Rory and the family of sarah burke if you ever read this i would be honored. All inspired by sarah burke. I apologize for any misspellings and sentence confusion ahead of time.
I always looked up to sarah as a kid because it was the only girl skier I knew of other than candide thovex at the time. I was so bummed when I heard the news. Skiing has lost so many great, inspiring skiers. Every time I hear of someone I don't even know that has died skiing or was a skier it always hits me harder than if I read about a tragic death on the news. I'm sure you can all relate. There's just something that keeps skiing so tightly knit, whether you're a pro, ski bum, weekend warrior or anyone else who enjoys skiing, all of us can relate to each other in some way, other than the fact that we all love skiing. Every age group skis or has skied. There is something about skiing and the mountain that will never change, although the sport may progress faster than it is now I believe skiing will always be a tight knit community. There is something that makes the ski community different than any other sport. If you ski avidly you WILL meet the people who inspire you the most, the guys/gals you watch in videos or on TV. In skateboarding, golf, basketball, football, soccer and everything else i'm forgetting in my current state of mind you have to pay money to see the people who you look up to and see on TV. you will be lucky to even have them sign something. Even still you might just pay for someones signature but in skiing that is way different and you can get something that is worth way more than a signature. Skiing (and snowboarding, not as much) you can get that expierence of seeing that one pro who you always look up to. You will most likely get to talk to him/her and even ride the lift with that professional/am/powder/oldschool original skier. No other sport that I can think of has this same situation. You could be skiing having the time of your life with your friends and then you get to the bottom of the lift and see sarah burke, henrik, tanner, CR, sammy carlson. Endless amounts of people you can watch or ski with who are at the top of the sport just doing what they love right alongside you. Most of them will be glad enough to talk to you and see what's up. That is why I love skiing so much. I rode the chair with Sarah Burke and realized halfway up the chair this women is a icon in freeskiing and she is riding along with me. Skiing has the coolest community of all time and I hope it never changes. I hope there is never a shaun white that rarely does competitions and is out "training" on his private halfpipe. Snowboarding will someday be like skateboarding and skateboarding will slowly transition into a exclusive sport. Although I have met quite a few pro skaters in my skate years the skate community it not as close as the the one skiing has. I hope skiing continues to progress as fast as its going and still be the same tight knit community that it is today. Sarah we miss you, but you have inspired so many! I will never forget that moment you sat next to me on the lift and introduced yourself to me. To be quite honest I had no idea who you were until you said something. In any other sporting community the icons of the sport avoid fellow players or fans at all times. Not all but I hope you get my point. We love you sarah. Im sure the rest of the ski community would say the same.
I'd just like to give all the most positive vibes towards the burke family and Rory. It's hard enough losing someone you love but to have them be so well known by such a great community would make it tougher and easier at times. I can't imagine how many times a day Rory is reminded by someone of his wife all my thoughts out to you. Same goes for the family, but having such and amazing, kind, well known, talented person i'm sure the family and Rory are given positive vibes more frequently then the sadness of such a huge loss. It will always be hard for Rory and the burke family to be reminded by this loving community of such a great loss, but I know that such huge part of this awesome community will always show their love for sarah and remind the family and Rory how inspiring she was to one of the greatest communities of any sport. She was so positive and if rory ever reads this please know sarah will never be forgotten and that all of the skiing community loved her so much. She truly is the icon of women's freeskiing. I'm sure you're loving the endless powder, with a huge smile on your face as always. Rest In Peace Sarah burke.
All my love,
Jake R