Why So Many People Love to Ski and Snowboard and Why You Should Learn
Last fall we put the call out on Facebook for OTM readers to share a bit of what motivates and inspires them to get out to ski or ride as much as they can each season. With a chance to win tickets to the Spokane showing of Warren Miller’s film “Chasing Shadows,” we had a great response. Here are a few of our favorites – enjoy and remember to pass on the stoke for learning to love winter in a whole new way to a young or old newbie as we celebrate Learn to Ski/Snowboard Month this January!
“Spending time with my kids – outside – sharing the beauty of the view from the top of the MT or the serenity of when the chair lift is over quiet trees…. Nahhh, who am I kidding. I love the challenge of the terrain park – nothing like a dorky 48 year old mom taking jumps with a bunch of 14 year old boys. #momlikeaboss.” Jo Brown
“When I was a kid I wanted to learn to ski more than anything. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the cards. Then, when I was 16, my sister bought me a Learn to Ski package for $29 – three days of lessons, lift tickets and ski rentals. After the first morning of lessons I abandoned the bunny hill and took the chair lift straight up the mountain. Riding that chair up I was terrified; even at 16 I knew how woefully unprepared I was. I spent the next hour crashing down the mountain and cherishing every moment. Now, all these years later, I still cherish every moment I’m lucky enough to spend skiing in the mountains with friends and loved ones.” Lloyd Hixson
“I learned how to ski last year. My kids got me out on the snow for the first time. I realized as I was sitting in the lodge watching them fly down the mountain that I should be out there! After just my first lesson I was hooked, and I cannot wait to get back on the snow! We are making plans as a family to explore all of the amazing mountains we have in our area!!!” Tiffany
“I ski as many days as possible every single year, wind, rain, shine, sleet, or (hopefully) powder. Playing outside in the snow is the closest I can get to feeling like a kid again, and skiing is my happy place because there are no bad days on the mountain. If someone complains they aren’t going to ski because the conditions aren’t good enough, ditch ’em – you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.” Anna Twohig
“I didn’t want another expensive sport (riding road, cross, and mountain bikes is plenty enough), it’s too damn cold, the snowboarding clothing looks ridiculous, and the lift tickets are too expensive. But when your girlfriend threatens your manhood, calls you a cheapskate, and reminds you that ‘you wear spandex in PUBLIC!’, there’s no reply good enough to get you out of hitting the slopes. Plus, she looks super hot as a snow bunny.” Alan Jacob
“Loulou Kneubuhler fitted me for my first pair of ski boots when I was about 5 or 6. I now board with my boys. Why a person loves it can’t be explained. You either do or you don’t, you either love the cold or you hate it, you either get excited about snow or you dread it.” Heather Hubbart
“The joy of skiing with my son is what really motivates me. Skiing is the first sport we did together and I love the idea that it will be something we can do until I’m too old to strap the sticks on my feet anymore.” Rick Eichstaedt
“My dad took me skiing for the first time when I was 10. LOVED it immediately! 4 days into that trip, I broke my leg. That wasn’t enough to diminish my love for it. Now all these years later, how do you describe the sensation of riding that uncut powder line, floating, carving out your path? For those moments in time, every worry in the world disappears. Your only thoughts are embodied in that instant of pure joy. Nothing compares to hearing the wind in the trees or the deafening silence of snow falling. It is sheer contentment.” Kim Faulk Lakey
“I ski because it was my husband’s passion – now I realize he’s given me a precious gift: love of the mountains, an appreciation for the exertion it takes to get better and a great way to cross train over the winter. Sometimes I don’t even mind being cold anymore!! As he always says, ‘there is no such thing as a bad day skiing, just variable conditions!” Anne Fleming
