Greg Hill.ca

Why I love skiing

There are many different reasons why I love skiing. From the speed, the flow, the untapped potential of ski mountaineering…..endless reasons.  But it all started from when I was a little kid.  That pure feeling of excitement that we all witness when we watch young kids playing. A carefree happiness, its something that gets muddled later on it life and is harder and harder to find. We all know it when we see the wonder in a kids eyes, the excitement as they gain control of their skis and start going recklessly fast. I am reliving this feeling watching my kids.

Its really fun.  But for me there is more. As a young kid I feel like we had the twenty cm rule.  I am not sure if I have embellished this over the years, but it seems like it happened often. That I would find myself skipping school and enjoying some powder skiing with my parents. So skiing became that much better because I was skipping school. So ever since then when I am skiing, a part of me feels like I am skipping school. And tell me that is not one of the best feelings on earth.  The naughty feeling of skipping school combined with fluid powder skiing, exploration, faceshots…. how could anything ever compare with this emotional cocktail of goodness?

I have been taking my kids out occasionally and skipping school with them to pass on this gift. And I think they are starting to associate skiing with skipping school… (all part of my master plan of having them love skiing)

I think that most love skiing because it reminds us of the freedom of being a kid, of having no responsibilities and just having fun. This last week I was ski touring with Trevor Linden, ex captain of the Vancouver Canucks.  For him he has rekindled his love for skiing since he retired from 20+ years of professional hockey. Its my feeling that he has found that happiness and freedom he once had as a kid skiing, before he was absorbed into the hockey arenas that made his life and career so successful. So after a huge hiatus he is back and has discovered ski touring, which he obviously crushes. 

So go and skip school or work and play a little.

  1. Pingback: why greg hill (and i) love skiing. | cloudy with a chance of arlberg

  2. tpeacock March 13, 2013 at 11:22 am

    Good stuff, Greg. I’ll definitely be taking Rowan out of school for some shralping.

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