Quitting

OP, we have almost the exact same story...born in 85, started skiing at age 4, dreamed of going to the Olympics for moguls, then shifted focus to park skiing in the late 90s. I also realized that I didn't have what it takes to go pro as a competition skier so I in many ways abandoned my dream...I actually gave up skiing altogether for a few years when I was in college. After college I worked a few bullshit jobs until I realized that the whole "working stiff" thing wasn't for me. During this period I took a couple ski trips out west with some friends and it was at this point in my life that I had a major epiphany.....skiing is one thing I am truly passionate about. It

Although I can't do big spins or doubles in the park, I realized that there is more than one way to go pro in the sport of skiing. To make a long story short, I got certified and became a ski instructor. It's probably not the first thing that people think of when talking about becoming a professional skier, but the reality is that I get paid to ski. Instructing has made me a much better skier and it affords me the opportunity to do what I love 100+ days a year. And with a bit more experience I'll be able to bump that number to somewhere around 300 days a year (once I'm qualified to teach in the southern hemisphere).

All I can say is, if you are truly passionate about skiing and want to do it for a living, don't give up. Explore some different options and realize that there is more than one way to earn a living skiing (ski patrol, skier services, mountain rangers, and instructors all get paid to do what they love).
 
Great thread OP

I used to think that a sponsorship would be cool, but as I have progressed I realized that it is just another form of advertising. While it would be cool to say your sponsored, It takes away from the fun I get from escaping the bustling commercial world we live in today.

being on the mountain.

To me, skiing is kind of like being in another world, as corny as that sounds. It used to be that there was no pressure to throw down sick tricks, and everyone was just trying to have fun with their friends. The world where everyone is just trying to have fun, whether it be by skiing sick pow, progressing in the park, or meeting others that share the same passion for the sport we call skiing.

 
2 knee surgeries, 1 left hand surgery and a brocken C3 over the last 6 years and I'm still here

FUCK quitting, I'm skiing till I die
 
THIS.

Prior to this season, I competed and really took skiing seriously. Not to be come pro, but to have the chance at a sponsor ship and get some free goodies.

Once this season came around I really looked back on what I had done the year before and began to realise the risks I was taking didn't pay out. This year I still skied park as much as I did before, but instead of pushing my self every day, I would just do what felt best. Enjoying what i was doing. I found my self going more and more back to my roots of just skiing around the mountain, taking top to bottom laps and really enjoying my days on the mountain.

I am now looking forward to next year to just shred the mountain.
 
Good read. As I've gotten older ive started to see the affect of aggressive progression and the affects on my body later in life. I've slowed down a bit and try to think more with my head
 
Couldn't agree more brother.

Ever since i stopped taking skiing seriously i've just had so much more fun and even become a better skier because i don't have any pressure to stomp that certain trick or get results at comps.
 
I went back and found the dude who bumped this just to give him 10/10. The original post is eloquent as fuck.

This is skiing for me. Plain and simple. It's not about contest results or comparing myself to others. It's not about being paid or making a career. It's about the people I meet, the places I get to see, and the fun times in those places with those people. Those times when you just go out there and live. That's what it's all about.
 
I've never tried or even seriously considered becoming pro. It's the same with skateboarding, never attempted to get spanzerizedddd or anything. I just don't care. It would be cool, but it's not gonna happen.

That, and I suddenly lose all my tricks when it becomes a game of skate.
 
nothing is more fun than landing a new trick. going pro is the dream for a ton of park skiers, but if thats why you ski youre doing it wrong.
 
One of the best threads out. Nothing beats those bluebird or big pow days, just shredding with your buddies and seeing everyone so stoked.

Traveling Circus is such a good example of this vibe.
 
Reading this thread just gave me such a good feeling.

Sure I'm not good enough to drop jaws in the park, or get sponsored, but I sure as fuck am going to be ripping groomers when I'm 60.
 
Man, put down the blunt...

I never dreamed on being a professional skier. I have a career and can't really afford to get hurt on some bullshit, but I plan on skiing park for as long as I can until I break a hip. Sucks because very few of my friends ski park

If it weren't for park, I don't know if I would even ski anymore. I like bombing runs, backcountry is fun for jumping off stuff, but without park I wouldn't be trying to get to the mountain every day I have off
 
I started having the most fun skiing when I realized I wasn't going to be a pro skier at like 17 or 18....now I'm IN IT FOR LIFE
 
Don't even wanna go pro i feel like i would get caught up in the whole competition scene and lose sight as to y i ski. Sure i dreamed about it when i was a kid and i still think it would be cool to do but i just wanna ski for fun. And at the rate of progression today i would rather be throwing 7's and floaty 3's then hucking my meat just to keep some sponsors and risking not being able to ski when im 80! 100% agree with this thread!
 
Good to hear! Im going to U of I, so I will still be skiing Schweitzer almost every weaken. When do you come up from college?
 


If you're a real skier, when you leave the house, and start skiing on your own time and on your own dime is the time when the ultimate stoke *starts*. The only constraints on when, where, why and how you ski are finally totally under your control. Play your cards right and you'll be stoked out of your mind on aspects of skiing that you'd never given any thought to or experienced at 20 when you are 2, 3, or even 4X that age.

Last year I rode a lift with a 87 year-old guy who started skiing at Paradise on Mt. Rainier in 193-fucking-3. Know what he was stoked about? Skiing with his 2 year old great-grandson for the first time. He was so amped he could hardly wait to get off the chair, and I've never, ever encountered anyone happier to be on a pair of skis before or since. According to him he was having the best day of skiing he'd ever had in his life, and he'd been at each and every year for 79 years.

Anyone who bails at 20 after having dedicated most of their time and energy to lapping the park is going to miss out on just about all of the best things that skiing has to offer.
 
You scared me man, saw the thread title and thought you would no longer be posting here. I enjoy most of your posts, so that would have bummed me out.
 
damn straight.

I think skiing needs to be enjoyed. It's the best time to disconnect from the world and just chill. I definitely think that we need pros to look up to though, cause they inspire us to be better and faster adn steelier. Also its just awesome watching some of the edits on here they are bad ass!

I just enjoy what I do.
 
This thread is real as hell!

If you look at skiing as a career and "quit", you don't deserve to be here anyways because you're bringing the wrong vibe.

Skiing isn't just a sport. It doesn't end after high school/college. It's a fun/chill/challenging/expressive activity. It can possibly be a lifestyle. Skiing is a vibe, like a magic. No doubt most of you feel it!

That's why skiers like Henrik, Pollard, and Parry are best image of skiing. Happy as clams, too stoked for what's next.

Bottom line for quitters? Their loss.
 
Park skiing is kind of like skateboarding in a way and when teens grow up they quit, so I guess thats why some people quite. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO SKIING THAN LAPPING THE PARK!
 
You just gotta keep expanding your thinking. See each new day as an opportunity to do something new, even if it's small, because you can always learn something different. The way the mountain is today is not the way it will be tomorrow, or the next day.
 
I don't know if his words have been said in this thread yet, but CR nailed the tee...

"The joy that I get from skiing.... That's worth dying for"

Thats the way it should be.. I love skiing and I know that I am no way in hell Olympic bound, I still love to be on the mountain.
 
haha, i feel you. I really enjoyed your post that made the homepage.

Dude you're not QUITTING. You can still shred when you're 40, 80 even, and tell your grandkids about your ski bum adventures. Move on.

Maybe to a chill LA beach life, take up surfing, and the snow is still a short distance away. Boom, bingo.

 
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