Once, at the age of seven, I won an entire chocolate cake by walking around in a circle until a bell rang. The fact that I was standing on a piece of red construction paper with the word ‘WINNER!’ on it meant I won cake. It also helped that I was the only one playing. It was then that I was presented with the notion that if one walks far enough with enough construction paper, one can do anything. And now I’m an unpaid intern.
Skiing, as you may know, gives away a pair of limited-edition K2 PBR skis to the best letter we receive each month. It’s a way to show our appreciation for reading our magazine. But right now, one guy is competing for those skis and is doing so by a long rant about why PBR has made his life magical. This rant also alludes to Lygers, a 14-foot long battle-axe name Vlad, and is signed ‘Tom Psychostorm Inferno’. Tom seems like an interesting dude, but for the sake of our sport’s integrity, don’t let him win. Send us your letters. Tell us why you love us. Tell us why you hate us. Ask us out on a date. Whatever you want. But send us your letters. And don’t tell us about how much PBR you can drink because frankly, I don’t care and Heather the other unpaid intern can probably drink more than you.
To send us a letter, write to editor@skiingmag.com.
We recieved lots of letters after this plea for communication was posted. Unfortunately we can't print them all. Here's some more of our favorites.
Snowboardering Identity Crisis
There's no easy way to say it, but I should just come clean and confess that I'm a snowboarder!... who likes reading your Mag!.. More than the snowboard mags or any other ski mag I've read.
I don't remember how I started receiving Skiing magazine, I must have checked the wrong box on a Warren Miller website, but now I look forward for it showing in my mail box, and I find myself reading every word, (including the ski reviews and I never skied in my life) The writing in your mag is smart, funny (mega LOL in the bathroom, that's where I do most of my reading) and educational, and you manage to find new interesting stories to write about while the other mags seem to be repeating the same ones.
So I guess we have 2 choices: 1. Please have your team of writers start working on snowboard mag, so I wont waste my time reading reviews of gear I'll never get to use.
Or 2. I need to learn how to ski, in that case, I guess I could use that pair of PBR k2's..:)
Keep up the great work (Please do, I'm tired of reading dumbed down mags who look like something an art student puked) Thanks for listening, I feel better all ready..:)
Alon Altman, Oakland CA
Ernst
Now is the time of year when up to ten of us begin our plans for the yearly trip to places we only dreamed of in our youth... this year it brings back all the memories of close to two decades of trips, and most vividly of Ernst. He is the ski buddy that won't be making it. Ernst died last spring. The impact of skiing over the years has aged with me, and brings to light the evolving nature of the sport. In my youth, it was the excitement and brazen acts of our age. The trips raising my girls and bringing them into the sport
matured me and gave us another connection that will last our lives. Then the 'guys trip' began and early on this Swiss man 10 years older than the rest of us was a regular, and a star. Physically a small man, his presence and personality was larger than any of ours. He had such a pure love of skiing that it infected every day of our week skiing together. He was only a decade older, but a model for how we could grow ourselves and be friends to each other and those all around. I want to remember Ernst, I want you to
know of him,.... and go find your 'Ernst'.
Bruce Tucker
Santa Rosa, CA
Why Poetry and Skiing Don't Mix
WINTER
Mid season ragdoll
breaks 3 ribs and concusess.
I like vicodin.
SPRING
Back a month later
Dislocated shoulder. Pin
me, pull it back in.
SUMMER
Shoulder surgery
brings percocet. Side effects,
I'm constipated.
FALL
Rehab postponed til
I become injured again,
for it is snowing.
Bart Brynestad, Seattle WA
An Ode to the Boot Pack
Last winter, I was nearing the top of the hike to Breckenridge's Twin Chutes when I heard a familiar sound approaching from behind. I had to step aside to avoid a snowmobile that was tearing up the trail, towing two skiers who were lucky enough to know the ski patroler driving the sled. Thanks to their gasoline-powered ascent, these guys were about to steal the fresh tracks that I felt I had earned with my 15 minute hike. Shenanigans.
This event illustrates a larger trend in the ski industry, and in our lives in general. More and more, people are interested in easy access and instant gratification, with few skiiers willing to work for their turns. In bounds and out of bounds, snowmobiles are are becoming the preferred method of uphill travel when it comes to accessing powder stashes, while hikers like myself are being left in the snow. What's being lost is the quiet sense of solitude and accomplishment that comes from reaching the top of a virgin line under your own power, knowing that the only ones capable of skiing it are the ones willing to haul themselves to the top and incur the muscle and lung burn that will surely ensue.
As with most things in life, I've always enjoyed my powder turns a little more when I have to earn them. So, I would urge every skier, even those with faster ways of reaching the top of the mountain, to take the time to hike to your line at least once this winter. And while you're catching your breath and putting on your skis, take a moment to enjoy the scenery and serenity around you before dropping in. You may never go back to your sled again.
Eric Siegel
Blue River, CO
Should Alaskans Get Two Votes? Probably Not
I just saw that its "readers choice" still not cool. There are not enough people up here in Alaska to make the vote even close to counting! Alyeska is the avocado to the guacamole and that's all there is to it. I should not be writing letters after I have been drinking for half the night. It really needs to get cold and dump then I won't drink quite as much. Just waiting on 800 inches annually that's all....
Grant
Girdwood, AK
