While Margo ripped Snake Pit last winter, will she be able to get her perfect form back for the first runs of the season?
THE CALL OF the first day of skiing brings together the self-proclaimed dirt bag, ski bum, ski bunny, and gaper alike. As luck would have it, so does every other ski day of the year. But it’s that first day of the season that brings out the inner drive in all of us - we all feel the seemingly insatiable excitement that the entire season is here, untracked, at our fingertips and yearning for its place in our very own lore. That, plus the jitters.
The First Day Jitters, a phrase I surely cannot claim as having coined, is an unspoken yet unavoidable theme of the first day on the slopes. Perhaps it stems from seeing those friends in the snowy parking lot that you haven’t seen, smiled at, high-fived, or “Hey Bro”d since last April’s epic end. Or that brand-new gear you just can’t wait to break in and test its resolve. For many, it’s a time for reflection on the past few sun-filled (or maybe even injury-ridden) months and what has changed or remained constant in your life and well-being. But for all, there’s just one lingering question: “Can I still do this?”
Sure, you’ve tested your bindings and boot fit in the living room or back yard. You’ve biked, hiked, kayaked in “recycled powder,” and done anything else you could have to sustain your stamina.
But that very first turn…
Is your pole plant on time? Is your balance there? Can you maintain the flow of the turn, effortless and natural as it was when you put the boards away to collect dust the previous spring?
For me, the first day of a new ski season brings an eerily satisfying mix of the thrill of a new routine and the unease of having not yet established one. Surely, I will forget a glove that first day. The next day it may be my favorite fleece layer. Yet as I work through the kinks of what is sure to be my best season yet, I know that the Biggest Skiing in America awaits my exploration. And brand spankin’ new skis, duck-taped mittens, yet-to-be-worn-in quadriceps, red-haired ponytail and all, I am ready to take it on. Let’s go, Lone Peak.
- Margo Humphries
TWISI guest writer Margo Claire Humphries boasts Big Sky Resort as her home mountain of almost 26 years and a well-seasoned ski patroller as her next-of-kin. The final 45 seconds of the ride up the Lone Peak Tram is commonly known as one of the only things in life that can shut her up.
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