Connecting With Nature, And Yourself, Through Skiing

Skiing is not important. What is important is living hard, connecting with nature, avoiding routine, and being kind. Skiing happens to be a great way, maybe the best way, to do that.

- Porter Fox

When I was a kid, I thought skiing was the only important thing. My friend gave me my first subscription to Powder when I was 14. I bought Skiing magazine, too, and performed the ridiculous fitness tips in the back pages in my bedroom at night: Make a grid out of masking tape and hop from square to square; do wall sits in the hallway with schoolbooks in your lap. I watched Greg Stump’s movies like some people watch reenactments of the Bible. I knew every second, every transition, every storyline and lyric by heart. When I was a senior in high school, I made a Stump-inspired ski movie with a camcorder. It featured my friend on a snow board and me on skis. It was the 1980s. It was called “Board vs. Boards.”