I’ve been trying to figure out how to start this off for a little while, because on one hand this is NS and I could just throw out some bullshit, but on the other I actually wanna speak some truth. So I tore my ACL a little over 2 years ago now and since have had multiple complications, 4 knee surgeries, and have yet to get back to skiing. I have seen countless doctors and spent endless mind-wandering hours in physical therapy contemplating what the fuck life is anymore. As I try to put this into words now, my mom just interrupted me asking about seeing another specialist or trying out things like acupuncture. And I’m not looking for pity views, to be honest I don’t even know if people are gonna read this or not, I’ve just become so disassociated with skiing and the life I used to live that at this point I just want something to fulfill that link to skiing. And I’m gonna try not to even dwell on the injury shit because that doesn’t help me move forward, I just put that out there so people know where I’m coming from, instead I wanna put out things that I think a lot of people feel and should be heard.

I threw outside in the title just because I haven’t skied in so long, but that doesn’t go to say that there isn’t really a day that goes by where I don’t check NS or a new video is popping up in my feed. There are some days where I wish I wasn’t so addicted to the whole idea of skiing that I can’t even look away from a few videos, but that’s what really gets me even more hyped on skiing. The fact that I have been out of this lifestyle for so long and I’m still obsessed with it, one could say is psycho, I like to think it shows how sick skiing really is. But it’s interesting, to watch a video after a day of skiing compared to watching videos when you can’t ski, you see things differently, notice things you may not have before or vice versa, and sometimes come away with a little knowledge. In the heat of ski season you can sometimes become so immersed in your own lifestyle that you can miss out on things passing right in front of you, which can be both good and bad. With that in mind, I am going to attempt to illustrate what I see from being forced to step back to an external perspective of skiing.

Ski as much as you possibly can. Take advantage of your health. It doesn’t matter where you are, what the conditions are like, because I promise you, there will come a time in everyone’s life when they will look back and think to themselves, “Damn I should have went skiing that day.” And it’s inevitable that present becomes past and memories form, time is that one thing that nobody can control, we are forced to live by its rules. But always strive to live outside of your memories. I’m not saying don’t commemorate all the great times you had, but don’t dwell in your past. Even if you are stuck with some shitty injury or some other unfortunate events, you can’t be angry and choose to exist in all those memories. It’s so lame when young and healthy people grow up, get some job, and give up the cool shit they used to do and are constantly mentioning all the cool shit they USED to do. I’m just like really, you’re only 23 and you’re already tappin out. Mad young people are trying to work for that big city job for what? Just so they can retire when their body is already beat to shit and they won’t be able to live like they want to? And maybe that’s just me being angsty because I envy people who are healthy enough to go skiing and don’t take advantage of it, but to me they are really pissing their life away. The truly special people are the ones who can keep memories from the past a reality in the present.

I think that everyone has a passion, it just so happens that skiing is mine. I love skiing, always have and always will. But I don’t really mind when people aren’t as hyped on it because to each his own. If that person is truly passionate about something else, I have a lot of respect for that person. Like when someone charges just as hard at skating or surfing, or fuck even basketball that’s cool. I don’t like basketball but when I see someone who loves that shit just as much as I love skiing, and I know they’re getting after it just as hard as some skier, that’s dope. Cause you know they’re feeling the same shit you’re feeling when you’re cruising with the boys on the hill. Passion gives people purpose and that’s what keeps us going. And with that said, I don’t think you have to be nailed down to just skiing all your life. Try new things, even if you’re really bad at them first because you never know what can happen and how it can interconnect through your lifestyle. Hell, my dad has fly fished his whole entire life and tried to get me to do it and I was never about it. Then I finally got so damn bored with not being able to ski I picked up a rod and haven't stopped since. It took me 18 years and some busted knees to try something I now know I’ll do for the rest of my life, I wish I did it earlier but I’m happy anyways because it will keep me coming back to the waters surrounding the mountains and the life I love.

And finally on top of trying new things, you might be bad at first, you’re probably gonna be bad when you first start skiing, and you may or may not get much better at skiing either. But that’s one of the illest things about skiing, you could be throwing dubs or just learning your first 360 and whose to say one or the other is having more fun. It’s one of those things where I constantly see people who despite their skill level, when they really love skiing, it doesn’t matter what tricks they’re doing or what’s going on in their life, in those moments on skis they experience the purest form of happiness. And there’s no arguing that shit. And that’s what not only keeps them coming back, but even makes some people sacrifice the so called normal life for the all or nothing ski lifestyle. And that doesn’t happen with a lot of other things. There are kids who play soccer or baseball their whole entire lives claiming it’s their favorite thing in the world, only to not make it to the college level and then just end up joining a frat or some shit and not touching another baseball bat. But time and time again, I rarely see that with skiing. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t go pro, get that sponsor, or even win that rail jam at the hill, you just love this shit so much that you can’t even fathom giving it up for some fake reason like that.

I don’t know if people are gonna be feelin this stuff, I mean its really just some of my opinions and what's on my mind a lot. Maybe it sounds mad emotional or something and it’s whack. Maybe it helps out some homies who just got injured to stay hyped on skiing and life. I just felt like sitting down and writing something for some time now so I did. And here it is. And now I’m gonna post it so I don’t feel like I just wasted some time writing it.