Daydreaming

I'm in Vermont, but at times my mind and my heart are far away from here – far in a geographical sense, far in a visceral sense, and far in terms of time. In shoulder season, sandwiched between my Southern Hemisphere winters in Wanaka, New Zealand and my Northern Hemisphere winters in Vermont, I do manage to keep reasonably busy. I have plenty of work to do to get ready for the upcoming season at Okemo, plenty of people to catch up with after several months overseas, and generally enough to occupy my time. Still, there are moments, whole days sometimes, when I'm not exactly present. When the weather comes in – as it has a great deal this fall – and I stay indoors to exercise instead of outdoors where I prefer, I drift to those faraway places and times, places real and imaginary, where my ski dreams have been or will be fulfilled. Yes, there are moments when those dreams may shift to a tropical beach with warm iridescent blue waters, but it's the skiing in my dreams that really transports me.

I've been very fortunate in my adult life to have spent time skiing in some extraordinary places in some truly astonishingly dry, incredibly deep powder snow. I remember those days and the people I shared them with in exceptional detail. Zermatt with Matt and Jason, many Vail days with a big posse, Taos with Steve, Utah solo, the Cariboos with Peter, White Face with the team, a couple of otherworldly days with Terry at Mad River, and one particular day at Treble Cone with Tyler that included a run in the Motatapu Chutes with Tim that was absolutely ridiculous. There are more, many more memories, and many more yet to come.

Today has been a dark, windy, classic Vermont November day complete with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, snow at higher elevations and rain in town. I've been far less productive than I'd like in the sense of ticking things off my to-do list. But, in terms of dreaming deep powder dreams and contemplating the universe of snowy possibilities, I've accomplished a great deal from my seat on the couch. Thankfully, when I fall into this far-away powder daze, I now have youtube to feed the monster. If you're feeling a bit down, a bit like the concrete jungle, the Eastern dank, or the treadmill of life is getting to you, give yourself a moment and consider what's out there yet to experience through your skis or boards and the people who share your passion for them. Then, watch this video from Team Thirteen called "Deep Powder Skiing at Bridger Bowl: Part 1". It's been around a while, it may actually make you cry, and it definitely renders me less present than I felt before watching it; but, I do hope you'll agree that it's worth it.

We have just a couple of weeks to go before the ski season begins and I hope that we'll be reminded that real life can at times really come close to our dreams, especially the powdery ones.