World Class Skiing & The Ski Bum
It would be great if anyone who wanted to experience the joys of world class skiing was afforded the privilege and opportunity.
Skiing is definitely an elite activity.
It's also an activity for bums. Most specifically referred to as Ski Bums.
It's kind of an interesting dynamic here in the current status of the unequal distribution of wealth around the planet.
Ski Bum - work a "shitty" job to pay for your ski pass. It's a good chance you work at the mountain in some capacity. From the master of the custodial arts to being a server for the fine diners....to being an instructor...to a lifty...to working linens...to something else entirely. Point is there's a lot of jobs going into running a world class facility. You life is built around skiing. It's living on the cheap as possible. You spend all your free time at the Mountain. Which in the grand scheme of places to spend your time...is a pretty majestic place as far as places to hang out go. Mountain air is something special in and of itself. The views aren't bad either. And oh...did I mention that skiing and snowboarding is an incredible amount of fun. The physical body loves it on so many levels.
Many Ski aficionado's even go as far to say - A good powder day on the slopes is as good or even better than sex.
My investigations point to the fact that powder skiing is indeed powgasmic. It's quite an incredible thing to see so many happy people gathered together for a snowday. Sharing in the awesomeness of the activity fosters a strong sense of camaraderie in the community. Good vibes for sure.
I ask myself sometimes - Couldn't this snow/powder enthusiasm thing be an even bigger thing on a world scale....I mean forget the skiing for a moment - but the way in which we regard the world.
I personally think the best regard for the world is as our home and playground here. The whole world. The whole place here. I think it's pretty fucked up to have all these walls and fences and closed off areas - where it's like all this terrain isn't being utilized and or accessed , let alone really cared for - it's become a shitty game theory competition of currency wars - and to me that's a real tragedy.
In many ways, the ski bum is quite organized. Organized from the perspective that their priorities are in place. #1 priority being Skiing. Skiers are incredibly good athletes. You can't ski 10,000 vertical meters and not have a strong core.
Sure - You could say it's questionable to construct your priorities around investing your time into an activity of passion. You might even say it would be better for your "security" to just get a 9-5 steady job and buy a house in the suburbs with a mortgage.....and start playing house.
It's cool though that ski bums exist at pretty much every ski mountain. I mean this is the real culture and passion around the sport. It's a lot like skateboard and surf culture and even gym culture - where there's this commitment and regard to yourself and the activity and you really commit yourself within it. It's an expression of yourself that you love to play with and share with others.
The other end of the spectrum - elite ski vacations. These are expensive. To stay in the fancy chalet at the mountain. Incredible views - really nice ambiance. It's like a bubble world of heaven on earth. These elite ski vacations are mostly off limits for the majority of the world population. You could spend easily anywhere from 2k USD to 10k USD within a 1 week vacation.....2K usd being on the super cheap end I would say.
From this regard - the ski bum is a rather savvy investor.
A Ski Bum who logs 16 weeks out of a year at the mountain - is basically living a 160K usd lifestyle and beyond.....minus some of the glamor of fancy pillows and bath tubs. A Ski Bum doesn't really go without too much though - a Ski Bum re-defines their apres ski spa lifestyle to mean the "community center" - the community pool. You get a hot tub, pool for swimming, sauna and steam room...maybe even a water slide. This will cost you per visit somewhere between $2 usd per visit and $10 usd per visit. And for the super sophisticated and savvy ski bum - You had the foresight to purchase a seasonal pass for the pool....which may even also have a fitness gym - for a couple of hundred bucks. Brining your daily costs down to barely a dollar a visit if you take your spa game seriously.
So the ski bum has kind of a rock-star life.
This post is written from the experience of myself as someone who has dirt-bagged the ski-bum lifestyle.
This post was inspired by some of my friends from Revelstoke Mountain, British Colombia , Canada - who put together a fun little video highlighting some of the goods and the fun to be had at Revelstoke.
To Be Continued....expanded upon at some point as I'm pretty sure I can go deeper in putting a piece together on my experiences within Ski Culture. I've also managed to be a Golf-Bum...which is a more rarity and oddity in and of itself. Some creative writing and story telling in the pipe - Hang Ten!
Let Me Know What You Think - Let's keep the discussion going - It's important to communicate about the things that aren't being talked about all that much.
My Body is precious and I've decided to care for it. Creating responsibility for my sculpture - my life.
@worldclassplayer
The World is One Class of Players - Class is Always in Session
CHEERS TO EXTRAORDINARY GAINS OF STRENGTH IN ALL WAYS POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT 2018
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I never been skiing, have no desire...due to potential injuries, but will consider putting it on the bucket list. I grow up in the city, I just had basketball, no tennis, no golf, no polo. Basketball $20-$30...the experiences...priceless...taught me teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, hardship, discipline, etc.
Is snowboarding easier?
The ski hills are mostly developed into having really good beginner areas that allow and support for a very gradual progression so it's quite safe in that regard...it's not like you're thrown in the deep end of the pool without first knowing how to swim. Though I do suppose one could find themselves in uncomfortable waters on the mountain if one were being carless with the navigation.
Basketball - Niice.
Your Basketball reminds me of my Hockey while growing up and also being a city slicker. In the gym, in the street, in the park, on the rink, in the house - lot of good times.
Depends. I would say if you already know how to ice skate or rollerblade....then skiing is easier. However - if you have experience skate boarding or surfing...it's likely that snowboarding is pretty easy.
All that being said - they're both relatively easy to learn. If you've never done them before and you do decide to go - I repeat...get a lesson, it will make a world of difference for the rest of your day on the slopes and any future days on the slopes. A beginner lesson will make sure you got the basics dialed so that you can be confident in navigating yourself anywhere. Also - it will give you little things to work on that will refine your ability with relative ease.
Skii'ing is credibly meditative to me it is about finding and maintaining a balance. You're constantly seeking harmony with your body, your skis, with the snow condition, and with the steepness of the slope. The mountain changes all the time; in a few hours you can experience deep powder, slush, ice, all on the same trail. Because you constantly have to adapt to the current condition, skiing keeps you grounded in the present moment. If your mind starts to wander, you easily lose balance and fall, so there's your reinforcement to stay in the moment. Alhough i have never tried it, but ive imagined it a lot of time, and i love the idea
100%
Wow - incredible observations you have made. Thank you kindly for your commenting words of support.
Im glad you shared my thought with me
That will be the lifetime adventure of life :D
wow Skiing which is greatly important for me,,huge inserational content.
by dint we get a great physically demanding.which is much influenced ,,
no doubt
Great informative post sir
it's valuable and helpful too
thanks for sharing
this is a wonderful life, hopefully your day is always a friend, thank you for sharing your video is amazing.
Most valuable and helpful information sir
skiing exercises all our major muscle groups, it particularly targets the inner and outer thighs, hamstrings and buttock muscles - thanks to the crouching position that skiing involves.
Have a nice day.The mountain changes all the time; in a few hours you can experience deep powder, slush, ice, all on the same trail. Because you constantly have to adapt to the current condition, skiing keeps you grounded in the present moment. If your mind starts to wander, you easily lose balance and fall, so there's your reinforcement to stay in the moment. Alhough i have never tried it, but ive imagined it a lot of time, and i love the idea