The first snowfall of the year means something completely different to me now. It means that it will soon be time for me to throw myself down a mountain with nothing but a board strapped to my feet. Finding an activity that can only be done in the winter has been key for these changes in my mood. I’m not saying that you have to ski or snowboard to experience this either. Any winter activity will do, hockey, snowshoeing, skating, anything that gets you outdoors in the winter time really. For me, I love the mountains and I now get to appreciate their beauty all year round. Snow covered peaks are majestic and beautiful plain and simple.

2) It Has Brought Discipline Into My Life

There are very, very few things in this world that I am willing to wake up at 5:00 AM and go do. I don’t even have to wake up that early to go to work. But when there is a promise of fresh powder on the mountains I have no problems dragging myself out of bed and driving two hours to try and be there as early as possible. Getting those fresh lines and first tracks are one of life’s simple pleasures.

The thing that got me back into snowboarding, after taking about a 5 year break, was watching The Art of Flight (Made by Curt Morgan and Travis Rice). It’s all about big mountain riding. It blew my mind. After watching it I decided then and there that that was something I was going to do before I die. To achieve this goal I was going to have to get better, I was going to have to be better. I began pushing myself to ride increasingly difficult terrain. I started paying more attention to my fitness and endurance levels. Off the mountain, I began doing exercises and activities that would help me snowboard better and for longer. I started reading articles and watching videos on improving technique. I became obsessed.