The Wisconsin Skier

No, I am still not ready to forget about sunshine, warmth, our garden, our yard, and so on. However, let us face facts, for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere temperate zone realize winter is not all that far away, at the moment I do not view winter with the same enthusiasm as many of my fellow ski industry friends do. I could deal with some more of those never-ending days and temperatures in the 90° F range. Yes, you heard me right on that one.

I have always been a person who has been pretty happy right where I am at.
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One story I have been following the last month or so is the attempts to bring Sugarloaf Mountain back into the ski business. Being I live West of Lake Michigan and Sugarloaf is on its East shore I am not following too closely but fellow ski writer Jason at the MI Ski Report has been following the story very closely.

Normally, one would think such a story would be rather uncontroversial, a fellow comes in and wants to buy the resort and bring it back into operation and business. That means jobs and income for people and not just at the resort but around the community. Not everyone will stay at the resort, people need gasoline and cola for the drive back home, and so on.

So what is the big controversy surrounding the possible resurrection of Sugarloaf Mountain?
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Too often people are derided for not doing their work fast enough. We demand more in less time and often times we push ourselves in the same direction.

Is that always wise?
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Let he who earns the reward bear it.

A good motto, one I learned in college and one that still appeals to me. However, today we will explore some thoughts that one may think runs contrary to the sentiment expressed by the Latin.
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I find there are a number of different activities many skiers like. Obviously most of them are outdoor activities, if the cold, snow, and winds of Winter do not keep us from skiing we will surely find as many reasons we can to be outside during the rest of the year. I am sure I am not the only one that goes crazy being confined inside all day when it is sunny and pleasant outside. I will find any reason to be outside. Watch the grass grow was a common reason last summer.

Last summer our yard came in. So, I would water the lawn and I would break out a lawn chair, get a beverage, sit outside and watch the grass grow (and tweet about it). So, you may see I am being literal about watching the grass grow.
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Too many times in our lives we cruise on autopilot. We wake up, we go through some routine, we go to bed. We wake up the next day hoping something changes,nothing changes but we repeat the routine. I am not going to repeat the cliché, but when something is not working we have to move on from it. How many of us turn off the autopilot and really take charge of our lives, our finances, our health, our relationships, our…?

We all fall into that trap from time to time. We find something comfortable and it may even really suit our needs. The Grateful Dead in Uncle John’s Band sings:

When life looks like Easy Street

there is danger at your door

Think this through with me

I was at the below concert where the Grateful Dead performs this rendition of Uncle John’s Band: (be sure to read the rest of the post below the fold)

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I Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

What the h-e-double hockey sticks is a Biblical passage doing here for? Especially, when I have used the Church Lady as an epithet?
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Very closely I watched the USSA J4/J5/J6 Finale at Ski Brule on March 6 and 7. It was fun to watch these children ski and engage in friendly competition. Much is made of youth competition, coaches try hard to build winning teams or athletes, parents push their children hard to practice, and competition league officials try too hard make their leagues rigorous and by the book.

The only group not participating in all of that fuss are the children.
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Warren Miller writes a good column:

Regardless of how much of a Sierra Club-letter-writing greenie you are, there are untold millions of acres of land in America that would make great ski resorts. More development will never happen in my lifetime or yours because of the fear that people might be able to take advantage of the millions of outdoor acres and skiing in particular.

Yet, the miniscule percentage of acreage enjoyed by millions of skiers and snowboarders, and the amount of money the Forest Service receives from ski resort rent, far exceeds the amount of money they receive from the lumber industry, and the Forest Service also has to pay for the logging roads.
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Most of my friends who live and work in ski resorts are much better stewards of the land than someone who lives in the city and drives 200 miles or so each way to go for a day hike in what they call the nearby mountains.

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Editorials often come down decisively on one side or the other of a question. This is not one of those editorials.

Currently, I do not wear a helmet while skiing. Should I? If I ask about helmets for myself that is one thing, but when we start talking about resorts and even more critically the government demanding we wear helmets that is another.

Essentially, I contemplate three closely related but separate concerns.
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