahoe and everyone is 20+.
Jul 2 2013 1:38PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
I just ski so I have an excuse to build skis. And I just build skis so I have an excuse to craft large dick shaped things.

Jul 2 2013 1:38PM
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Bertrand
Posts: 423 - Karma: 457
Love this thread, such a cool thing to read. I'm agreeing with everything you are saying, but just have to pose one question.

We know that we take risks when we ski, and for myself, mountain bike too. I've broken my collarbone twice from biking and had to have 32 stitches on my kneecap from skiing. For us, part of the reason why we do these sports is because of the danger, at least I think that's part of it. Something about the adrenaline rush keeps me coming back. Every time I hit a new feature in the park, I evaluate it. I ask myself if it's too much for my skill level, sometimes I say yes, sometimes I say no. Same thing with biking, jumps and drops I scope before I hit. Of course there is always the chance that I will screw up, it happens all the time. And most of the time I push myself and hit something just out of my skill level, to progress. And about the risk that other people see, I think it's the "Woah" factor. People literally go woah all the time that aren't part of our sports. They think we are nuts for doing what we do. I think that's the replacement for ancient shit. We do it for ourselves, but part of us loves to make other people think we are a little bit nuts. You watch people on chairs over the park just look at it and go wow the entire time up the chair. Same thing for bike parks, people hiking just stand by jump lines going WTF, then keep on hiking.

My question though, is that, do we really take big enough risks that we as skiers and other extreme sports participants, would be considered borderline suicidal, and that is why people are intrigued by it(and want to bang?) because we barely scrape by every time we do something, just like hunting a mother fucking sabertooth?

I really have no idea what my point is. I love this shit haha.
Jul 2 2013 1:54PM
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Gr0mo
Posts: 707 - Karma: 3,663
While we certainly do a lot of things to get laid, I don't think this is necessarily true. How do you explain a solider jumping on a grenade to save his buddies in the fox hole? He's going to die, and he knows it. No sex there.

I think people do what they do mostly for their legacy. Banging super models or procreating in general adds to that legacy.
Jul 2 2013 2:15PM
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juicedrummer11
Posts: 1960 - Karma: 1,331
amen! tahoe is where it is at!
Jul 2 2013 2:31PM
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00000000
Posts: 11075 - Karma: 82,508
Click for larger image
Jul 2 2013 2:35PM
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SterlingArcher
Posts: 2200 - Karma: 2,456
Lol.. i don't think he got the joke
Jul 2 2013 4:15PM
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SEEL
Posts: 1033 - Karma: 1,082
Does a one legged dog swim in a circle
Jul 2 2013 4:45PM
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KSHRED
Posts: 25 - Karma: 48
the only thing that keeps me skiing is the hope a fine milf with tigolbitties will let me pee in her ass.

Jul 2 2013 4:52PM
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elinde
Posts: 1467 - Karma: 3,053
I can get what Logan's saying about sex and how we ski to be attractive, but I don't think that's entirely true. As the guy above me said, if that was why we skied, why would we choose a very obscure sport. He has a point, why wouldn't we choose to love football or something more popular to get the ladies? I remember being young and If we were on a ski vacation (this was before I started free skiing), all I would talk about to anyone was skiing. It was the only thing on my mind and it was the only thing that I chose to think about. When I was like 8 at the time, I wasn't trying to impress girls, I skied because the feeling it gave me when my skis touched snow was unlike any other and filled me with incredible joy, and it still does. Doing something as pleasurable and rewarding as skiing releases dopamine, like sex or drugs, and makes you want to do it again. I, and I'm sure many people on this site ski simply because it's a completely unique and wonderful feeling. Skiing is fun, that's that. It's not bullshit.
Jul 2 2013 5:40PM
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SterlingArcher
Posts: 2200 - Karma: 2,456
I have done this

/claim
Jul 2 2013 5:45PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
Click for larger image
Jul 2 2013 5:54PM
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ThundaKilla
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 3,781
Delorme is 30 and he still skis so hard, yet so smooth.
Jul 2 2013 6:21PM
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CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5712 - Karma: 20,638
Hahahahah I re-read my post and was like, "Ooooo....someone's going to burn me on this."

I should have said I don't get sweaty cause it's hot out. When I'm doing stuff in the summer (biking, etc.) I sweat like a disgusting pig. When I ski I'm not soaking my clothes with sweat. And when I do sweat hard, It take 5 minutes of standing to cool down in the 14 degree weather.
Jul 2 2013 9:25PM
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stushoshi
Posts: 32 - Karma: 470
i like it for
-pushing myself
-hanging out with friends
-helping me in school
-motivating me fo a career in action sports
-i definetly apreciate the character u can build - art and business in the sport is awesome
-keeps kids off drugs - pass kids on the bus all the time that probly just smoked pot all day
-workout
-competing - impressing people
-mountain vibe + early morning vibe
-talking to pros, premieres and stuff - idk wat to say about them
-off season inspiration- slacklining,skating/rollerblading,summer setups,cliff jumping,stuff
ran out of stuff but made some good reasons
Jul 2 2013 9:28PM
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bigbromskier
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 330
For the fun of it. For the ability to be good at something, the confidence achieved in accomplishing something you've been working towards. The incessant unsolved problems of creativity.

Basically being able to actively express oneself in many ways. Skiing, mtn biking, skateboarding, drawing, playing music, writing......I basically find it addictive and rewarding to create/do something that I haven't been able to do before. The constant progression of experiential output with the hope that it excites myself and those who experience it.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about creativity and what it is and means. It's hard to come to a concrete conclusion, but I think it's present in anyone who tries anything in hopes of accomplishing something; it's basically a progression of problem solving, in which we learn a new problem from previous solutions in a leapfrogging process. But it isn't like the myth of Sisyphus who is detrimentally plagued by constant failure; it's more like excitement at the possibility of learning new things, which lead to other new possibilities. Like leveling up in Lemmings and being rewarded with new ways of taking on new challenges haha.
Jul 2 2013 9:46PM
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jpastor
Posts: 431 - Karma: 848
Between my friends at school and my friends back home there are only like 2 kids that can really get down to this level of why we ski, and this is because they ski and snowboard as well. But this is why i love newschoolers. I can pretty much fully agree with what everyone is saying here. From sometimes feeling like im behind the curve even though im only 21, to feeling like i still have plenty of room to grow even though i lost more than a half a season to a broken leg a few years back.
I ski because, like someone said earlier in the thread, it is something that i truly excel at, it feels amazing, its extremely fun, i look fucking amazing when i ski, i love the outdoors, and to pick up chicks.
My ski coach always said " You learn the most about people when you ski with them" and i truly believe that. The life lessons, experiences and things i have learned on the hill talking to my buddies can never amount to what i learn in school.



Although my school education is probably going to take me further in life than skiing but i dont really care. I fucking love it thats it thats all
Jul 2 2013 10:43PM
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e_estrada
Posts: 182 - Karma: 134
This.
Jul 3 2013 2:19AM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
Exhibit B:

Kaj Zackrisson being a completely gnar shredding badass.



Screenshot from 5:17.

Click for larger image

Now I don't know who Benedicta is, but hey, she cute. You've done well Kaj, you've done well.



Jul 3 2013 9:49PM
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SnowshoeThompson
Posts: 1095 - Karma: 1,433
kill yourself.

Jul 3 2013 10:26PM
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