Why We Do It

I love to ski. I love snow and am one of a select people that does not complain about the cold of winter and pray for summer. My brother recently wrote an essay for his English class titled Why I... I thought I might a section of this essay that, in my opinion captures the essence of why we do it,

It was a cold January afternoon, with at least twelve inches of fresh snow in the Valley. My brother Zach and I decided that we were going to ski for a few hours after school. Checking the weather update for Snowbird Ski resort, I could hardly stand the sight on the computer screen. Thirty-two fresh inches of snow! This is what some skiers refer to as a major “pow” day. I barley could stand sitting through my next two classes as I knew what was waiting for me just a few miles away. After school, Zach and I threw on our ski gear and headed for the canyon. As we arrived to the Snowbird parking lot, there were hardly any cars. We bolted for the lift and rode it to the top. On the way up, we both knew what our first run was going to be, The Cirque. As we managed to work our way to the top of the mountain, I remember how excited I was. The Cirque is a wide-open bowl shaped run that requires about five minutes of traversing. For this both, scary and exciting run, I put on the best “pump up” song I could find. I let Zach get a head start down the hill, for I knew I would catch him. The first two turns I made caught me off guard. I knew there was a huge amount of snow, what I did not know is that I would find the snow up to my armpits! The next thing that I experienced was like nothing before. Imagine floating up to heaven, passing through cold, weightless, clouds. Not being able to see anything but white. Taking a deep gasp of air and inhaling nothing but fluffy snow. It was possibly the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. It had happened before, but not to this extent. This is what the skiing society calls a face shot. Many ski, but few experience this phenomenon. As I passed Zach, my legs burning, adrenaline gushing through my veins, and trying for air, the run was nearing the end. I stopped at the end, caught my breath, and waited for Zach who was near behind. We both were speechless, the only word that came to mind, was WOW! This one run reminds me why I ski.