Monday, March 12, 2012

You Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone

The season is unfortunately beginning to wind down here in Toronto and all the hills in the area are closing up shop in the next couple of weeks. It seems like only days ago I was getting the pre season itches, counting down the days until I could strap in and spend another winter making memories. Unfortunately that dream winter never quite materialized and at this point I have resigned myself to the fact that it's never gonna happen, the season is almost all said and done. In retrospect however, although due to weather the frequency of my snowboarding this winter hasn't been what I had hoped for or what it's been in the past, this has been one of the most fun seasons I can remember.

In the past I've spent countless consecutive days on the hill snowboarding, never giving a passing thought as to whether the weather would permit me to head out again the next day. With that mindset, I took advantage of the long, snow filled days with the homeys, knowing there would be more to come tomorrow. That definitely wasn't the case this winter however, and every moment spent snowboarding was legitimately appreciated and stored away in the mental memory bank for future review. The snow was never ideal this season, but every day out was amazing and fun and probably more progressive as far as my riding is concerned then most previous year's day packed into one. I think this was because I didn't know when the next time I'd ride would be. I didn't know if I'd wake up to temperature's in the upper teens and resorts not even able to make snow and open there doors.

This year we took a different approach. Not sitting in the chalet, taking extended breaks and indulging in all the over priced delicacies the cafeteria has to offer. In seasons past, the beers and other words beginning with B often took precedence over the actual snowboarding, which is normally pretty fun in it's own skeezy and counterproductive way, but before you know it any chances of doing any actual snowboarding have all gone cattywompus. But this year we rode for hours and hours on end, stopping only for the occasional smoke or to slam down a piece of pizza or can of coke only to strap right back in and make our way back to the lift line.

There were the finals of a contest series at my local hill on Saturday and the park was closed to the everyone but the competitors for the day. Naturally I was bummed at first as Chicopee doesn't have a whole lot else to offer, but I ended up meeting up with my young nephew whose still not confident to gets lap in at the park. We spent the day just cruising around, being dumb asses and enjoying being out on the snow. I can honestly say it was one of the best days I had this season. So maybe this global warming tainted season has been a blessing in disguise. I mean it definitely sucked it in it's own right, but in an attempt to keep up the glass half full mindset , it's been a positive eye opener. It's really made me realize how pretty much everything else to do in the winter is boring as shit and that I'm super fortunate to be a snowboarder and have that aspect of my life to retreat to.Thank Fuck for that!

I feel as though it is often the case, and I am among the biggest offenders for this, that we as a culture abuse snowboarding as a commodity, failing to recognize that all that really matters at the end of the day is what happens on the board, and that everything else we talk about and consume on a daily base as far as snowboarding is concerned, can actually be left to the wayside. Don't get me wrong, I write about snowboarding because I love it so much and it's something that consistently frequents my thoughts. The beauty of this shit winter has been though, that it's reminded me that all these videos I watch, magazines I read, time spent buying gear, laughs had in the chalet bar; are all irrelevant. All that is important is me and my snowboard.

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