Fun Friday: Skiing

The long Presidents Weekend has always been ski time for our us.

And the same is true this year. We’ve arrived in ski country with a bunch of friends and plan on being out on the mountains for the next three days.

Skiing (and Boarding) is an incredible combination of being outdoors in the mountains surrounded by awesome beauty and an exhilarating athletic experience. I’ve been skiing since I was a teenager and it’s always been one of my favorite things to do.

#life lessons

Comments (Archived):

  1. sigmaalgebra

    Sure, super nice picture!But for skiing, what about the torn ligaments, broken bones, strained muscles, head concussions, really bad knee damage?My knees are fine, but then I’ve never been on skis!!! 🙂

    1. TeddyBeingTeddy

      Unless you ski moguls or trees…Cycling and running are far more dangerous!

      1. LE

        How do you figure that (running in particular)? Cycling would be dependent on the amount of time you are in proximity to cars and the type of traffic. Or other bicycles.Also it depends on what you mean by ‘danger’.Nobody is skiing generally for daily exercise. So the risk footprint is vastly different than with either running or cycling. And the reason for doing so is different. Most people don’t run for fun like they do with skiing or even cycling.

        1. TeddyBeingTeddy

          Nearly every remotely serious runner I know has joint, knee and/or hip problems (causation). Brutal on the joints long term, just like moguls.

          1. jason wright

            this is why i never ‘jog’ (a vertical hammering process) on tarmac, asphalt, or concrete surfaces. if there’s no choice about it then short sprinting is the better style. it’s like skimming a pebble across the surface of a pond or lake. the energy travels horizontally and not vertically. much better for the body.

          2. LE

            Can I ask how old you are? Because you might not be able to do sprints when you get older (whatever ‘older’ means of course.) Why? You will for sure pull a muscle doing that.

          3. jason wright

            younger than the bartender, and older than his son. I’m now cautious about being ‘profiled’ by the internet’s darker side. too much public info and triangulation becomes too easy. my name is not uncommon, which is a good thing.obviously anyone of a certain age and less than active lifestyle needs to get a medical checkup before considering sprinting. they need to work their way up to that level of exertion.

          4. LE

            I’d be curious how much they are running and in particular are they running through injury or not.

          5. LE

            Here is some further info on this. The jury maybe out (as experts differ) but my take is that given certain precautions running is a net positive for joints and bones when you aren’t being stupid about it. And you have a greater amount of control importantly than you do with skiing or cycling.https://www.livescience.comhttps://www.runnersworld.co…Hence my other reply to your comment for specifics. In my case I don’t do crazy things or compete in any races or train for races or run through injury. Plus my weight is near idea and I also run (now at least) on a treadmill which provides further cushioning. I don’t exceed limits and I have honestly great results.That said I can see how average people could easily make mistakes that would lead them to having problems later in life and/or injury. So this becomes more or less the ‘condom test’. That is in theory if used correctly condoms are 100% effective. Because how can they not be? But in general use by ‘normals’ they are rated as less effective because, well, people are idiots and don’t typically follow the directions.

          6. TeddyBeingTeddy

            I can’t argue with that. Coincidentally I went skiing year and saw a few people get injured…

        2. TeddyBeingTeddy

          I think cycling is the healthiest but has huge risks as so many people go over the handle bars. Ask Brad feld why he doesn’t cycle much anymore…

          1. jason wright

            what happened to him?

        1. Jeremy Shatan

          I was not impressed with the kid’s technique or control. He shouldn’t have been in the trees to begin with.

  2. William Mougayar

    I love skiing, as much as golfing, swimming, jogging, bicyling and sailing.

  3. Devrin Carlson-Smith

    Well done Fred. It’s been a dry year here in Utah, but systems like couple days ago are starting to line up! Let me know if you’re interested in a fun backcountry day @ Park City Powder Cats (I can get you a cat for your family and friends as help them in digital as a hobby!)

    1. fredwilson

      Email me about that. I’m interested!

  4. TeddyBeingTeddy

    Yessss. You should share your vertical /stats upon your return. Nothing better than floating on fresh snow, and deep turns on blue cruisers. Enjoy.

  5. LE

    When I worked out in SV (for a short time) every weekend I would listen to the weather reports and plan to drive up to Lake Tahoe area to ski (by myself). I still remember the Caltrans ‘give them a break’. I would rent a room and go skiing. Instead of flying back to the east coast which the company would have paid for (short time that I wasn’t self employed). [1]Snow boarding didn’t exist when I was in college and so for some reason I never took that seriously. My 2nd wife doesn’t do any of this so it’s something unfortunately that I have stopped doing. And for other reasons as well in particular I am worried about even nominal injuries that would prevent me from doing my daily exercise routine.. But I have to say it was the most fun that I had and I really liked it and miss it.To be 100% clear: I am jealous that you get to do this[1] By the way what a waste of money to pay to fly someone back every weekend on short notice. No wonder the company went out of business. Typical bad controls and policy. Fly back at high expense ‘no problem’ ! But no $4 room movie at night. Buy anything you want at Staples w/o question anytime, sure. But no $4 room movie at night. I still remember them signing off on expense reports w/o even looking at them. I didn’t think that was great I thought they were stupid.

  6. Rob Underwood

    This was a hard one to read though I’m happy it looks like you’ve got great conditions — just cancelled today our trip with my boys next week to Gore upstate due to poor conditions and weather outlook next week. Catch a lap for us.

  7. Brandon G. Donnelly

    powder day!utah?

  8. jason wright

    ‘Presidents Weekend’ – A new American cultural insight, but i wonder what it is?Cross country skiing seems more motivating than going up and down the same slopes all day long, but that’s just me and my mindset.- ‘Internet We’.It’s not about the hardware, the software, networks effects, or protocols. It’s about ‘we’.

  9. jason wright

    ‘Freezing Friday: Skiing’

    1. creative group

      jason wright:Some cultures go to life threatening extremes to enjoy themselves.The following people taught us a great lesson. Stay off the slopes.Sonny BonoMichael KennedyMichel TrudeauNatasha Richardson (Vanessa Redgrave daughter) Michael Schumacher (F1 legend)Vinko Bogataj (ABC promo The Agony of defeat) No snow activities for the smart.https://youtu.be/jKEDD1i4oGkCaptain Obvious!#UnequivocallyUnapologeticallyIndepentent

  10. awaldstein

    Yup–I”m all in on skiing and the bond of it for the family. Just did the back bowls of Vail with my son’s family. Everything about it is a win.I learned to ski later in life (not in my economic possibility growing up) and the satisfaction of being able to ski anything is a huge source of satisfaction and joy. Plan on doing it till I can’t.Have fun!

  11. Pointsandfigures

    The mountains. My friend said he moved to Colorado for the skiing but stays for the summers

  12. RichardF

    +1