(no subject)
So I went skiing today. While I was sitting in the lodge putting my gear on, a buddy spotted me and came over. Last I knew this buddy was splitting his time between Iraq and Hawaii so I was stunned. We hugged for approximately forever and then went skiing. I haven't skied with him in years, so it was a fabulous surprise.
In addition to being a very pleasant surprise, skiing with him is a reminder that it's entirely possible to be awesome even if you don't ski by the book. I had a clinic last week that taught me some useful skills, but while the material was interesting, it was presented as a definitive way to improve my skiing. I disagreed. I like to think of skiing as a bag of tricks, where I pull out whatever the conditions demand or whatever sounds like fun. With that mindset, there's no one technique or method that's going to reinvent skiing for me (thank you Glen) but there's all sorts of things that will be useful to me at some point.
I think one of my biggest strengths as a skier is my willingness to learn. I've receive hours of instruction simply because I listen and at least try what's being suggested. So yes, improving the way I carve will help me. But learning to put my skis together the way it was done in the '70s has been invaluable. I get the feeling that some of my by-the-book instructors are looking at my by-decades-of-experience instructors as examples of hopeless cases, people just too set in their ways to embrace the new methods. I can't help but wonder if these new-school instructors have forgotten how much fun it is to ski in the old-school style or if they haven't learned how much fun it is to cobble together their own unique style.
But, as seeing my buddy reminded me, there are plenty of people who don't worry about such things and just go out and ski -- and are damned good at it. It's supposed to be fun.
In addition to being a very pleasant surprise, skiing with him is a reminder that it's entirely possible to be awesome even if you don't ski by the book. I had a clinic last week that taught me some useful skills, but while the material was interesting, it was presented as a definitive way to improve my skiing. I disagreed. I like to think of skiing as a bag of tricks, where I pull out whatever the conditions demand or whatever sounds like fun. With that mindset, there's no one technique or method that's going to reinvent skiing for me (thank you Glen) but there's all sorts of things that will be useful to me at some point.
I think one of my biggest strengths as a skier is my willingness to learn. I've receive hours of instruction simply because I listen and at least try what's being suggested. So yes, improving the way I carve will help me. But learning to put my skis together the way it was done in the '70s has been invaluable. I get the feeling that some of my by-the-book instructors are looking at my by-decades-of-experience instructors as examples of hopeless cases, people just too set in their ways to embrace the new methods. I can't help but wonder if these new-school instructors have forgotten how much fun it is to ski in the old-school style or if they haven't learned how much fun it is to cobble together their own unique style.
But, as seeing my buddy reminded me, there are plenty of people who don't worry about such things and just go out and ski -- and are damned good at it. It's supposed to be fun.