I literally don’t know what else to say. Words are not enough. You gotta try it.
So there you have it. My eight hippie epiphanies (hippiphanies) of my first season on a sled.
I’m already dreading the long spring, summer and fall I will have to endure before getting back on the snow with Fabio. I know I’ll have rock climbing, biking and kale salad to fill my time, but seriously, un-winter is a long season.
Looking out a little farther, here is my prediction for the future. The values of outdoor recreation will blur the lines of motorized vs. non-motorized winter travel. Skiers will buy a snowmobile to access new places, only to discover the approach on the sled is actually more fun. In turn, snowmobilers will buy skis. Just kidding, that would be dumb. Why would you do that?
Ride sleds. It will make you happy. Happy people make the world a better place. Damn, I sound like a hippie again.
Hippie Dictionary
Kale: a leafy vegetable people eat because it’s good for them. If people say they enjoy it, they are lying to your face.
Tabata squat: a workout style of fast-paced body weight exercises. Surprisingly difficult, even for tiny people, and closely related to the squats required on trails with a bunch of whoops.
Backcountry skiers: people who travel through winter terrain slowly and uphill 90 percent of the time in order to enjoy 10 percent of their time going downhill. Alternate definition: people who can’t afford to snowmobile.
Trail hiker: Everyone knows that this is just walking, but let me give you some inside scoop: as a trail hiker you can decide whether you brag about how heavy your backpack is (anything under 50 percent of your body weight is disgraceful) or about how far you walk (make sure it is at least 14 miles/day if posting on Instagram). They are both very difficult. But to be clear, not nearly as difficult as riding a snowmobile.