The audible scrape of pine needles across nylon, the gentle pressure of tree limbs pushing against your body, the heaviness of gravity counterbalanced by the lift of powder, your knees weaving you in and out of shaded green and filtered light; this is the pulse to live for. Skiing through the glades, between the labeled and rated slopes, remains a world just outside of the mundane. In here, there is magic. In here, there is only breath and motion.
But how do you get “in here” when the snow is all but gone? Terrain park: the best secret right out in plain sight on your local ski hill.
You’ve seen it on YouTube: bodies flying high over jumps, impossibly suspended in air and landing softly on silky snow as if it was nothing at all to make this great leap. Kids jumping up on boxes and rails, gliding effortlessly through the familiar half pipe. If you haven’t, that’s all the more reason to get up close and personal with the skiers and snowboarders who ride these parks. The rush of adrenaline, jump line in sight, sinking into the landing, breath cold and fast in your lungs. You get to feel this even when you are the one watching.
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The skiers and boarders who ride these parks are nothing short of amazing. The tricks are out of this world. It is worth a few hours to watch. Up close, you realize what it really takes to catch this kind of air and how much internal fortitude to hit all these hard features with full commitment. It’s enough to sit in awe and just simply marvel. And marvel you should. But what if you decided to take it one step further?
You wake up one morning and the powder is nowhere to be found. But even on granular days, the terrain parks have their own snow machines and grooming equipment. They remain winter playgrounds no matter the conditions. Just around the corner — at the base of Schweitzer Mountain, Lookout Pass, Silver Mountain and Mt. Spokane — are a host of beginner features calling your name.
Remember when you were first learning to find your edge? Your beginner’s mind was focused on how to keep the tips of your skis from crossing, the front edge of the board from grabbing, and that inevitable catapult into the cold that made your choices real. What if leaping onto a platform now called that same attention into the present, the placement of your edge, everything once again? How would that feel? What about this sweet little jump at the base of the mountain where you could hit it over and over until it makes sense in your bones? There is magic in play, a freedom in releasing old expectations and creating new visions instead.
So, you get a pass for the terrain park. You take the mandatory safety class and wonder what you were thinking. Gliding down through the groomed, hardly touched snow toward the park, you feel your rhythm coming back to you. A kid, not more than 18, sails through the atmosphere, leaving a 360-degree trail of icy powder behind him. You let that thought linger while you coast to the base of the hill and size up a 36” platform with a plexiglass top. Gloves pulled snug over your fingers, icy air particles crystallizing your focus with every breath, this board you’ve taken for granted for years is now your biggest challenge once again.
In here,
you remember,
is life.
And it feels good.
By Tara Howe
As Featured In: Winter/Spring 2016 CDA Edition
Area ski resorts: Mt Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, Lookout Pass Ski Resort, Schweitzer Mt, Silver Mt
