Hello everybody.   So it's getting to that time of year where the lifts are shutting down and everyone is trying to squeeze in all the last minute skiing they can before the summer shows it's warm face and all the snow goes down river.      Here in Rossland, the lifts shut down for the week, and as of the end of this upcomming weekend, will be shut till December.  Luckly though, it's been a very cold spring and the skiing up top is still really good, so we'll be able to keep touring for weeks to come.   This winter I recorded every day I went skiing in a ski journal (i'll post it up in my blog in a couple days), and I am currently sitting at 86.  My goal was 100 days, but unfortunately I had a mix up with a cat track and it won -  I now have a hurt back, and have to use those touring days up ahead to try and get my 100.   Now, there has been times this winter where I would take multiple days off at a time (there was a period in February where I took 10 days off in a row), so anybody who is hardcore enough could have easily beaten me for amount of days on skis this winter.  My roommate, Wiggly, for example did over 40 days in a row in the spring this year, my friend Dave, over 50 in a row.  BUT -  This blog isn't about them, this blog isn't about me.   This blog is about those without the passion.   Those without any passion that I can seam to understand that isn't drinking their faces off every single day.

The partier comes in many forms, and they might even fool you into thinking they arn't just parties.  They can camouflage themselves as many forms, from skiers/boarders, career types, to students.    To go into further detail as to what I mean (because i'm pretty sure some, or most, of you are confused by what I am saying), I will use my other roommate, Pam, as an example.  Now, before I get into my rant - I just want to make it clear, that Pam is my friend, and I don't really want to disrespect her with all of this, I just don't get the way she choses to live her life.

So Pam is 26 years old, she lives with me in Rossland, BC.  She is currently taking fish and game management at Selkirk College in Castlegar.  In her past she dropped out of highschool and moved to Whistler due to unfavourable situations at home, where she chose to live for around a decade of her life.  Eventually getting her highschool deploma a couple years ago, she decided to go somewhere with her life and not just serve at a restaurant for the rest of it. That is what brings her to Rossland and school in Castlegar.   As I'd say everybody here is well aware, it's getting to that time of year where school is ending and exams are comming up.  She is in her second year of her 2 year program, so in about a week or two she should be done with diploma in hand.    Unfortunately that probably isn't going to happen. 

For those unfamiliar with the geography of the Kootaney's, Rossland lies about 30min south of Castlegar in the West Koot'z.  Rossland is a straight up ski town (with Red Mountain at our doorstep and a population of around 7000 in the winter - most of which are seasonal skiers/boarders here to have a good time).   Rossland is not the best place to live if you are tying to go to school full time, it is full of very distracting influences that every ski town has.   When I first started hanging out with the whole student group here in Rossland, I was amazed that they could live in a ski town while going to school full time - but they were managing because they were going to school for a reason, as people should.  Unfortunately Pam lost her reason in a sea of self inflicted drama.  I noticed it all going downhill around January, others would talk about it before then, but it wasn't till January that she truly stopped trying.  If you ask her why she's flunking out, she has a huge list of excuses as to why, but when it comes down to it - there is only one excuse that is accurate:  partying.  She got sucked into the world of drinking every night, and spending the day recovering so you can give 'er again that following night.   As a result of such irresponsibility she has a lot of external problems she has to deal with now like a $8000 debt with Royal Bank, two years of school wasted, friends not taking her seriously, and nothing to show for it but a messy house and denial.  I've tried to understand her motives, but I truly don't.  When I first met her last November she was saying "I have no money" all the time when someone would bring something fun up, like a trip somewhere, or even just going to buy some c.d.'s from the music store.  In the almost two years I have known this woman "I have no money" constantly has been coming out of her mouth when asked why she doesn't do anything...    None of us listen to her seriously anymore because if you can afford to, minimum, buy a $15 bottle of wine a night, you can't be that broke. 

I told you the story about my roommate Pam because she is the closest to me of these kinds of people.   By that I mean those that let everything fall apart simply because of the party.  I've had a handful of friends quit skiing over the years, most of them loose the love and get a real life.  Personally, skiing is the only real life.  It is my one true love, and losing that love is my biggest fear in life.  Seeing how this is a skiing website, I think most of you can hear me on that one.  BUT - I know that the majority of the people on this site are young, still in highschool, and are probably very envious of my lifestyle.  This blog is for you:  The kids in highschool counting the days till they are free to do what THEY want in life, not what the man says they should do. 

For you see - the fall into partydome doesn't just happen to college students or dudes having a midlife crisis.  I've seen many skiers/boarders fall down that road as well.   Talent doesn't matter when it comes to keeping your head straight, the best skiers in the world can fall, so can you.  I mean, I've thought about it many times, and I do see how people can get sucked into the party life.  It's a lot easier to just sleep in, watch tv and smoke bong rips on the couch till it gets dark then drink with a bunch of friends till the wee hours of the morning only to repeat the next day.  I even enjoy the odd bender every now and then...    I am not telling people to not party at all - I am, after all, a ski bum...   partying might as well be on my resume.  But it's when you allow the partying to take over your life and you lose all other ambitions when I get sad and wonder "why?".     Humans are an amazing animal (don't fool  yourself and think we arn't animals - we all share this planet together), we have the ability to do (or at least try) whatever our minds can imagine, which is a hell of a lot.  If becoming an alcoholic is the best thing you can come up with, you may want to re-evaluate your life.   Keep your passions alive, don't get sucked in.