August Frenzy
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We had our first frost earlier this week. The briskness in the air has people wondering if winter is going to come early. POWDER magazine has arrived. And people start thinking skiing again.
This happens every year. And every year I always ask, “Why?”
Why do the people who pack up their skis in April, trading them for the mountain bike (just when the skiing finally gets good) decide to consume their thoughts on skiing in August?
In my mind, August is among my least favorite months of the year due to a number of factors – one of them being because I couldn’t be farther away from ski season. In most years, I finish my skiing in June or early July. I don’t start skiing until mid to end of October. August is smack in the middle of what I call “non-ski season”. So, why are people all in a frenzy
about skiing now?
It probably has to do with something weird about human nature. Or maybe it’s just American culture. It seems that people are always in anticipation of the next best thing, whatever it is. For some people, it’s the next best iPhone or the next best video game. For us mountain folk, it’s the next best season, which is whatever season you’re not currently in. This obsession is why we have people trying to mountain bike on trails in the spring that still have snow cover when the skiing is the best it’s been all year and the avy danger is low. This is why we have people yearning to make turns on planks in powder in the fall when the mountain biking is most epic and most scenic, among yellow leaves that rival any powder in the world.
Is it a problem? That I don’t know. For now, it’s an observation I notice every year – exponentially magnified in a small mountain biking / skiing town.
But this anticipatory disease doesn’t just apply to seasons. Most kids want to be adults. Many college students want to be out. Those in the work-force dream of retirement. And finally, one day those retirees look back and realize that they didn’t appreciate what they had along the way. They didn’t stop to soak in those special life moments.
Even retail fosters this disease. Ever try to buy a pair of snow-boots in February? You can’t. They’re already selling sandals.
But, here’s my opinion on the matter. Enjoy the season you’re in. Living in constant anticipation of the next best season will leave you with a constant dissatisfaction. Instead of trading the skis for the bike the moment the ski area closes in April, enjoy those spring corn and stable-snow turns. Instead of putting the mountain bike away in September in anticipation of winter (because you’ve been mountain biking since April), enjoy the tacky soil and gold-colored trails of fall.
Enjoy the here. Enjoy the season you’re in. Take time to appreciate what life has to offer you now. Slow your brain down a little and soak in those special life moments in real-time instead of having to rewind your memory later.
I’ll break open my POWDER magazine after the first snow in October 🙂 Until then, it’s all about biking and hiking for me!
- Mount Buckskin (17 May 2020) - May 28, 2020
- Horseshoe Ski (14 May 2020) – The mountain whose journey nearly killed me - May 27, 2020
- Sayres X-Rated Ski (10 May 2020) - May 19, 2020
This is an awesome and well written post, so truly insightful! Humans and specifically people in the US are definitely weirdos. Although I do think that that first skiable snowstorm in the fall brings a special excitement to the air, you are totally right about not appreciating what you already have. Miss you guys!