Comp - The Anticipation
The early season fades into a distant memory, but the lasting impressions delivered are indispensable to us skiers. The worshiping of the powder gods with ptex and sweat is necessary to reach the next level of one’s ski season. With that we are taken deep into December, and these sacrifices to the alter of Ulr are not recommended, but mandatory.
Coastal storms stack up behind each other and the snowpack builds in both strength and depth. We lose perspective on our surroundings as our worlds seem only to extend beyond our ski tips. A series of costal storms this year produced a December that may well be remembered as one of the best on record for most. Its bounty opens areas and terrain which is often only reserved for the perfect mid-season conditions.
Mother Nature couldn't have given us a bigger feast for our hungry ski touring souls. The storms subside leaving behind mountains enrobed in soft supple white gold. Adventurers strike out and seek the comforting embrace of familiarity, all but guaranteeing that longing feeling of the first bottomless turns. If only for a fleeting moment before the next onslaught, the satisfaction derived from being in the mountains in your element melts all your worldly problems away.
A true skier doesn't follow but blazes his or her own trail. You expand your horizons, venture into the unknown, and accept both the rewards and failures. It is this mentality that expands the sport and one’s boundaries to envision objectives that were once thought to be too difficult. This is all relative and one’s boundaries are defined by the self-imposed limitations. Breaking through the boundaries is what traveling in the mountains is about.
Conditions change and objectives are adapted. The task remains the same to find the best skiing and the best snow at all times. Sharing time in the mountains with friends and creating the life long bonds is the source of inspiration for the future.
As we settle into our coastal comfort zones we must seek out ever reaching adventure. Expanding your horizons outside your local haunts leads skiers to far off places. The draw of the mid winter road trip builds as the snow piles up. A pilgrimage to the temples of touring is necessary...
