There’s just no way to sugarcoat it, the 2019-20 winter ended with a whimper, not a bag. Covid forced resorts to close early and fundamentally changed our view of normal. Summer, while some fun was had, continued the craziness. But it’s not all doom and gloom! We’re here to remind you that in just a few weeks snow will start falling, the mountains will turn white, and the world will be just a little less bad. Give it a couple of months and the lifts will be spinning, it won’t feel so weird to wear a face mask outside, and we’ll be back to making turns in the mountains again. Winter is coming, so consider this a formal reminder to start getting excited. Pour out your libations to the snow gods, pick out a new ski jacket, and wax your planks. The Pumpkin Spice Latte machines are already firing up and it will be winter before you know it!
Winter is coming, so consider this a formal reminder to start getting excited
Make the most of whatever snow you get
While most folks might be fearing the cold and snowy times, we’re getting fired up. Most of us had our ski and snowboard seasons cut short, we had plans, goals, runs we wanted to ski, friends we wanted to ride with, tricks we wanted to try. And then, in just a few short days all those plans changed, all those goals evaporated and we were left trying to wrangle our mask washing schedules.
That’s part of the magic of winter sports though – they’re temporal, the experience is fleeting. A pow day is only magic because it doesn’t last. And any of us could have our season snatched away at any point. A freak heatwave can shut down ski resorts, or worse, a tweaked knee can leave you on the sidelines for closing day. As skiers and snowboarders, we’re used to not having any guarantees for the length of our ski seasons. All we really know is that when the snow comes, we make the most of it while it lasts.
Make up for the lost snow days
So yes, we know you feel like you just put away your ski equipment filled with disappointment. We know you just hung that jacket up, that your ski boots still smell a little bittersweet from all the unfulfilled turns. But it’s time to start thinking about getting all that gear back out. Sure, you might have missed some days at the end of last year, that just means there’s no better time to make them back up than early this winter.
Get prepared
Sure things will look a little bit different at the mountain, and apres might not be the same, but it’ll still be a great escape. If the summer boom in outdoor recreation was any indication, the mountains will be full, so now is the time to dig up those mittens and make sure you’ve still got a matching pair. Maybe you were too busy figuring out how “online learning” works that you forgot to pick up that new pair of ski pants you were eyeing last spring. Now is your chance, winter is coming, it’s going to be awesome, as long as you’re prepared.
And if you’ve never skied or snowboarded, this winter is the perfect time to learn. These sports will be a wonderful respite from winter. Grab a lesson and ticket package and learn how to snowboard, or get a private lesson, and dial in your ski turns. There aren’t that many activities that happen outside, encourage social distancing, and already come with custom masks designed for the activity. So take advantage, this pseudo-quarantine is the perfect time to pick up a new outdoors winter hobby.
Hit the slopes to forget about all this craziness!
We’re all feeling extra stressed right now, the world feels like it’s burning and there’s just more to worry about than ever before. But there’s a silver lining to it all, the leaves are changing, and soon the mountains will be covered in snow again. We’ll scoot to the chairlifts, the same as we always have. We’ll load, ride to the top, leaving our worries further behind with every lift pole we pass. At the top we’ll strap in, adjust our goggles, and drop into those wonderful first turns of the year. And for a little while at least, everything will be perfect, everything will make sense, and we’ll blast smooth arcs to the bottom, whooping at our friends to join us for the next lap.
The post Why You CAN Look Forward to the 20/21 Winter Season appeared first on Cool of the Wild.
