Any special reason-reasons why you started-restarted skiing

While being an avid outdoorsman in my younger year during the 1980's  I skied occassionly but never really got passioniate about the sport. Living in NEPA, snow was sparse some winters and Ice fishing was cheaper and way more predictable in the winter. I owned my own pair of rossi straight skis with rear entry boots but basically just bombed hills with no style and technique and no real concern to evolve into a legitimate skier. One summer I tore my ACL and even though the repair surgery went well I assumed snow sports were out.

Fast forward to 2005 my daughters friends skied so she wanted to try it. She did and loved it. Soon my six year old started skiing after two seasons of boarding with my 14 year old nephew on occasions. They skied on Friday nights with a church group for 8 dollars. One night while I was at the lodge hanging around my daughter decided to leave her little brother to ski alone. He was scared to venture out alone so along with the coaxing of some parents along with my son I headed out with him.

That single night event may just have altered my life and greatly increased the interaction with my children while they were growing. Now my passion grows with each passing season and even the coldest and snoweast season seem short.So I have to say thanks to my daughter for ditching her little bro that night.

For me, it was relocation. I skied a few times in high school when I lived in Penna. at Seven Springs. A girl I dated skied and she got me started.

Fast forward a few decades and I found myself living here, x18, with lots of ski areas nearby. So, swoosh.......
Also a girl involved. I relocated for her, but she can't ski for crap.

I loved winter as a kid, but after my folks moved me to the flatlands, not so much.  Back in the day, I dated a girl who convinced me to embrace the thing that was getting me down — winter.

She dragged me to Garnet Hill for some cross-country skiing and I fell in love with the place, and the area.

We did some trail skiing, some backcountry and some winter camping. I started roaming the northern end of the Siamese, and I knew that Wilderness pretty well. In March of 1998, I had a life changing experience on a solo winter camp in a 30 inch blizzard:

http://www.nyskiblog.com/2005/11/1st-winter-solo.html

I started riding lifts because I was jonesing to ski by Thanksgiving and there'd be no snow in the woods. I skied at Gore on cross country skis and leather boots for maybe 5 years before I switched to plastic boots and more downhill oriented telegear.

After Snowflake was born, we started to ski Gore almost exclusively, because a kid should probably be 9 or 10 before you take them into the woods. (?) More on my tale here:

http://www.nyskiblog.com/2010/07/finding-mountains-of-new-york.html

Reason? I had mastered walking so it was time to begin skiing!

For me, skiing started as weekly Friday night ski trips to Sterling Forest, and later Vernon Valley, with my Junior and Senior High Schools.

Once I started college, I "graduated" to day trips to Hunter, Windham and several areas in Vermont. Finally, in the late '80's, I took my first trips out West.

Once college ended, and I had to become a "responsible" working adult, skiing was defined by occasional day trips to Hunter or Windham. I had taken a couple of weekend trips to Whiteface in the late '80's and early '90's, but none of those ever really made much of an impression. By the late '90's, I was starting to lose interest in the sport ... the day trips to Hunter and Windham just weren't "cutting it" anymore, and I had reached a point where I was typically only skiing one or two days a year.

Then, I think it was in 2000 (it was the year Whiteface added the gondola), I decided one day to head up to Whiteface for a couple of days ... it was more a chance to just get away by myself for a couple of days than a ski trip.

To this day, I'm still not sure exactly why it happened, but that two-day, midweek trip to Whiteface completely changed my outlook on skiing, and to some extent, my life. It was truly a rebirth! I started to take three or four trips a year to Whiteface, and in November 2003, I bought a place in Lake Placid. Since then, I've gotten my kids into skiing and we generally ski every weekend from December through March.

I've never looked back or been sorry with my decision, and I hope someday to become a full-time resident of Lake Placid. There's just something special about those mountains that has had a profound effect on me, and there are very few things these days that give me as much joy as a day on the trails at Whiteface!

I begged my parents to let me ski when I was 12.  They didn't ski - they weren't athletic at all - so they talked  their friends into letting me go with them. Clear Fork, in Mansfield Ohio was not a lux resort, but that's where I got started.  I skied on and off as much as a kid from Ohio could.  6-8 days a year was a good year.

Fast forward to 1996 and I moved to Saratoga Springs.  I skied a couple of times, but illness struck.  Year after year passed, and I was always sick or recovering in the winter.

Remember the Cardboard Sled contest at Gore three years ago?  I came to cheer on a friend.  My friend crashed and burned in the contest, but it was a great day. Sunny and 50, beers and burgers on the patio.  Watching everyone walking in their ski boots, the smell of a ski lodge, - it stirred a pleasant memory. I vowed to begin skiing the next year.  

I bought a pass. I demo'd skis.  The guys at the Sports Page found boots to fit me.   Santa brought me my skis and I was ready.  I remember my first day going down Sunway.  It seemed to go on forever. I was too warmly dressed.  My feet hurt.  I wanted to ski more than I wanted to quit and I kept going.  I went back to Sports Page and they worked on my boots until they fit.  

I began to get my old style back.  Then, I broke a rib when I fell on Sags. I kept skiing.  I sprained my knee on Chatiemac.  Out for 10 days, but I kept skiing.  I skied 31 days last year.

This year, I got better still.  I skied Lies for the first time.  I skied the glades for the first time.  I bought fatter skis and learned to love the deep stuff.  I didn't get hurt and I skied 55 days this year.

It's official.  I'm obsessed.

A knee injury kept me from skiing as a youth. But at around 30 I got tired of hating winter and gave it a shot. Once the kids were old enough I brought them to local (NJ/PA) hills and they liked it so my wife also got onboard. 20 years after starting I put in 20-25 days a year mostly at gore.

tom

I have skied as long as I can remember.  Did the race thing as a kid up through high school, but my goal since about 12 was to live in Colorado.  I did that for 10 years, 4 as a ski bum in Telluride and 6 in the Denver foothills skiing Berthoud Pass.  Then I moved back to the NE for family and employment reasons. Alpine skiing kind of lost that excitment and adrenaline feeling after 10 years in Colorado, so I transitioned to free heel skiing and never looked back.  

I grew up xc skiing snowshoeing just enjoying the outdoors.Thru high school did some alpine skiing at West Mt. ,wide leg barrel hugging style but it was fun. Outside with friends ,testosterone and adrenaline very addicting. Lack of funds in my early 20's ,spent much of my time in the high peaks xc skiing progressed to backcountry skiing.Started lift service tele to work on my turns. Wed nite West Mt.was just kicking in , it was great all abilities -flying to falling pick your level.it was a great vibe kman adkjeff ...  .Progressed up to Gore burgermeister,shaman... .Raising two sons on the darkside ,priceless.Introducing fixedheeln to the mountain lifestyle .Its been a series special reasons.