Why do you ski/board

Why do you ski/board?
No matter what the subject, J2skiers offer a diverse range of ski/board views.

I just got to wondering , that while I am sure there is a lot of common ground on skiing/boarding, there are also many diverse reasons that people do what they do.

My thoughts are that the reasons why you want to ski/board will influence so many things, for instance the type of place that you want to ski in, the kind of runs you do, the kind of places that you choose to stay in.

Please note, this is not a question of why you started to ski. We have done that. It is about, now that you are where you are, what are the reasons that you ski/board, what do you want to get out of it?

i just want somewhere soft to put my head down and somewhere warm to eat my food and snow to have fun on ,,the rest is an added bonus that im not that bothered about ...2500m's up in the fresh air and one of the first to come down on the new snow just seems to be the best feeling ever .

Dave Mac wrote:Why do you ski/board?
No matter what the subject, J2skiers offer a diverse range of ski/board views.

I just got to wondering , that while I am sure there is a lot of common ground on skiing/boarding, there are also many diverse reasons that people do what they do.

My thoughts are that the reasons why you want to ski/board will influence so many things, for instance the type of place that you want to ski in, the kind of runs you do, the kind of places that you choose to stay in.

Please note, this is not a question of why you started to ski. We have done that. It is about, now that you are where you are, what are the reasons that you ski/board, what do you want to get out of it?

Dave, for me it has always been the environment of the mountains, the culture, the wonderful crisp morning air, if I was not able to ski through wear and tear I'd put on a pair of snow shoes and wonder about to my hearts content, hopefully that will not be for a lot of years yet. 8)

Free myself

Just love the mountains winter or summer,when we 1st started on package holidays all those years ago,would be 1st on the lift last off, and party all night.Just as happy now to stick on some skinnys or snow shoes and go wandering,even like shoveling snow :lol: By the way last year on this day awoke to -1 20cm of snow,looked at todays forecast 20c and sunny hope this is not an omen
for the year, read somewhere its a el nino year.
Goff

Dave, your question could be answered 2 ways and I'm not sure which way you want??

If the question is why I chose to engage in skiing or snowboarding regardless of which one of those I do, the I would say it's the freedom it affords. Whilst sliding down a chalenging bit of mountain at a healthy speed, one can simply tune everything out and and engage in something totally and purely for the sake of itself.

If the question is why I settled on snowboarding, then I would have to say it is the minimalist nature of it which attracts me. I tend to snowboard "light", and if I cant get it in my pockets I dont need it, so its just me and the board which also helps with the explanation above.

Either way I wish it would start snowing!! Similar to Goff, this weekend last year I woke up to 80cm of new snow at resort level @ Hintertux and had a fabulous 3 days riding (despite forgetting my insurance)

I share many of the elements.

Being in the mountains.
The rush you get with the speed.
The rhythm of skiing, and the athletics of turning
The comradeship, and life-long friendships made.
Being helped, and then in turn, helping others.
Learning the skills, still at it in my 41st year of skiing.
The different culture, food, lifestyle and language.
The opportunity to paint wonderful views, and old Tirol buildings.
The utter joy of skiing through deep snow.

One additional reason, when I worked, it is one of the few times when I was incapable of thinking about work, survival was uppermost.

It was never our intention to ski/board it came about by accident. We both love the snow and mountains and scenery. So when we booked our first 'snow holiday', we found that by doing so we could have a free learn to ski/board package. We did this and learnt to board, although abandoned the lessons and did it on our own. Ater that we were hooked on winter hols, and the next one did a ski and x country taster session. We then found it difficult as to which one we prefer so we do all three. I actually think this year will be our last year boarding, we will more concentrate on xcountry and ski.
I actually really enjoy x country, its more strenuous on the legs, its not at altitude, but the scenery, going through woods, across frozen lakes and sometimes around villages is what really attracts me. Plus x country in Finland we get to see so much wildlife its lovely.
When I choose a resort it wont be a big, busy resort. I dont care about the mileage, the height, the amount of slopes. My holiday will consist of good accomodation, preferably a log cabin on our own. I want to be able to do other activities as well, snowmobiling,sledging,husky riding,reindeer sleighing, snow shoe walking, bob sleigh and what ever else is on offer. We spend all day outside doing whatever and all I ask is a good resteraunt and good food and a couple of drinks and my holiday is complete.