I know I’m going to lose a lot of street cred with my anarchists pals, but I have to come clean—I love to ski. I know the resorts are bad for the environment, and I completely support the ELFers who fire bombed the resort here in Co. (two of whom, by the way, have been arrested now. If you want to write them your support, see the above entry). But if I could have my druthers, I’d like ski resorts to be one of the last vestiges of civilization to come down.

This year I bought what’s called The Five Mountain Pass. For $360, I can ski year round at five different resorts. That’s a pretty good deal. Yesterday was my third time up, and the first time I spent the whole day on the black diamonds. It was great! I’m skiing as well as I’ve ever skied in my life—in spite of an almost ten year lay off and a body that’s well past its athletic peak. Part of the reason it’s so fun is that I’m not as competitive as I was when I was younger, and skiing doesn’t reward competitiveness (unless you’re a racer, I guess). If I try to show off or even if I try to ski better, then I fall apart. The only time I ski well is when I shut my mind off and just go. If I look down the mountain and think: “Damn, that’s pretty steep”, then I fall apart. If I look over my shoulder and see another skier I want to outdo, I fall apart. If I get lazy and expect things to just happen naturally, I fall apart. But if I focus without thinking—I know that sounds contradictory—if I block out every distraction except my line down the hill, then I ski the hell out of every bump and cranny I touch. And it's effortless. And then if I think: “I’m skiing the hell out of every bump and cranny I touch,” I fall apart.
I think there’s a lesson there that goes beyond skiing.