I have a mystical admiration for Ski Mountaineering.You can click the link for more information if you want to learn more. You ever heard of back country skiing or skiing out of bounds?? Ok, and you know that people climb big mountains that are sometimes snow capped are referred to as Mountaineers, right... So ski mountaineering is skiing and mountaineering combined. Have you ever heard of or seen Heli-Skiing, where these guys fly to the top of 13, 000 plus feet in a helicopter and ski down. The ski mountaineer climbs to the top instead of catching a ride, he/she risks their lives to get to the top of say Grand Teton (first skied by Bill Briggs in 1971). Climbing to the top of these peaks takes extremely good mountaineering skills in the first place, then to ski down it takes extremely good skiing skills as well. It is a really crazy sport after you look at the facts of which could mean 6 or more hours to get to the top and another five to descend, all in the freezing temperatures. Those are just typical figures as well, it varies with any mountain. This is the kind of risk where if you make one slip then you are done, dead. People die every year, because of one mistake or someone else's mistake, it happens.
Why is your admiration mystical? Interesting that you ask. If you've ever spent any time in the mountains you know of their power, you understand their moods and you learn to listen. They are these enormous living things, creatures that have their own personalities and mannerisms. The only ones who can get to know these creatures are the mountaineer, geologist who studies these beasts or the individuals who call them selves mountain people, they are all the same. There are so many parts to a big mountain, they are so complex and interesting the mountain person is drawn to these aspects and interacts with the mountain by climbing it, skiing it, sleeping on it, jumping off it and sometimes dieing on the mountain. Whether you live or die by the mountain then comes back to how well do you understand its moods. The mountain can play nice one day and be mean and hateful the next which can kill you if you do not see it coming. The mystery is there in the mountains for me, every mountain has a different mystery. Some more interesting than others. I admire each mountain with a mystery as you might tell by now, it fascinates me to the core. I know what you are thinking, so why do you live in one of the flattest parts of the Mid-South United States, Memphis, Tennessee?? and did I say fascinating yet.... I did.
Ok, back to the movie.... Just watch it, you will get it by the end. I used a lot of Doug Coombs thoughts in that last paragraph. Just look into the eyes of doug, no, don't fall in love with him but what he gets about being outdoors. It is inspiring, you look at the lives of these different people through out the movie who live the biggest dream a pioneer could possibly live. They emote this feeling, it is like they are glowing ready to burst into flames at any given moment. Seriously, it is like they have some other sense of self that was defined by their day on the mountain, or days. Yeah, there is no one who just did this once here, come on, this stuff takes practice. Nobody can do it just once, it is addictive, more so than hard drugs. Although, I could see my Mom sobbing at my funeral hysterically wishing I had died of hard drugs than skiing down Valdez. You should see her medicine cabinet. Yes, Alaska, the last great frontier, it rivals Chamonix in a way but does not have what Cham (sham) has to offer. That would be European woman, bars, stuff to do and a train away from Italy or Spain. Just think about it, that is why Doug moved from Alaska to Algarve. Algarve offers a little Chamonix in a smaller package, almost dreamy. I can go extreme skiing in the morning, get back and hit up the bakery with some coffee in the afternoon.
The mountains have always inspired me to greater things I believe. The reason I live in Memphis today is probably the mountains fault or their influence over me. I am a mountain person deep down but I live in this flat as a pancake city where you have to drive two hours either west or east to get the slightest taste of aggravating topographical change. I almost agree with the inner beast that says you are wasting your life here, move to Denver or Salt Lake. It is not all for a loss though, I have already rationalized why living in a relatively flat area has had its perks for me. Living in this flat area has been the perfect place for me when training for road racing. I was never a pro but I do enjoy going fast and I enjoy a good sprint more than anything. To train for this discipline of racing (sprinting), you need a relatively flat environment with some climbing. It is all about the Aerobic Threshold, if you know what I mean. Flat is good, this place is good for training. But then why did the mountains have anything to do with it?? I lived in the Rockies for a while, outside, just me and the outdoors, on the side of a mountain. I had visions of going to Memphis College of Art while I was there. Seemed like my ambition to finish school was greater than my desire to ski a season, or a life time. I dunno, but it was on that mountain I decided to make out doing something else.
Ok, I digress, the movie "Steep" is inspiring. Even if you don't ski or understand the snow it does not matter. This is a peak into lives whose wealth of excitement about ski mountaineering is enough. Ok now, go on, look it up, Netflix it or something. If you live in a small far off country then find a video stream or buy it on Amazon, I don't know but I have to go, my boss needs me to file another TPS report. Later!!
