i realize that diaryland might not be the right place for the following entry, but i felt the need to write it and have someone read it. be forewarned this entire entry is about skiing. i'll try and give a more traditional update quicker than my standard 2 - 4 wks...
i just recently found out that probably my biggest sports hero (arguably the best skier of his time) died during a ski accident (he died trying to help his companion who had fallen to his death). it affected me more than i expected, considering i never met him. and i can't exactly describe how. it just seemed like something that shouldn't have happened. he was like superman.
it made me think back to the good times I had when i was really into skiing during highschool. after the first time i watched "the continuum" (an extreme skiing movie) i was so excited i laid in bed for like 3 - 4 hrs before i finally fell asleep. it became one of my top priorities to go out west and do some serious skiing. i was lucky enough to have a Dad who was a good skier and in need of a ski partner. we decided to go out to jackson hole Wyoming, which was where teton gravity research (the makers of the movie i referenced) was stationed and where much of the footage was shot. we skied as much as we could to get ready for it; i was cross training so i would be in the best possible shape. i dreamed about it constantly. we finally went and it was incredible. the mountain was breathtaking, all you could ask for in a ski mountain. i wore myself out and had a great time doing it. i ended up going back 2 yrs later with a friend and we hit it even harder. however, i did find out that i didn't want to be an extreme skier. I didn't enjoy the potential of death or serious injury being added into the equation. i was much more content skiing the not so dangerous stuff, and truth be told, i wasn't quite ready for the dangerous stuff.
I think what i took away from jackson hole that was most valuable and lasting probably wasn't the skiing. it was the attitude, and the looks on people's faces. it was a look like if i die tomorrow it would be ok because i'm here now and i'm loving it. here we are living out our dream, and it was so sweet. it was the feeling of living life to its fullest. when i got back home i couldn't stop smiling.
jackson hole was really a gem. in a land where diving boards are removed from public pools due to insurance/liability issues, jackson let you get as crazy as you wanted. it seemed like a different world, a place that refused to let the world suck the coolness out of it.
Doug Coombs was kind of like the jackson hole of the extreme skiing community. sure he wasn't on the cover of every magazine, but those who knew the sport knew how good he was. In a community that placed a high premium on image, Doug acted like just another guy who loved to ski. and thats the main thing that came across to me in his skiing was that this guy really loved it. it was art, like watching a dance, and i felt like i was somehow skiing through him.
Doug Coombs lived in jackson hole for a long time and for me the two seem to go hand in hand. jackson was everything i could ask for in a ski resort and Doug Coombs was everything I could ask for in a ski hero.
10:37 p.m. - 2006-08-17
Recent entries:
honesty was a luxury and now i think i'm broke - 2015-04-09
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