I'm not any good at skating, hell I'm not really good at snowboarding, and unfortunately at this point I'm terrible at skiing.
The thing is all 3 of those things have brought me a lot of joy. Skiing being the OG got me into the mtn life and eventually into snowboading. Snowboarding has kept me in the mountains, and last summer, and now I've gotten into skateboarding. Originally I bought a skateboard to get last southern hem winter to escape the school holidays. The skatepark was empty, the mountain was not.
Being incredibly bad at something and learning was amazing though. The small victories conquering a trick that everyone else could probably do. Trying something 50 times that other do in their sleep. The thing is, you don't have to be good at something to have fun. In fact sometimes starting from scratch can be as much fun as the hobbie you're good at. Everyday you get a little bit better. Hell I bought a guitar, I'm not very good at it but I play it all the time and I keep getting better. I love the damn thing, and I'll be bringing terrible music to a campfire near you. A new hobby doesn't have to be a sport, it doesn't have to resemble skiing, it's just something to find a passion in and learn. Something to do to keep yourself from boredom at the darkest depths of summer. Something to keep a smile on your face till the snow flies again. With the way 2020 is going so far it's really something we need.
Summer is not winter, and really doesn't involve skiing mountains for most of us, but it provides us with new opportunities. Sure it sucks when the resort closes in the spring, or closes early this season. We love the mountains, Getting after it provides us with more than a past time, it's a real source for joy. That period between closing and opening days can be tough. When that last chair shuts down, what are we supposed to do?
Summer doesn't need to be that period in between seasons. Summer can be an opportunity. The weather is nice, kids have free time, and it can be the perfect opportunity to keep skiing or try something new. My friends that ski rails the best have almost all had a summer setup at some point. The speed of progression and ability to really focus on dialing in tricks and keeping muscle memory is amazing. That green turf or construction fence drop in, that white pvc rail, that keeps the stoke alive through the warmer months.
It doesn't have to be skiing though. A few weeks back I talked a bit about peoples summer projects and how that was keeping them busy. There are a ton of options. It doesn't have to be a summer setup or skating.
Most of us love the winter time the most, it's why we're on this website and talking to each other. The mountains aren't open year round, and unfortunately for many of us, skiing at the local hill will always end for a few months. That moment at the end of closing day will always be bitter sweet. Usually it's full of hot laps with your best friends, and a general good one. Though that moment is filling, it still leaves an empty place that will eventually grow into summer if you let it.
Other sports aren't skiing, but you can find passion in anything, especially a relateable sport. Taking advantage of this time to work on another hobby or even progress your skiing can fill that void and keep your stoke going year round.
So I built a ramp. Cool starry bra. But that's gave me a purpose to build, and hours of enjoyment. Hell I'm writing this sitting on the deck and it's been a nice spot to play guitar or drink some beer and watch the sunset. Skating still scares me, I feel old and brittle, but it also has brought me joy. The joy from doing something physical, difficult, and the small victories along the way.
If you're still feeling bored and sad about the ski season that's understandable, but there's a lot of summer left. The season might not have ended the way we wished or expect, but for most of us it did end. We've got some prime months ahead of us for sunshine, new projects, hobbies, and making the most out of summer.
I hope you find something that you love enough that you're almost a little sad as the temps drop in the fall. Or better yet something you can keep doing year round.
Your age now is the youngest you'll ever be. For the most part, time keeps flying by faster and faster. As Warren Miller told us, "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do." I think that's not only a great thought for skiing, but life in general. Maybe you suck at skating. Maybe you can barely hit a rail on skis. Maybe bmx just doesn't feel right. If you give it a dabble now, that's a place you won't be in a few years. You might not be great, you might not be a pro, but you'll be significantly better than you are now, especially if you've never even tried. Whether you're young or old, none of us our getting younger so you might as well give it a whirl now.
The time is now my friends. Dust off that old hobby or learn a new one. Build a drop in, a ramp, go to the skatepark, get a mtn bike, and enjoy your summer. It's going to be a while before it gets cold and most of our local hills reopen, so lets make the best of it!
I'm pretty sure Nate will be shredding, will you? Have fun out there!
Here's a few NS member project and hobbies they've got going on.
https://www.newschoolers.com/news/read/Staying-Active-Quarantine
***** Random additions
Everyone has there issues. I probably drink more than I should. I was doing great this last ski season though. Snowboarding, and the ability to build and maintain parks for the kids(and the bigger kids) does something to calm my soul. Work can be stressful and chaotic but there's something zen about putting on the right tunes, and building things.
Growing up at a mtn that didn't have a park and longing for even a small jump or rail had a profound impact on me. This is my chance to get back in the sandbox and help build the park that I didn't have for other kids coming up. Honestly seeing everyone our shredding the park can be intense. Even if I haven't slept much in a few days, and have worked a bunch, and a little bit cranky, seeing those smiles and watching people destroy the park is worth every minute of it.
They say you need to get a good job. Well what defines good. I work in an industry with low wages and few bennefits, but at least it's something I'm passionate about.
When I was a kid I was always ripping around on my bike. A small little guy with coaster brakes. I remember being young enough that the first dirt jump I build at my house I used my tonka trucks to transport materials. I was always building things. I got pallets and cinder blocks and would build bigger and bigger jumps. Sketchy af, but that was what I had and I loved it. Eventually I got into building ramps out of wood. Saving any money I earned or got from birthdays toward buying lumber and power tools.
Designing and building something that brings you joy feels amazing. Designing and building something that brings others joy is something that's hard to put into words. If those other people remind you of your younger self, and things you didn't have? It damn near makes you cry.
I miss snowboarding, I miss building cool shit, but I'm happy to have found a new outlet and passion to cruise through the summer.
Everyone is different, but we all have things we're passionate about. Find something that draws you in, and you can't think about anything else. Something constructive that makes you feel like this is what you were meant to do. If it makes you rich, that's great, if not, does it bring you happiness? If you would do your job for free, maybe that's exactly what you were meant to be doing.
I know the summer is trashed, and next winter is unknown, but hang in there. Grab yourself a skateboard, build a summer ski setup, try something new or expand on an existing hobby. We're not getting any younger and to quote the badass Warren Miller again "jhrjrhgrjhgrhjg If not this year older do"
The thing is all 3 of those things have brought me a lot of joy. Skiing being the OG got me into the mtn life and eventually into snowboading. Snowboarding has kept me in the mountains, and last summer, and now I've gotten into skateboarding. Originally I bought a skateboard to get last southern hem winter to escape the school holidays. The skatepark was empty, the mountain was not.
Being incredibly bad at something and learning was amazing though. The small victories conquering a trick that everyone else could probably do. Trying something 50 times that other do in their sleep. The thing is, you don't have to be good at something to have fun. In fact sometimes starting from scratch can be as much fun as the hobbie you're good at. Everyday you get a little bit better. Hell I bought a guitar, I'm not very good at it but I play it all the time and I keep getting better. I love the damn thing, and I'll be bringing terrible music to a campfire near you. A new hobby doesn't have to be a sport, it doesn't have to resemble skiing, it's just something to find a passion in and learn. Something to do to keep yourself from boredom at the darkest depths of summer. Something to keep a smile on your face till the snow flies again. With the way 2020 is going so far it's really something we need.
Summer is not winter, and really doesn't involve skiing mountains for most of us, but it provides us with new opportunities. Sure it sucks when the resort closes in the spring, or closes early this season. We love the mountains, Getting after it provides us with more than a past time, it's a real source for joy. That period between closing and opening days can be tough. When that last chair shuts down, what are we supposed to do?
Summer doesn't need to be that period in between seasons. Summer can be an opportunity. The weather is nice, kids have free time, and it can be the perfect opportunity to keep skiing or try something new. My friends that ski rails the best have almost all had a summer setup at some point. The speed of progression and ability to really focus on dialing in tricks and keeping muscle memory is amazing. That green turf or construction fence drop in, that white pvc rail, that keeps the stoke alive through the warmer months.
It doesn't have to be skiing though. A few weeks back I talked a bit about peoples summer projects and how that was keeping them busy. There are a ton of options. It doesn't have to be a summer setup or skating.
Most of us love the winter time the most, it's why we're on this website and talking to each other. The mountains aren't open year round, and unfortunately for many of us, skiing at the local hill will always end for a few months. That moment at the end of closing day will always be bitter sweet. Usually it's full of hot laps with your best friends, and a general good one. Though that moment is filling, it still leaves an empty place that will eventually grow into summer if you let it.
Other sports aren't skiing, but you can find passion in anything, especially a relateable sport. Taking advantage of this time to work on another hobby or even progress your skiing can fill that void and keep your stoke going year round.
So I built a ramp. Cool starry bra. But that's gave me a purpose to build, and hours of enjoyment. Hell I'm writing this sitting on the deck and it's been a nice spot to play guitar or drink some beer and watch the sunset. Skating still scares me, I feel old and brittle, but it also has brought me joy. The joy from doing something physical, difficult, and the small victories along the way.
If you're still feeling bored and sad about the ski season that's understandable, but there's a lot of summer left. The season might not have ended the way we wished or expect, but for most of us it did end. We've got some prime months ahead of us for sunshine, new projects, hobbies, and making the most out of summer.
I hope you find something that you love enough that you're almost a little sad as the temps drop in the fall. Or better yet something you can keep doing year round.
Your age now is the youngest you'll ever be. For the most part, time keeps flying by faster and faster. As Warren Miller told us, "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do." I think that's not only a great thought for skiing, but life in general. Maybe you suck at skating. Maybe you can barely hit a rail on skis. Maybe bmx just doesn't feel right. If you give it a dabble now, that's a place you won't be in a few years. You might not be great, you might not be a pro, but you'll be significantly better than you are now, especially if you've never even tried. Whether you're young or old, none of us our getting younger so you might as well give it a whirl now.
The time is now my friends. Dust off that old hobby or learn a new one. Build a drop in, a ramp, go to the skatepark, get a mtn bike, and enjoy your summer. It's going to be a while before it gets cold and most of our local hills reopen, so lets make the best of it!
I'm pretty sure Nate will be shredding, will you? Have fun out there!
Here's a few NS member project and hobbies they've got going on.
https://www.newschoolers.com/news/read/Staying-Active-Quarantine
***** Random additions
Everyone has there issues. I probably drink more than I should. I was doing great this last ski season though. Snowboarding, and the ability to build and maintain parks for the kids(and the bigger kids) does something to calm my soul. Work can be stressful and chaotic but there's something zen about putting on the right tunes, and building things.
Growing up at a mtn that didn't have a park and longing for even a small jump or rail had a profound impact on me. This is my chance to get back in the sandbox and help build the park that I didn't have for other kids coming up. Honestly seeing everyone our shredding the park can be intense. Even if I haven't slept much in a few days, and have worked a bunch, and a little bit cranky, seeing those smiles and watching people destroy the park is worth every minute of it.
They say you need to get a good job. Well what defines good. I work in an industry with low wages and few bennefits, but at least it's something I'm passionate about.
When I was a kid I was always ripping around on my bike. A small little guy with coaster brakes. I remember being young enough that the first dirt jump I build at my house I used my tonka trucks to transport materials. I was always building things. I got pallets and cinder blocks and would build bigger and bigger jumps. Sketchy af, but that was what I had and I loved it. Eventually I got into building ramps out of wood. Saving any money I earned or got from birthdays toward buying lumber and power tools.
Designing and building something that brings you joy feels amazing. Designing and building something that brings others joy is something that's hard to put into words. If those other people remind you of your younger self, and things you didn't have? It damn near makes you cry.
I miss snowboarding, I miss building cool shit, but I'm happy to have found a new outlet and passion to cruise through the summer.
Everyone is different, but we all have things we're passionate about. Find something that draws you in, and you can't think about anything else. Something constructive that makes you feel like this is what you were meant to do. If it makes you rich, that's great, if not, does it bring you happiness? If you would do your job for free, maybe that's exactly what you were meant to be doing.
I know the summer is trashed, and next winter is unknown, but hang in there. Grab yourself a skateboard, build a summer ski setup, try something new or expand on an existing hobby. We're not getting any younger and to quote the badass Warren Miller again "jhrjrhgrjhgrhjg If not this year older do"
