Surf Or Ski

Back in mid January, TF6S and I hit the slopes at Vail on a beautiful Saturday. The night before Sheri, he, and I had a happy hour turned into a "night out" incident. Most everyone has experienced this. You say you are going to go out from this time to that time and you end up staying out much more than you had planned. This night was very tame compared to some of these entertaining transitions.

I was reminded of my early days in Denver when these series of events were happening every other weekend or so. Go out Friday night; wake up early Saturday; fight traffic up to the hills; ski all day. What a life. I recently heard a song that reminded me of this vicious yet fulfilling cycle, Shiver by Horny Toad:

Shiver!

Well now it's finally winter, snow is on the ground
We loaded up the Thule, we're heading out of town
Up into the mountains about 10,000 feet
A turtle on neck, I've got some riles* upon my feet

I want to see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Lord, I want to see you shake
I see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Girl I want to see you shake

I see you in the lift line you know I yelling, "Single!"
A love chair to the sky A perfect place to mingle
Meet me at the warming hut #3, the tip was up on my 153
We'll sit by the fire, and drink some Jagermeister, girl

I want to see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Lord I want to see you shake
I see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Girl I want to see you shake

So now we hit the halfpipe where all the homies kick it
I said let's hit the free ride, The pow pow's really wicked
We all get on the quad, yeah, to get a mountain high*
I lifted up my black fly, a snowflake hit my eye*

I want to see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Girl I want to see you shake
I see you Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Shiver
Lord I want to see you shake
Shake it up

* - Google failed me by not being able to retrieve the lyrics for this particular tune so I had to revert back to the common method of figuring them on my own. The asterisks represent words or lines that I thought I heard but may not be the actual lyrics.

If you know the song you know that it has a very ska feel. I believe it was written in 1996 or 1997 as the alternative/ska craze was at a height.

I have noticed over my 13 years of skiing that there is a lot of ska and reggae that is played on the slopes. I usually equate these genres to more tropical or beach environments which got me thinking. As many differences as a ski vacation and a beach vacation have they have many similarities as well:

• First and far most is just the time away from reality and being near something that is beautiful, massive, and can make you feel like a speck in the world. The mountains and the ocean do this for me.


• Winter destinations/Spring Break. For as much as they are different people do flock to beaches and ski resorts all over the world in the wintertime or for spring break.


• Playing in Nature. Both the sea and surf are natural playgrounds. Both have dangers; both have guidelines to keep you safe.


• Intense sunlight. This may be more prevalent on the west side of the Mississippi then the east. I've gotten just as sunburned on ski runs as I have on the sand; mostly because I'm about as fair skined as they come. I have been nerdy enough to check the UV Index for Vail, CO and Destin, FL. They both can be upwards of 10 which is pretty extreme.


• Chill area, play area. You have the beach(chill)/surf(play) and the base(chill)/runs(play) of the mountains. The obvious connection between the surf and the mountain is surfing and snowboarding. The beach and the base have people playing volleyball(A-basin), grilling food, etc.

Both great extremes, escapes, and destinations.