Ski Reason

Slapping a pair of wooden Northland Pros on with long-thong bindings for the first time, with no instruction, is how I began skiing 42 years ago. I recall my numb fingers lacing up over sized, hand-me-down leather boots in wild anticipation. Ready to go, I hiked up a small hill at Happy Valley Golf Course, Lynn Massachusetts and as I clumsily flung myself down the crusty hill, never could I have imagined how many more times I would repeat this ritual. “Clumsily” is the operative term and WHOA! I had never considered just how “crazy” clumsy I was while skiing all these years.

All this time skiing and never had I enrolled in any instruction until recently. I was “extremely” lucky to have found an open space in world renowned, free skier, Kristen Ulmer’s, “Ski to Live” training held at Deer Valley Resort, Utah earlier this month. What I discovered was a unique approach to learning that could be applied to most any circumstance in life and I uncovered some beautiful flaws in the way I ski.

Perhaps the most profound lesson I learned wasn’t at all the usual technical corrections seemingly inherent to most ski instruction. The “mindset”, something Kristen Ulmer considers the most important aspect to athletic brilliance, I was utilizing when I skied was potentially dangerous. I discovered I was skiing to relax and to escape the rigors of day-to-day life. Subsequently, I learned that I placed heavy emphasis on skiing as an internal experience. What does this mean and why could it be dangerous for me?

I think I was the only person in our group who placed so much internal value on the sport. I never thought of skiing as an “external” aggressive sport that requires athletic prowess and the ability to reach outside myself. In fact, I thought skiing was a way for me to get into nature and ultimately into my own nature. As a result, this mindset I indulged in showed up in my skiing. This manifested into skiing in the “back seat” while constantly avoiding the flow of the fall-line. I was running away from life in the form of skiing, therefore, skiing would run away with me if I kept in the same mindset. This is exactly where serious ski injuries occur, hence the “danger”.

“Ski to Live” and Kristen Ulmer helped me to discover the simple fact that if you want to stay on top of your planks, let alone improve your skiing, you had better be conscious of your level of participation in the sport.  Before “Ski to Live”,  I never thought about speed, control, accuracy and constant adjustments. Kristen did a terrific job in letting me know, in no uncertain terms, skiing requires me to show up in my body while incorporating the flexibility of mind and spirit. What? Did I say that?

Who would have “thunk” that brilliant skiing, something Kristen Ulmer has and continually achieves, requires mind, body and spirit integration? Suddenly, all the important technical aspects of good skiing seem distant when one considers the implications of emboding a holistic approach to skiing. Actually, “holistic” is a term reserved for “New Agers”.  More accuratly, Kristen Ulmer utilizes Zen philosophy as a back-drop to her “Ski to Live” trainings.

Zen, quite simply, is the ancient eastern philosophy of being “one with everything” and its more recent western roots reside in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Big Mind Western Zen Center.  Kristen Ulmer’s Zen  teacher and mentor, Genpo Roshi founded “Western Zen” by merging eastern philosophy with western psychology.

Out of respect for future “Ski to Live” trainings, I’m going to refrain from divulging certain incredible details  surrounding the techniques Kristen Ulmer uses. All I can say is if you want to blow open entirely new ways of looking at the sport of skiing, take this training and prepare to be surprised! I am and I’m having more fun on the mountain based on what I discovered.  Thank you, Kristen!

Visit KristenUlmer.com for upcoming trainings.

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