Wish I Had Said That

"I learned long ago not to be intimidated by an absence of difficulty"
- John Gill

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."-Frederick Douglass

"If my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine"-Bob Dylan

Friday, January 6, 2012

Reactivity

We are already a few weeks into the Earth's New Year.  Wow!  What can I say, I love skiing so much even a shortage of snowfall and a miserable snowpack cannot dampen my love.  I have been punching the clock up at Bridger much more regularly.  What a special place.  For only a few hundred dollars a year I get my own ski mountain.  Plus, I  like and can relate to the people who work and play there.  Hell Yes!  On the negative side I did not get to enslave any third-world children, cheat some middle class Americans out of their hard-earned money, get Botox, try to act in some ridiculous movie, or hold public office.  YES!!!

Ski that thing.
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Multiple (3 last week) avalanche deaths in the region are causing grief for many.  As a surly traditionalist climber it still hurts me to see people who are loved and cherished pass even when its doing what they love.  For many of us, this is one of the choices we make every morning when we step out of the our boxes.  Skiing in the early winter snow environment is a challenging and sometimes intense situation.  This is not like skiing a beat out mountain in May.  Anyone (well, anyone who can ski) can do that.  This is about skiing.  Skiing some powder, getting up in the wilderness, looking at animal tracks, seeking new objectives, and mostly...having fun.  That said, the same part of me that enjoys the challenges of free-solo rock climbing relishes these times in the mountains.  Its me and Ma' Nature.  Its not about luck, its about listening to the earth, sky, and water on one hand.  On the other is knowing yourself and trusting your interpretation of the present, past, and future consequences of action.  When I step onto a rock face and climb, I do not want to die.  When push my skis over the lip, I want to live.  Live life.  Simple as that.  I cannot live it in a box or in front of one.  If I had chosen that life then I would probably be six feet under in one.    Some of us need to feel that darkness pulling at our heels.  Others do not.  We are still lucky enough to get to choose.

Alex Lowe Peak on 01/01/12
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So I plod along, poking my poles to the ground, digging in the snow, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Happy New Year,

Andrew

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