11 years ago last week - One of my first days skiing February 2007
Growing up I wasn’t a skier, I think much of my family is still scratching their head wondering where this passion came from. No one in my immediate family skis, and I maybe went a handful of times as a kid. Once to Stowe, I was injured the first day. Another time to a place called Ski Liberty in Pennsylvania. I remember seeing a couple of Warren Miller films, besides that, my exposure to the sport was quite limited. It wasn’t until I was 25 that I really tried skiing.
A friend of mine had a company friends and family package offer to take us skiing in Canada, a place called Ski Chantecler, about an hour outside of Montreal. Considering that the bus ride from New York, hotel, meals, and skis were all included, I jumped at the chance and found that I loved it. I certainly didn’t have the right gear or equipment. If instagram existed back then, I might have even been featured on “Jerry of the day”
We had taken a party bus up from New York, on a 7 hour drive from Manhattan for a long holiday weekend, it was a party. We got into our hotel past midnight but were still up early to ski. I thought that I’d easily remember how to make it down the hill. After all, I’d done it at least twice as a kid, right? Surprisingly, I kinda did. By the end of the 3 day weekend, I actually felt confident on skis. I had the hang of it and couldn’t wait to go again.
Living in New York City, I didn’t exactly have the same opportunities to go skiing as I do in Colorado. Every trip required a bus ride or carpool, expensive daily lift tickets, rentals (and rental boots are the worst), and a very early start. It’s an investment, and you have to be committed. In one season you can end up spending as much as a you do on a Colorado ski pass and you might only get on the hill 5-6 days. And this was not skiing in Colorado.
I would go whenever possible. Sometimes only 5 days a season, but it was enough for me to know that I love this sport. Whenever I was up there, I felt this incredible freedom. The peaceful silence in the cold snow, sliding down the hill.
Over the next 5 years I skied at Killington, Whiteface, Stratton, Mount Snow, and Sugarbush. I did trips with friends, and some annual bus trips with a neighborhood pub. Skiing was a different experience for me. It was my escape from the city, and I loved it. I did this for 5 years before moving to Denver and discovering what it was like to ski in Colorado.
A friend of mine had a company friends and family package offer to take us skiing in Canada, a place called Ski Chantecler, about an hour outside of Montreal. Considering that the bus ride from New York, hotel, meals, and skis were all included, I jumped at the chance and found that I loved it. I certainly didn’t have the right gear or equipment. If instagram existed back then, I might have even been featured on “Jerry of the day”
We had taken a party bus up from New York, on a 7 hour drive from Manhattan for a long holiday weekend, it was a party. We got into our hotel past midnight but were still up early to ski. I thought that I’d easily remember how to make it down the hill. After all, I’d done it at least twice as a kid, right? Surprisingly, I kinda did. By the end of the 3 day weekend, I actually felt confident on skis. I had the hang of it and couldn’t wait to go again.
Living in New York City, I didn’t exactly have the same opportunities to go skiing as I do in Colorado. Every trip required a bus ride or carpool, expensive daily lift tickets, rentals (and rental boots are the worst), and a very early start. It’s an investment, and you have to be committed. In one season you can end up spending as much as a you do on a Colorado ski pass and you might only get on the hill 5-6 days. And this was not skiing in Colorado.
I would go whenever possible. Sometimes only 5 days a season, but it was enough for me to know that I love this sport. Whenever I was up there, I felt this incredible freedom. The peaceful silence in the cold snow, sliding down the hill.
Over the next 5 years I skied at Killington, Whiteface, Stratton, Mount Snow, and Sugarbush. I did trips with friends, and some annual bus trips with a neighborhood pub. Skiing was a different experience for me. It was my escape from the city, and I loved it. I did this for 5 years before moving to Denver and discovering what it was like to ski in Colorado.
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