Skiing and snowboarding problems are first world problems. How gratitude has made the Australian ski fields a better place.
Imagine being an Australian ski resort during the school holidays right now with very limited runs open on only man made snow and the entire population of Russia all queuing up for the chance to ski it. Yet there’s a quiet almost meditative acceptance within the chairlift conversations of those privileged enough to consider snow conditions a legitimate life issue.
“I can’t believe how good the snow is, considering” says one.
“A day in the mountains is better than a day in front of the computer” says another.
“Without snow making we wouldn’t be skiing at all” says another with a smile.
“Dodging other skiers and boarders just keeps my reflexes and muscle memory in check, I think it actually improves my skiing.”
All these I have heard on the chairlifts of Australian ski resorts so far this season. Like a mantra, guests remind themselves how lucky they have it and it’s working. People are smiling, there’s laughter in the air, thighs are still burning and strangers are bonding in the congregation known as the lift line.
To be honest it is infectious. When you’ve paid top dollar for a holiday there’s no point in spending that holiday dissing everything around you. Most people leave their urban lifestyles and 24/7 news feeds to get away from that.
You can choose to focus on the negative or get on with the business of the great outdoors and all it brings with it. I’m proud of the Australian skiing and snowboarding community right now. There’s compassion and empathy in the air for the mammoth job undertaken daily by the mountain operations crews.
The irony is it takes more work to keep a resort ticking over smoothly in a less than stellar season that it does in a bumper and it would appear the majority of guests understand this.
Of course beginner and intermediate skiers are well catered for with groomed runs. The upper intermediate, advanced and expert skiers are the ones waiting for the serious terrain that comes with some serious snow fall.
These are the skiers and boarders that have spent more time on snow, have more to lose yet also understand through a plethora of seasons that you simply cannot control the weather, you can only enhance what Mother Nature decides to gift us. I’ve spent time skiing and boarding with this group this week and there’s been plenty of high fives, high jinks and high hopes for the season ahead.
The predicted storms for this weekend help. It is easier to be excited about what you have got when you know change is on the way.
But I prefer to think that it is attitude that dictates a good or bad season and so far, despite the very low snow depth, the season has so far been saved by gratitude. The joy is in the moments not the numbers in a forecast.
