Tonight I took my kids to Ski Pro’s Avalanche Sale at Phoenix Civic Center to pick up some gear. It’s this big sale they have every year where you can pick up ski/snowboard gear for dirt cheap. I love ski culture! I started when I was in jr. high and I’m glad I got my kids started at a young age too. They love it and I can’t wait to get a few trips in with them this year.

I started skiing when I was around 12 years old. I was blessed to have a youth pastor that took us on trips to Flagstaff. My mom was always big on making sure I got to experience fun stuff like this at a young age. She would always encouraged me to go on these trips. Once I got in high school, my Pastor Linn Winters would rent these Greyhound buses to take us to Colorado or Utah for a 3 day ski adventure. My very first out-of-state trip was to Telluride, Colorado. They would show Warren Miller ski flicks to get us pumped up for some fresh powder. Even though I was a Freshman, I was happy to make friends with some of the older guys in the group (even though I still went through a few initiations). My buddy Gary would join me on the trips and he and I would become die-hard ski partners for years all the way up to adulthood. About five years ago, I switched over to snowboarding and love that I can do both.

As I got better at skiing, I started to get more flamboyant. I knew I was good and I liked to show off. I started spiking my hair, wearing bright colors and even tied red ribbon to my skis to make it look like flames were coming out. I would also started to get more risky. I would do more tricks and jumps and would ski in just t-shirts. I went though skis like crazy and even once got kicked out for jumping off a large hill. I dumped a lot of money into the sport and started to fly out-of-state a lot to places like Lake Tahoe to ski with the big boys. After I had kids, my ski life died off for a while. My ex and I did some skiing together, but raising kids took up most of our time. Now I am excited to be at a new phase of life and to experience ski/snowboard life with my boys. Even though I’m not as risky as I used to be, I have really learned to appreciate the sport. I’m thankful for the opportunities all these years to have been a part of this culture of skiing.

Warren Miller is a filmmaker who has been making ski movies since 1950. He is very well-known to us in ski culture and I’ve seen many of his movies on my bus trips. Every year a new flick comes out and Warren Miller Entertainment does a movie tour just before ski season starts. They show it a ASU Gammage every December after the Avalanche sale. I went to quite a few shows in my college days and just recently started the tradition with my kids. We are going to see the newest film Flow State later this month. I’m excited to check it out and get pumped for ski season this year.