As another winter gets closer and closer [some would say it is here] I have to reflect on my rekindled love with the mountains. Last year was the first time in a long time that I made an effort to get out more and spend more time on my snowboard.. sliding sideways down a steep ass mountain through loads of powder and feeling like a kid again. I can’t express how good it felt to be back out there.
Squaw Valley | Lake Tahoe, 2019
I had a hiatus from the snowy slopes of the world for about 4 years… Why? Lots of reasons. With any hobby, the longer you go since you last picked it up the longer it takes to get it back. For me I also had a few blockers - the largest one, dating someone that didn’t share the same interests as me. She didn’t exactly keep me from the mountains, but she didn’t exactly empower me to go. Thats on me, and a lesson to be learned. If you can’t be yourself and do the things you want to do while in a relationship, you just might want to move on.
Moving on…Life hack time:
You can leave your office in New York City at 5pm on Friday night and take a flight west to places like Lake Tahoe and Salt Lake City. You can then Shred the Gnar for two full days and catch a red eye back to New York City on Sunday night getting you in to either JFK or EWR early enough on Monday morning to drop your gear at home and head to the office before anyone even knows you were gone. Question is - can you function on 4-5 hours of sleep on a Monday to get some legit slope time in? I def can. I’ll see you out there this winter (and please, be nice to those of use that are crazy enough to do this - let us sleep on the plane - I can function on 4 hours of sleep but I cant function on none).
**Notes**
JetBlue is the only provider that offers non-stop service JFK to Reno / Lake Tahoe. They also have the largest seats on any plane that I have been on and charge a modest $25 for your board.
SLC is the closest city to any Gnarly Mountain terrain. I really like Brighton and Solitude.