It is a different ski season this year in Vermont. Added to the skiing nomenclature, for the first time to my knowledge, is the term “Forest Surfing.” The first usage that I know of belongs to Brian Mohr, Moretown-based photographer and horticulturalist, who used it in social media. Local forest surfers JT (John Townsend) and Lori Klein report that they have come out of the woods, onto trails and wondering, “where the hello are we?” That is a good indicator of how good this season is.
Skiing requires presence, so much presence – even when floating elegantly through deep snow in untracked woods. A buried branch or maybe it was a treetop, snagged one ski and splat, I went down, face first and downhill in steep woods, suffocating for a moment in the deep snow. A face plant into snow and it felt like a little more character was just added to the face. A monumental struggle ensued in order to right myself from an awkward situation. Two poles together and a push up in deep snow is possible. But wait, I need one pole to reach back and release one binding.
I get myself together, back on skis, but my heart is racing. I take a moment to come back to calm, a woods level of quiet presence. This is challenging skiing; it cannot be done without a calm presence.
Paradise skiing reminded me of those photos from back in the day, when skiers floated through in wedeln fashion. There are no exposed rocks on the first headwall. There is smooth skiing through the transition to the face that falls away from the Paradise Extension. This face will teach you to actually “see” fall line, that fall line does not necessarily follow the trail direction.
Fall line awareness has been on my mind. It is like being aware of birds. Birds flit and fly overhead, unnoticed and inconspicuous. Their songs fill the air, but they are just background cries to the uninitiated. They are “just birds.” But if you pull your consciousness into the present moment, you recognize that the various calls, the colors, and patterns of the feathers, the characteristics of each bird are significant, and you realize that they are not “just birds.” Fall line is a lot like that.
So, JD Vance said that he had a great time at the Olympics. I sure hope so! He had 11 passenger planes for himself, family, and staff and two cargo planes full of armored vehicles. They, of course, sideswiped some Fiat 500s and clogged up the narrow Italian roads. Worst of all, he had a cargo plane full of food for the entourage. Food, he brought food – to Italy. Go figure. Then he had the audacity to complain that U.S. athletes were commenting on the dire state of U.S. politics. “You’re there to win a medal, not attack the president.” All the while he was grifting away and trying unsuccessfully to gain political stature in the arena of fair competition, the arena of Greek “Arete,” of excellence. The audience pelted him with long and loud boos!
The Olympic hosts for the Women’s GS race lauded the achievement of “no mind” for the athletes. How do you get that “no mind”? I think that you do something that absorbs all available consciousness and then asks for…more! Where is that “more”? “More” is available in efficiency. Efficiency is a wellspring of more. Pole plants can add acceleration and direction. Terrain fluctuations can steer and provide effortless bend in the skis. Efficiency allows for all day skiing. Not getting tired means skiing efficiently.
I recently read that in order to succeed, one should double one’s rate of failure and learn from mistakes. This concept can be interpreted to mean that there is value in taking risks. Obviously, skiers get that. However, you can also aim to double your rate of success. How can this be done and where? If you want to succeed, there is ample opportunity. In small things, succeed there. In every action, every thought and decision, succeed there.
It seems obvious that when you train the body, you train the mind. Pathways of coordinated movement that are made in flow are carved into the mind. Small improvements in strength will improve the day. A lack of fatigue late in the day, on a day that deserves a full day, can lead to adventures and risk-taking, but that requires reserves of strength. The same thing applies for efficiencies, a minor improvement in fall line orientation, a pole plant made on the steep back side of a bump, where even the pole provides a bit, just bit of acceleration and directional force.
