The Two Pieces of SliDing

The essence of sliding, for me, comes in two pieces. The first is the solace and undeniable joy that comes from solo riding. The almost silence of snow falling and your plank(s) moving through the powder. It’s entering that flow state and being overwhelmed with gratitude for just being in that moment, for everything from the mountain itself to that one perfect, or not so perfect, turn.

The second is LOUD. It’s the hoots and hollers of unseen friends in the trees. It’s stories and chuckles shared while hiking the ridge, only interrupted by gasps for air and hearing my husband’s booming laughter across the basin as he teaches a group of kids (if you know him, you know). And it’s the shared stoke, the palpable excitement among friends and strangers as we wait patiently, or sometimes not so patiently, for the bombs to stop and the lifts to open.