By SkiMum Paula

What’s the difference between a snowboarder and a mutual fund?

One matures and eventually makes money.

Jared, one of our favorite Snowbird “lifties,” keeps the lines going and the jokes flowing.  Saying hi to skiers (by name if your season pass is showing), cracking jokes, and giving inside tips are all part of the job.  So, don’t hesitate to ask a liftie or a mountain host or the cashier at the gear shop, who probably just came in from a “run break” (What a job!) which runs to hit that day.  It’s their job to know and they love to share that with you.

And do they know this mountain…

If you’re one of those gals who skis the same runs every single week, then it’s probably time for a little change. Ask any of the Snowbird staff where to go.  These birds don’t bite!  Better yet, tell them the runs you like, and ask for similar ones.  Best of all, join one of the Bird’s guided tours and explore more of the mountain.  The Tours are free and meet every morning on the Plaza.  Another leaves Creekside for a Ranger-led tour in the afternoon.  Also free.  Of course, you can always come ski and explore with the Skimums!!  Shameless plug, I know.

What do you call a snowboarder who lost his girlfriend?

Homeless.

The other reason to chat with the Bird’s Staff (other than the jokes) is that Snowbird is one of the few mountains that has multiple microclimates.  It could be sunny and warm in Mineral Basin and cloudy and cold on Chip’s Run.  It could be windy and crusty on Regulator Johnson and perfectly quiet and powdery on Thunder Alley (which – hint, hint — might be the most under-appreciated run on the entire mountain, especially after a monster dump).  So, take a moment and ask Jared or Basil or Emily or any of the fabulous Snowbird cast of characters anything about this great resort.  You may just learn an insider’s tip or a Chuck Norris joke.

By SkiMum Paula

A group of gals were sitting on an actual porch swing a couple summers back drinking a few glasses of red, red wine as dusk turned to twilight and chit chat turned to philosophy when one of my dear friends announced, “Sometimes, I just don’t want to be a rodeo cowgirl!”

Well, that broke the silence, and peals of laughter consumed us for the rest of the night.  For what statement, even for a petite blonde from Fort Worth, could be more absurd and, yet, more insightful than that?  From what started as a pretty hilarious euphemism to a declaration of independence, these 10 words encompassed what the rest of us occasionally felt when pressed in directions beyond or outside our course.  I am not talking about failing to push ourselves; most gals I know push themselves too hard most of the time.  I am talking about recognizing when we are not where we want to be or can be at that time.

Regardless of our role as parent, spouse, professional, employee, parishioner, volunteer, advocate … or often all of the above, we place so much pressure on ourselves.  To do what?  Sometimes, I don’t even know!  But I sometimes know it just doesn’t feel right.

I also know that, after allowing myself a morning alone … on the mountain … with powder at my toes and old KROQ in my ears, my path often seems clearer.  Either the barriers reveal themselves making them easier to scale, or my fears and inhibitions seem smaller than the peaks around me helping me put things into perspective.  OK, maybe it’s the altitude and the lack of oxygen or the adrenaline from finding myself unintentionally on that freaking chute under Mineral Basin – again.  I don’t think so but regardless, when I wind down the canyon at the end of the day and the city below reveals itself, I know where I am in my life and know my course.

Then, just watch this cowgirl ride.

By SkiMum Paula

An Update — The fitted ski boots with custom insoles are sweet.  My feet are no longer swimming in my boots, which, you may recall, were four sizes too big.  Admittedly, we had a little breaking in period – all great loves have to make adjustments when getting to know one another – but now we’re cruising down the mountain in harmony.  My boots fit snugly around my feet and are attached firmly to my skis making them extremely responsive whether carving down Chip’s Run or grabbing a powder-filled Tiger Tail. 

One small issue – cold feet, still plagued me.  Stop.  Right.  There.  Before you say something possibly age-related that could result in a smack upside the head, let me remind you that I ski Snowbird, the biggest, baddest, coldest mountain with the longest season in the area.  While wind and visibility may keep me home, cold weather does not.  And it shouldn’t …

So, what’s a girl to do?  With my old ski boats, I could shove those maxi-pad warmer things into the toes and head out.  That is no longer possible with my smaller, better fitting boots.  Some argue that if the boots fit, your toes should be warm due to better circulation but not too much space.  While this is partially true, we all know that some gals need two layers under their shell and others (uh-hum, Bettina) swear they need six.  After years of watching me steal the covers, his jackets, sweatshirts, socks… my hubby sighed and said, “Just go get the boot warmers!”

But this was my real dilemma – while I wanted the warmers, I choked on the price.  They range from $200-300 per pair.  That’s a nice pair of shoes … or two.  No deals on the Internet.  Doggoneit!  I skied a few more weeks with cold toes until, one day, after finding my prescription sunglasses (which meant that I didn’t have to buy new ones somehow convincing me that I had “found” money), and I could now buy boot heaters.  Oh, don’t scrunch your face.  You have done the exact same math on one or more occasions!

Done!  They’re in and they work.  Little battery operated wonders to keep my toesies warm for many seasons to come.  I often wonder why I stress myself out over stupid stuff like this, why I torture myself with cold feet [or fill in the blank] because I am unwilling to “do for me” occasionally.  Why is this a common phenomenon?  We think nothing of giving our kids sports equipment, dance or gymnastics classes, piano or swim lessons, summer camps, and on and on, and we quibble over things big or small for ourselves.  We suffer frozen toes through one of the coldest Januarys on record thereby denying ourselves the real joy we find on the mountain.  The simplistic example makes it sound like a “First World Problem”, but taken on the whole, it becomes a form of self-sabotage that eventually wears you down as well as the people around you.

Does this make us selfish and materialistic?  Of course not, but before denying ourselves the pleasure of time or toys or tools that will enrich or nourish us, we need to honestly ask ourselves why.  Most women I know give and give and give to everyone else but feel they need permission to give a little to themselves.  I was surprised a few years ago to learn that it drives my calm and cool husband bat-poop crazy when I do this!  It helped me to cut loose a little bit, and he was so happy when I decided to ski with Skimums on Wednesdays forcing me to carve out time for myself.  The laundry, groceries, kids, bills, work could wait for a few hours.  Each week, I come back refreshed (some days, just downright giddy) and, yet, magically, everything still gets done.  If a couple boot heaters makes it even more enjoyable, it’s a small but absolutely worthwhile gift to myself.

A Haiku

By SkiMum Paula
Cameras galore

But on our helmets? No way.

Mem’ries, not mishaps.

By SkiMum Denice

Today is the kind of day that made me grateful I had a season pass. I just finished a great couple of hours skiing with my friends (Skimums). It was one of those days that my list was a mile long of things I had to do, but I didn’t want to miss the fresh powder at Snowbird. The best compromise possible was to ski a couple hours then come home refreshed and ready to conquer my list.

The amazing thing was that everything got done!

A couple of years ago I would have missed out on that powder and being with friends on the slopes. When you don’t have a season pass it is hard to justify a couple hours of skiing for the price of a day pass. No matter how hard you tell yourself when you buy the discount day passes at the beginning of the season that it doesn’t matter how long you ski each day, you still can’t bring yourself to only using it for a couple of hours. And to be honest how many times can us moms take a full day off for skiing, especially during the week. There are kids to pick up, laundry to fold, errands to run, and floods to clean up. The list can go on forever. So at the end of the season you are left with day passes not used and not skiing that much.

Last year my husband and I bit the bullet and decided to invest in ski passes. I won’t lie; it was hard to fork out that money, but so worth it in the end. We skied more than we ever had. Our friends call to take a couple runs in the morning before work, no problem! We could do it guilt free. So this year there was no debate on what we were going to do. I have already skied at least 15 times this year and only 2 full days.

So if you want to ski more and have some great family and friend time start saving for next season. I figure that if you start saving now it would be about $30 a week (double that if you want your husband to get one too). In my opinion it is probably the best $30 spent.