Skiing is Dead
Summary: There's an elephant in the room: Skiing is dead. It used to be great. It's time to take up another hobby. Soap-making, wildlife/bird watching, crochet, whatever you propose... it will be better than the lines and expenses that occur at ski resorts now. Do you love skiing? We discuss it here in a heated argument between three Colorado natives (the 'Front Range Fellas') and friends who grew up on the slopes.
Transcript: Skiing Is Dead
Welcome, welcome!
Oh, it is so good to have you here on "Grounded with the Front Range Fellas". That was not John Denver because we can't play music for copyright issues. That was just us singing a little tune that we all grew up with here at five thousand two hundred eighty feet. We are all off our rockers this high, the blood is thin, the air is rare.
It is so good to have you here...
Excuse me.
I'm already out of air because we're at such high altitude... wow!
It's so good to have you here grounded this is a new talk show here on The Harps Collective where we drink coffee, and we're all a few coffees in... I am jittered out of my mind. I'm trembling here. I can't even hold the microphone and I interview or talk with a few people, uh, with the Colorado flavor.
So, we may or may not talk about issues in Denver, Colorado, um, at altitude, what we struggle with, altitude sickness, et cetera. But basically we just talk about life with a little bit of flavor from our own upbringings. It's my pleasure today to bring you two of my friends and co- hosts.
Number one, Sam Miller.
Number two, Tim Gerken.
How the hell are you guys doing on this ice cold winter Sunday?
[00:03:18] Sam: Boy, after that intro, I'm feeling alive and well.
[00:03:21] Tim: I mean, that and the coffee, just ready to go.
[00:03:23] Tom: I'm pumped up. We could go skiing! That's good. What do you guys think? [responses]
[00:03:26] Sam: No, no, we can't.
[00:03:28] Tom: No, absolutely not. And that's the point of this show.
There is no point to skiing. Welcome. This is going to be an aggressive show where I come out with a strong point.
Skiing is dead.
Done. I am. Friedrich Nietzsche, I believe his name was Friedrich.
F. Nietzsche, one of the great philosophers that you study in school.
A nihilist, that's what I am, in skiing. I'm declaring today, just like he declared God is dead, I'm declaring that skiing is dead.
[00:03:59] Tim: That's a bold statement, Thomas.
[00:04:00] Sam: There's gotta be a devil's advocate in every
room, though.
[00:04:03] Tom: I'm coming out strong today. The reason I'm coming out strong is my brother yesterday sent me a photo and, and posted it everywhere. Waiting at the ski lift in Vail. Two hours. A line just to get on the ski lift for two hours.
Hundreds and hundreds of people. Hundreds. Have you ever watched an ant war as a kid? People climbing over each other's dead bodies. Pincers in each other's necks. Dragging... carcasses out of the way, climbing, fighting, thrashing to get on the ski lift. If you ever watched Lord of the Rings, the Battle of Helm's Deep, people running over, chopping each other's heads off just to get on a lift to wait, to get to the top of the mountain.
He said, Michael got so tired of it, he took his ski boots off, walked up the mountain himself. And skied back down in the meantime in that two hour window. Ladies and gentlemen, skiing is dead.
[00:04:58] Sam: Yeah, when you put it that way, it's, uh, lifelong skier really takes the wind out of the sails for me Tom.
[00:05:06] Tom: All of us here at this table have skied since we were four, five, six years old.
Thus, there's about 60 years of skiing experience right here. We are all coming from an informed opinion. I am of the opinion that skiing is dead. I'm not sure about Tim and Sam. First of all, how are you guys doing? And then tell me what you think about my initial and aggressive statement about our hometown sport.
[00:05:28] Sam: You know, I'm doing great, Tom. I'm happy to be home safe and sound after another weekend on the I 70 corridor. And, uh, you make a valid point. It could be dead.
[00:05:38] Tim: It could be.
[00:05:38] Tom: I think it's dead.
[00:05:39] Tim: Weekend skiing is dead.
[00:05:40] Tom: How are you, Tim?
[00:05:41] Tim: I'm doing well now.
[00:05:42] Tom: Okay, yeah. I mean, I am interested in your well being as well.
[00:05:44] Tim: Uh, yeah. No, doing good. Happy to not be on I 70 as well.
[00:05:47] Tom: Oh, isn't that interesting? How everyone is happy to not be in the process of skiing right here at this table? I know I'm the happiest. I'm a ten. I'm sitting here. Haven't been anywhere this weekend. Yeah, the energy. I've been sitting in this house the whole weekend.
I bet. You guys look so much healthier after having kind of come down from being out there.
[00:06:06] Sam: I woke up in Denver today. I, it, I felt good.
[00:06:08] Tom: What was that like?
[00:06:09] Tim: Air quality wasn't as good, but. Yeah,
[00:06:11] Tom: Of course not.
[00:06:12] Sam: Hard to breathe.
[00:06:12] Tom: We're in the smog. Yeah. Smog, there's nothing to do, but it's better than being up there.
[00:06:17] Sam: Yeah.
[00:06:17] Tom: Tell you that right now. Weekend skiing is dead. Weekend skiing. Can we qualify that for a second?
[00:06:22] Sam: I would agree with that.
[00:06:23] Tim: Yes, unless you have a place to stay.
[00:06:25] Tom: Yes. We're gonna get into this. I'm going to start off first with a checklist that I assembled yesterday after talking to my brother about what you need to go skiing.
But, I think, I think it's safe to say that there are some things that you could do as an, especially if you're new to Colorado, if you are traveling for skiing, if you haven't skied in a while and you're wondering what the hell is going on up there, there are some things you can do to, to have a decent experience where you won't hate it.
The whole point of this episode today is how to have a decent experience skiing and not hate it. And we're going to provide you that some insights, tips from three natives. We've all skied for 20 years. I've hung it up. The boots are done. The rentals are turned in. I pursued other activities. I'm looking into soap making, pottery, visiting the wildlife refuge up in Keenesburg on a weekly basis, nursing homes.
[00:07:17] Sam: He's getting emotional here, guys.
[00:07:19] Tom: Tapping into myself. I'm done with the skiing. Sam, you just went up skiing. You sat and drank instead of being on the mountain because you realize how dumb skiing is.
[00:07:29] Sam: It was one of the first times the cost benefit analysis has overcome me and it just wasn't worth it.
[00:07:36] Tom: Absolutely not. So how could it be worth it? How many runs do you do in a day?
[00:07:41] Tim: Average day... 10 15 runs.
[00:07:45] Sam: Those are weekday numbers.
[00:07:45] Tom: At two minutes a run. Those are weekday numbers. Weekend.
[00:07:48] Sam: Those are weekday. [lauging] Weekend five to seven.
[00:07:49] Tom: How many runs did Michael do yesterday? Yeah, probably five.
[00:07:52] Sam: Five to seven.
[00:07:53] Tom: Five to seven runs. I go about 40 to 50 miles an hour during my runs. I'm done in two minutes. You think I like doing anything for ten minutes that requires nine hours of preparation?
[00:08:05] Tim: Not at all.
[00:08:05] Sam: You know, it really is ironic as we sit here without our brother Michael, um, as he-
[00:08:10] Tom: I would love to get his insight...
[00:08:11] Sam: -fights to return home.
[00:08:13] Tom: He's stuck on I 70.
[00:08:15] Tim: Might not be back till tomorrow.
[00:08:16] Tom: What a total idiot [laughing]
[00:08:19] Sam: You know, he put himself there.
[00:08:20] Tom: Look, no, no, no, not bashing the people...
[00:08:22] Tim: And his drive up there!
[00:08:23] Tom: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Get into that. I'm, I'm not bashing on anyone's happiness, but we have to talk about weekend skiing has died in Colorado. The reason we can, we'll get into this a little bit later in the episode.
I think that people want to show off that they're going skiing, everyone, due to social media. 15 years ago, it was very expensive to ski then too, but the numbers were not as crazy.
[00:08:48] Sam: Social sport now versus active sport. I would say
[00:08:51] Tim: all about the likes...
[00:08:52] Tom: It's a social sport.
The experience of being up there is more important than the actual ski activity itself, which is why I'm suggesting that we do something different in the future because it is dead. So...
[00:09:04] Sam: As a Denver resident some might call it an obligation...
[00:09:07] Tom: It is a strange obligation....
It's kind of like, if you're raised Catholic, should you go with your parents to church?
[00:09:14] Sam: No. And you'll go.
[00:09:15] Tom: But you're going to hell-
[00:09:16] Sam: You'll go on Easter.
[00:09:17] Tom: And if you don't go, you're going to hell.
[00:09:20] Sam: And you're missing out.
[00:09:21] Tom: And, and that's a strange pressure, and, and so is skiing. And it is like a religion.
[00:09:26] Sam: Yeah. All walks of life. Come together for one strange activity.
[00:09:31] Tim: That doesn't make any sense.
[00:09:32] Sam: When you really boil it down, it doesn't make any sense to me.
[00:09:34] Tom: Yeah, and they're all there and they're like, I don't know, why are we up here? What are we doing?
[00:09:39] Tim: For a majority of it, you're probably thinking that, yeah.
[00:09:42] Tom: Yeah. Yeah, okay. So let's get into the checklist here. The checklist of things to bring with you while skiing. Here it is. We're gonna have a dramatic pause and then I'm gonna go into reading. What you should bring if you want to have a prepared and safe time skiing on the mountain in Colorado.
[00:09:59] Sam: Let's hear it.
[00:09:59] Tom: Here it is.
The 2020 Colorado Ski Survival Kit. Number one, road flares. Number two, canned tuna. Number three, three gallons of water (distilled).. number four, a go girl, or for the fellas, a direct catheter line. Number five, a space blanket. Number six, $50 petty cash for a burger lunch with a $5 reserve in case it's more expensive.
Number seven War And Peace, the 44 CD pack available from your local library to help with the drive. Number eight, ice packs, Alleve, and frostbite medication. Number eight, a Don Joy Playmaker knee brace. Number nine, new brake pads for the car. Number ten, a shitload of health insurance. Number eleven, a pre drafted email to skip Monday work because you have depleted all of your energy and have no time to get anything done when you get home on Sunday night at 10 PM. Number eleven, a dagger or sith for your first inevitable collision on the hill with an out of state stranger. Number 12, a hyper optimistic friend to join you and delude you into thinking that this is an efficient use of your time. Number 13, Xanax. Number 14, cyanide tablets.
[00:11:28] Tim: It's a great list.
[00:11:30] Tom: That's what I came up with as a packing list for my one trip, which I will probably do in March on a Wednesday and leave by 1 PM.
[00:11:37] Sam: See here, this whole thing now, this, this side is... it, to me, Tim, it sounds like Tom just has had a life, lifelong experience of bad days on the mountain.
[00:11:49] Tom: Let me give you a couple issues.
Number one, skiing in a group, very difficult, not fun at all, waiting, have you ever enjoyed waiting for other people? I could just feel dollar signs pouring out of my body.
[00:11:59] Sam: Now we're on the same page.
[00:12:00] Tom: Waiting at the bottom of the hill. Very. Okay? Very difficult. Horrible experience. Second alternative is skiing alone.
Which I thought was great, listening to music and stuff, until I was at, uh, I was at Breckenridge, and I started skiing off into the trees, and I fell straight into a tree well, uh, up to my chest in powder. And I had to dig out for, oh, I don't know, an hour? Hour and a half, I lost a ski for another hour that went down the mountain a little bit into another tree well, uh, just after that and so after two hours of putzing around in Breckenridge, I, uh, I left, uh, and I said I'm never skiing alone again and I'm definitely not skiing in a group. Thus, I am going to have to find another activity.
[00:12:44] Tim: That is an issue, skiing alone. The trees are dangerous. You have to know the trees. Where you're going, I would recommend.
[00:12:53] Tom: Do you ski alone?
[00:12:54] Tim: I do, quite often.
[00:12:56] Tom: Really?
[00:12:56] Tim: The, uh, I like, uh, A man and his dog. A man and his dog. I go up to, uh, find a place where you can ski to park. You get up there early enough, you get a good parking spot, so you can ski right down to your car. There's no walking. Don't have to haul the skis up a hill just to get to, uh, The lift, you just ski
right down to the lift.
[00:13:16] Tom: What time do you leave Denver on a week end and on a weekday to make sure you get there in time?
[00:13:22] Tim: Last weekend, uh, Saturday, we left at 5 AM.
[00:13:27] Tom: Oh, God.
[00:13:28] Tim: Set the alarm for 4:45.
But again,
[00:13:32] Tom: Oh my God.
[00:13:32] Tim: Yeah.
[00:13:33] Tom: So you set an alarm for 4. 45. You were out the door at 5 AM?
Out the
[00:13:35] Tim: door at 5 AM. Had the, the backpack, skis ready to go, [Sure].
in the car, all
[00:13:40] Tom: That's another thing, dude, is getting up early. Even if I get eight hours of sleep, getting up at 5 AM, I'm falling asleep in the car after 12 minutes. So I can't drive. So someone has to drive me up to the mountain. Yeah. Horrible
experience.
[00:13:55] Tim: Gotta get the Yeti full of coffee and-
[00:13:57] Sam: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:13:57] Tom: Then I get jittery and exhausted.
[00:14:00] Sam: Yeah. See this is the issue now is that the prep work is overtaking the like length of time you're spending actual mountain prep work... [hours!] I mean we were, we were skiing yesterday and we met up with some friends at um, for a beer because the mountain was too crowded [laugh] and, um,
[00:14:16] Tom: You could have done that in Denver!
Yeah.
And you could have not gone and had a great time here, you know,
[00:14:21] Sam: Some [locally!] of us like to get out of the smog, get up there and breathe some clean air
[00:14:25] Tom: Then head down to Parker!
[00:14:28] Sam: Yeah. There are, yeah, there are local outlets we could use. We battle on.
[00:14:32] Tom: So let me get this straight. You decided to get a drink because you couldn't go ski.
[00:14:35] Sam: Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. There was a, the snow is great. It was a beautiful day, bluebird day, but the
lines were brutal.
[00:14:42] Tom: So you wasted $50 to a hundred dollars in gas and the opportunity costs of doing something else productive. You could have had a second job or something like that on the weekend.
[00:14:52] Sam: That is true.
I suppose if you want to look at it that way, but we spoke with our friends that left Denver at four 30 in the morning yesterday, got to the mountain at nine 30. Okay, then they're skiing until, let's call it 1:30/2, then you're looking
2, 2 and a half.
[00:15:07] Tom: 10 hours? 10 hour trip.
[00:15:09] Tim: And that's where you have to know how to go.
[00:15:10] Tom: -and that's 10 hours.
[00:15:11] Sam: Not even half of that is actually spent skiing.
[00:15:14] Tom: No, no, let's actually break this down for a second. Here's another thing I used to think about when I was like 18, you know, starting to get a little tired of skiing. Alright, I start, once you do something for 20 years, you can decide...
I don't want to do it anymore, you know, like all the guys retire from tennis, football.
I retired from skiing.
Let me explain why also the... if you have a pass, that's great because you are going to save money per trip. But if you actually timed the amount of time that you spend going down the mountain, how many runs do you get in on the average ski day? You ever count?
[00:15:45] Sam: Probably, what did you say? 12 to 15?
[00:15:48] Tom: Yeah, and how long did those last? A minute?
[00:15:51] Sam: 10 15 minutes.
[00:15:53] Tom: What about when you're going 60 miles an hour down the mountain like I did? On blues and things like that.
[00:15:58] Sam: Yeah. You're, you're bombing top to bottom. You're looking, I'm [Tom the bomb]. You're looking,
you're looking two, two and a half minutes a run.
Maybe
[00:16:04] Tim: Sub two.
[00:16:05] Tom: Yeah. Sub two. All the way to the bottom. Yeah. Or whatever. Maybe you go halfway. That's a minute down.
[00:16:10] Tim: That's if you don't hit anyone.
[00:16:11] Tom: So what do you do when they create these 10 minute run? You're sitting down, taking breaks?
[00:16:15] Tim: Through the trees through the trees zig-zagging and out of those, you know, the, you know, the-
[00:16:20] Tom: That fun? All that zigzag and stopping..
[00:16:22] Sam: Well,
I like to ski the steeper stuff the more challenging stuff other than just bombing the groomers. [Sure]
Watching out for Johnny Tex and his blue jeans, but...
[00:16:32] Tom: So, what do you on the steeper stuff you do a few minutes and then what do you just take a break because you're exhausted
[00:16:38] Tim: Well, you ski to the chairlift and then you
get your break when you ride the chairlift.
Yeah, it's up there You're waiting in line.
[00:16:44] Tom: That's, that's not a break. I'm sitting on the chairlift. I can't feel the blood circulating down below my knees because of the edge of the chair.
[00:16:51] Sam: See, this comes back full circle to the gear issue, because I think-
[00:16:55] Tom: What, do I need a blood pump?
[00:16:56] Sam: No, I think, I think, I think you needed to make the upfront investment and get some stuff that's comfortable, you know?
I just... but I would agree there is a level of discomfort you have to tolerate for the duration of a ski day, you know?
[00:17:09] Tom: Let me put it a different way. I think this will make more sense. I have been bungee jumping multiple times in my life. Most fun I think I've ever experienced, right? The excitement, the, the, the fear going to do it, right?
Getting up there, jumping, these have been over 400 foot drops, big drops, you know, some of the, the largest ever. Fun activity, right? I've been skydiving before, great activity. I could do it, it's 20 minutes away from my door here. Yeah. Okay? But I've done both of those things, some of the best experiences in my life, and been like, that's enough.
I don't need to do that every weekend. I know what that's like. Yes. So why does skiing get this free pass where people have to go?
You know, just as it from a devil's advocate perspective What is it about that? That's a high adrenaline activity, that's habitual versus, you know something if you're going to a different ski park every weekend that would be cool.
Yeah. Different experience, different place, different snow. But the same place every weekend, traveling ten hours. You could take a round trip to Spain in ten hours. If you wanted to. London's seven and a half. Yeah. And you're going to some place to sit and have a drink and not even... You guys are out of your damn mind.
[00:18:19] Sam: Well, here's the thing. I think nowadays... Especially, you know, people our age and our friend group, it's just becoming a more of just a social thing that you have to do in the winter to spend time with their friends. And I know you are fine, you know, in your office over there solving all the world's problems.
But I like to go.
[00:18:35] Tom: Great point.
[00:18:36] Sam: We like to go outside, you know, I mean, and our friends are always, it's a great thing for you to get together with all your friends and do go up to the mountains, which is one of the best parts about living here in Denver. You know, reality is we have access to some pretty amazing skiing that's 70 miles
away, of course.
It's just becoming more difficult to do. And I've seen more and more now people are going up, not for the ski experience, but just to be in the mountains, maybe to do a handful of runs. And then like you're saying, just sit at the bottom and drink beer. And I think it's, it's, it's becoming a really social sport versus.
an active sport.
[00:19:09] Tom: That's why I'm proposing, and maybe Tim, you can give a thought on this, a la carte pricing at a ski resort, so that someone can go up, pay per run, ski, be done by 11am, which is when I'm toast anyway, and go do something different for the rest of the day.
[00:19:25] Tim: I mean, I think they do have half day passes.
[00:19:27] Tom: Which are like $90.
[00:19:28] Tim: Yeah, exactly. Still expensive.
[00:19:30] Tom: I mean, that's some dumb shit. I mean, that's like four, that's like 20, 30 bucks a run, you know?
[00:19:35] Tim: Yeah. Yeah, that's not worth it.
[00:19:36] Sam: Yeah. I don't think the day pass skiing is worth it in general.
[00:19:39] Tom: No. [That's where we get back to]
Absolutely not. We've established that principle.
Yeah. But why don't you talk about, uh, what, what was I just speaking about? Oh, a la carte pricing, right? Something where you could go up, because do you also feel like it's become more social activity then? Do we even need to ski, is really the point I'm getting to. Could we all just go up there and get 90% of the fun out of just sitting?
[00:20:02] Tim: I mean, I think that is the appeal of it, is I have just as much fun skiing as I do if we're staying up there in a cabin with friends playing cards. That's about as much fun.
[00:20:10] Tom: Yeah, nobody needs to ski.
[00:20:12] Tim: But the skiing part is what I do enjoy.
[00:20:15] Tom: Yeah, you could ski a couple times and be done.
[00:20:17] Sam: Well, and there's ways that level of rush that you talked about from your bungee jumping experience, you can, there's the big, big part of the reason I like skiing, you know, go bomb it, it's challenging.
It's, it's working out, you know, it's a fitness thing. And, um, but I, I, I really do think it's
becoming so social.
[00:20:35] Tom: I think it's becoming, it's becoming very social and I think eventually it will become, uh, I think it will become less popular, skiing. I really do. I think we're at the beginning of the decline.
[00:20:46] Sam: Well, days like yesterday solidified that, I think.
[00:20:49] Tom: Yeah, we need to get the word out that it's, it's a terrible experience.
[00:20:52] Sam: And then we can go back when people start moving away.
[00:20:55] Tom: I have a deeper thought behind all this. I used to enjoy it a lot when I was 14, and now I'm just a cynic. But I think there's another point to be made, too, is if it, I'm in a different, reality space.
I have to run my own business. I have clients everywhere in real estate. I have a lot of deals going on. So, I actually really do cherish in the winter, the weekends to rest, to uh, make art, to make music, and to go do a lot of business actually on the weekends that comes up with clients and things like that trying to buy houses.
So I, there's an opportunity cost for me to go up on the mountain and it's a legitimate opportunity cost because I could tell you that a lot of deals that I landed last year came from my effort on the weekend, which actually should suggest that I should go skiing during the week. Do you guys promote that?
[00:21:40] Tim: I highly recommend that. That's when I try to Do a lot of my solo skis are during the week. If I had to work the weekend for work, um, take off a Monday or Friday, it's a lot less crowded. You don't have to leave as early because the traffic's not going to be nearly as bad. And that's where I do a lot of the the solo skiing is on the weekdays. Yeah. You don't deal with the lines. You get as many runs as, as you want. And that's a, yeah. A good opportunity to learn too. The mountain's not crowded.
[00:22:08] Sam: Yeah. I mean, 90% of people don't have that luxury, right. They're working eight to five on the Monday through Friday weekend warriors, their only way.
It's their only option stuff. You, a guy in like a kind of
eat what you kill business, right.
There, there is that opportunity cost. You're giving up work during the week, but you, you, you're one of those people that you could say, I'm going to go run up on a ski and it's an hour each way on the highway. It's empty.
Yeah. It's amazing. From Friday to Saturday, the difference.
[00:22:35] Tim: Winter Park, if you went up on a Wednesday you could leave at 7:00, be up there by 8:30,
be on the lift by nine. Be-
[00:22:45] Sam: Ski hard on your own till the end and call today. That's what I
[00:22:48] Tom: want to-
[be done and probably]
[00:22:49] Tim: Be home by 2:00.
[00:22:51] Tom: Straight to a house. Try to buy it.
[00:22:54] Sam: That's right. I think the weekday skiing is still at its peak and that's what I definitely enjoy, but. Um, like I'm in a, in a field that permits that, you know?
[00:23:02] Tom: Yeah. You know, what's funny is when I was young, I used to watch dads come up and ski with us for like, and then just call it quits at noon. And when I was young, I used to be like, why, why, why doesn't he want to ski the whole day and have some fun? And now I can't imagine skiing beyond noon. It makes total sense to me.
Yeah. Oh, my legs. And I'm in pretty good shape, but there is something.
[00:23:23] Sam: Well, evidently not. I mean, you're cashing out at 10:30, 11:00.
[00:23:27] Tom: I.. I've come to the conclusion, I am a low energy guy. I mean, that's what really all this comes down to. And I need to admit that and say, you know, I love activities and sports, play soccer every weekend, but there's something about the repetitive nature of being in a field of trees thinking, I have another 15 minutes of not trying to hit one of these things and my legs are on fire and, and, and I've been doing this for 20 years and I got to stop.
I gotta hang it up.
[00:23:55] Sam: You don't like the challenge, though.
[00:23:57] Tom: I liked it 20 years ago. Okay. But after 20 years of anything, you're usually ready to try something else. Anything!
[00:24:05] Tim: Well, with skiing, though, you get better the more you do it, like with anything. So you can still challenge yourself more and more, go off harder stuff.
[00:24:14] Tom: But then you get injured. You get injured. We need to talk about the health. The health of.. People who have died skiing! I mean, it's ridiculous.
[00:24:22] Tim: Yeah, I think that's part of the reason why I, yeah, haven't slowed down is I haven't had a serious injury, knock on wood. And that's, uh, you know, something as I get older and try to keep up with, so.
Yeah, I mean, that's a, yeah, a big mental hurdle probably to get over too, you know, if you get hurt skiing, which I haven't had to do yet. Have you?
[00:24:41] Sam: No, I haven't had anything. Anything crazy, you know, just sore, but the, uh, the big thing about Monday morning, the big thing now is you may or may not be familiar with is now people, especially in our age, the AT skiing is becoming big where you can lift your heel off the back.
[00:24:58] Tom: Yeah. Right. What's that called again, telescoping?
[00:25:01] Sam: No, no, that's looking at the stars. Oh,
[00:25:03] Tom: It's a tele skiing. Is that it?
[00:25:05] Sam: You're thinking of telemarking, which is still going down?
[00:25:08] Tom: That's what I do every day.
[00:25:09] Sam: TeleMARKETING.
[00:25:11] Tom: So telemarketing is, is the skiing term?
[00:25:13] Sam: It was called telemarking, but now it's like they call it AT, which is like all terrain.
Yeah. But basically it's a binding on your ski. That allows your heel to lift. Yep. So you can, and you put the call 'em skins, it sticks to the bottom of your ski and you can travel uphill. So it's become like it's, guys use them in the back country a lot, you know, outside of the resorts and stuff like that.
And it's a great workout, you know, but. And, you know, the last couple of years I've thought about, I always say, okay, I'm not buying a pass next year. I'm using that money to buy an AT setup to go do that. But my friends aren't going to do that. And then it comes back to the social thing, you know? Yeah. And that would be fun.
You know, I've gone up at sunrise and skinned up A-Basin and
[00:25:56] Tom: Skinning...
[00:25:56] Sam: Yeah. Skinning. And you do one run and you're like, well, I'm exhausted. You got to go to workout, skied on a mountain with not a soul around and you're done for the day. Yeah. Yeah. Again, your friends aren't going to do that. So every year you fall into this trap of, okay, well, I got to bypass this year.
Yeah.
You know...
[00:26:11] Tom: Let me, let me propose the three pillars of a good time skiing in Colorado. This is from someone that's honestly thought about a lot about this. Number one, rent all of your stuff beforehand. Have it ready to go so that it's turnkey. When you get to the base of the mountain, you should be able to walk to the lift.
So do whatever it takes. To walk to the lift, to buy the stuff, the ticket, the pass, the skis. I have violated this rule the last 10 times I have gone skiing out of my own laziness. And it is, it is beyond stupid to do that. So that's the first one. Second rule is, uh, have a place to stay, have a place to stay that night.
Cause I'm, I'm burned at 11 AM. I need to go lay down somewhere. Okay, and you have to wait check in time. Yeah, exactly. Well, that's another thing I'm the traffic you could either have the place to stay on the front end or on the back end I would argue the back end is more important because I almost drove off of I 70 last time out of exhaustion trying to drive home same day.
So my rule for me would be never drive home same day. I don't care if you have to sleep on the side of the road in your car, whatever it takes, go pull off into a town somewhere on I 70, get to sleep, even if it's 1pm, get in bed, because, uh, now number three, this is, sort of falls in line, this is the third golden rule of having a good time skiing.
When you're done skiing within two hours, you need to be in a hot tub.
[00:27:35] Sam: I would agree with that.
[00:27:36] Tom: Okay. I don't care where it is. Jump a fence, break in whatever you need to do. Bring a weapon, get into a hot tub because that will change your mood about- Here's what happens when I go ski. I'm having fun. I'm done at 11am.
I'm exhausted. I'm toast. Get a few more runs in after lunch, you know, out of pure. Social pressure completely miserable. Yeah. And by 2 p. m. um, I'm having some food and, you know, second lunch at that point and just rubbing my extremities because I'm pissed off. And then this feeling sets in this feeling of, I have so much time and effort just to get back to my house in Denver.
Yeah. These steps that I have to go through the returns, the, the packing. The frozen, uh, gloves. I mean, I'm just thinking of all these feelings. Yeah. Yeah. Like the, the, uh, extra clothing, the changing, you know, and all that. So anyway, that feeling sets in. So what I would suggest doing is have a hot tub, bring an inflatable one.
It doesn't matter. Get a generator, get into hot water.
[00:28:42] Tim: That's... a nice beer.
[00:28:43] Tom: Yes. Hydrate though. Yeah. Because yeah. Anyway, so those are my three golden rules of skiing. I think that those are completely reasonable. Have a place to stay. But weigh the cost, because when you start to add up the gas, the maintenance, the depreciation on the car, okay?
You add up the cost to ski, you add up the lunch, 50 bucks, usually, what the amount of calories that I'm consuming there, or the alternative is bring your own lunch, but I've packed a ham sandwich several times, and what it looks like when I pull it out of my pocket is, uh, I would recommend just buying a lunch.
It's not, do you guys bring your own food? I mean, that's a very valid point. Do you?
[00:29:19] Sam: Yeah.
[00:29:19] Tom: What do you bring?
[00:29:20] Sam: I couldn't tell you the last time I bought a meal on the mountain. Yeah. I'm a, I'm a big breakfast, push through noon, call the day at two kind of guy.
[00:29:28] Tom: For skiing? For skiing. So you don't eat lunch?
[00:29:30] Sam: Don't eat lunch. Bank on the Chipotle in Summit County on your way out. Yep.
[00:29:34] Tim: Big meal after. Okay. You know. But you know, granola bars, Cliff bars. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:29:42] Sam: Yeah, you're you sound like if your conclusion is that the process is not worth the reward.
[00:29:47] Tom: That's it... it's a simple cost benefit and and I'm- you're done- year one I'm a different person in any activity than year 20, but you gotta..., you know you get on a hedonic treadmill and by year 20 the pleasure is not... I'm sitting in the trees...
[00:30:03] Tim: But I feel like you get more, you get better, you get better at planning.
You get better at knowing which mountains you want to go to, which runs to go to on crowded days on powder days.
[00:30:14] Tom: You're right. No, no, that look, I'm just
[00:30:15] Tim: You get more efficient with your time and those, you know, when you talk about 10 hours, you know, you can cut it down to. Six or seven.
[00:30:21] Tom: Yeah. And I'm just going to London.
I mean, that's really the alternative for me because you save all that money and then you realize, okay, I could actually take like two weeks off and do a trip. Now, this is just my shtick. I'm actually, I enjoy skiing. I just don't do it a lot because like I said, I actually cherish the weekends and having that time to, um, play music is a huge thing.
So it really depends on, I guess if you're in a position as a person, as a millennial, maybe in your thirties, something like that, if you want to, start your own business, if you want to build any kind of project, it's really non negotiable. The winter months especially are very important to make progress in whatever is important to you.
Because the weeknights get eaten up by certain obligations. You may be able to work on some things that are cool and fun. But the weekends is really where you make a difference. If you need more income, ifyou have a passion project...
[00:31:11] Tim: With the passion. But I would say that, uh, You know, the cost of it, it also is a big mental, um, cost for me when I go up at like, uh, you know, decompress, clear the head.
And that's where I feel like, you know, my, my best is on, you know, when I'm up on the mountain, you know, looking at the views, decompressing, thinking.
[00:31:33] Tom: I could just be so cynical right now and be like, do you think that most of the people that go skiing are miserable in their, in their Monday to Friday?
Perhaps... such a poignant question. I look, everything's on the table here in Grounded with the Front Range fellas. But I ask the hard questions.
[00:31:51] Sam: That's right. And for, I mean, three guys sitting around, you know, talking about the issues we face here on the Front Range. And the mountains are the reason that I still live here, you know.
Like Tim said, I need that time to go up there, whether it's a bad day at work or whatever it is that's going on. It takes my mind off and I just like being outside. But, you're right, the process now, I'm spending the majority of the day thinking about trying to get back home.
[00:32:17] Tom: You went the other day and didn't even ski.
You just drove. How many hours to a bar?
[00:32:23] Sam: Well, I skied. Oh, you skied? I skied. I made progress. Yeah, yeah.
[00:32:27] Tom: You just did it because you felt so guilty that you would Well, you're there. Well, I've wasted all this time already, I may as well you're there. Yeah,
[00:32:36] Tim: What are you gonna do being in the mountains though?
And you know sleeping up there and you know,
[00:32:41] Sam: It's a good quality of life. I mean when you're there in the moment, it's good and I think it's working still but I think it's it's trending in the wrong direction.
[00:32:48] Tom: Okay, next idea then this is relevant to the problem which is what we're trying to solve if if we've established that maybe, in some cases, skiing is still fun and interesting.
The question is, what will happen in Colorado to help with the transportation? My proposition, and I'll see what you think about this, I think we should slap every person that goes skiing with a gnarly tax. Because A: this is basic economics. It's gonna decrease the amount of people that go skiing.
Secondly, um, that money could all be pooled together. And especially with foreigners, triple the tax on anybody that doesn't have a residence in Denver when they come skiing, just slam them with the tax. And then what we use is that money, pool it together. I don't think the ski resorts would be too thrilled with their numbers dropping by 50%, but we pool all the money together.
And build a high speed rail, uh, from Denver straight to Frisco. Yeah. Okay? And I think that would have to be, uh, above, above ground, or above the highway. Yeah. You know, on pillars or something like that. I don't know how much that would cost, probably billions of dollars. Because it's, it's, it's very difficult to build that many miles of light rail, basically.
[00:34:01] Sam: 20 year project probably, huh?
[00:34:03] Tom: I mean, I don't know. How much, this is what we should find out. It's 80 miles, right? From Denver to, to Frisco? Okay. So here's, here's my thought. How many miles of light rail have we built in Denver? Surely we've built 80 miles.
[00:34:17] Sam: Yeah, and I used it about once a year.
[00:34:19] Tom: I know exactly.
So what if, but but what was the cost to build 80 miles of light rail in Denver? And then we basically take that cost and apply it toward an 80 mile line. It doesn't even have to be high speed. It could just be a line with no traffic averaging 55 miles an hour or whatever. Right? Yeah. Okay. We use that, kill everyone with a tax.
So the numbers go down anyway. But take that money, the tax
[00:34:42] Sam: On like their Lift ticket, you're talking?
[00:34:43] Tom: Yeah. Big ass tax. Okay. I'm talking like. Every ski, because people are getting a great deal with the pass. I say we crush them, right? It's going to create some serious inequality issues. But it's, it's, at one point it just doesn't matter anymore.
[00:34:55] Sam: We'll thin the herd.
[00:34:56] Tom: We gotta ,thin the herd. Yeah, we gotta thin the herd, right? And guess what? There's not that many low income people skiing. There might be some ski bums and such. But I would say most people consider skiing a luxury. Yeah. It's an expensive sport. It's gone now. Yeah. It's too expensive. A hundred percent.
Yeah. So it's already a bunch of, let's say, median income workers in any way that could, I, I, I'd say give them a punch them in the face with a little tax for one year and see who really loves the sport. And then from there. Uh, that way we thin it out, thin the herd, we collect a big pool of money and build a high speed rail.
And that would solve a lot of the issues because I, someone like me, low energy, could pull up at 7am, you know, in uh, in, in uh, let's say wherever they put it, like in Lakewood or in Golden, right? Some like big, big area. Yeah, big hub. Hop on. I could go straight to sleep. Yes. And I could wake up, have a little cart coming by.
Old Lady Rosa selling her breakfast burritos. Mom and pop business. Little coffee. We're supporting it. Little coffee.
[00:35:56] Sam: I like that.
[00:35:57] Tom: Okay. I get off at 8 30.
[00:35:58] Sam: Brick and mortar.
[00:36:00] Tom: I haven't spent an ounce of energy yet on getting up there. 'Cause. The mental exhaustion of driving for me on I 70. I'm done by the time I get up there.
[00:36:08] Sam: Especially, I mean, then you add in the weather. Yeah. White knuckle, ice... you're burn, you're burning-.
[00:36:12] Tom: Terrible.
[00:36:12] Sam: You're burning calories from the time you start
the car to the time you put it in park.
[00:36:16] Tom: I have been so tempted to turn around and go home the last few times I've gotten up to where I'm going. But anyway, so that's my idea.
Big high speed rail. I'd say anybody that wants to go skiing should pay an arm and a leg in taxes for a few years. We get it done. It's probably going to take five to seven years, but I'll hopefully still be alive as will you guys. And then we now have a, the traffic problem is solved. Then people that actually wanted to drive could do so if they felt that that was better for their needs, but it splits up the numbers a little bit.
[00:36:44] Tim: Yeah. That would help a lot.
[00:36:46] Sam: I like the longterm solution of the rail, but what do you think about in the meantime? These are what I've kind of thought about. Yeah. There an express lane on I 70 when you're going eastbound. And a lot of times it will be dead stop traffic and there'll be no one in that lane. And I think it costs, depending on peak travel times as they change it, like 20 bucks, like 20 bucks to go to, to the golden exit off 70, I think is where the total lane ends.
Yep. And people don't want to pay that.
[00:37:12] Tom: I took it last time.
[00:37:12] Sam: I've taken it many times. It's worth just outta- it's worth- quality of life.
But-
[00:37:17] Tom: That cost could have been a hundred- I'm in that lane.
[00:37:20] Sam: What if, what if I 70 was the entire thing was a tollway on the weekends?
[00:37:24] Tom: I like that. What would the, the cost would- I think the cost should be a hundred bucks a car, because then it encourages people to carpool.
[00:37:34] Sam: Yep.
[00:37:34] Tom: It's twenty bucks a head, nominal cost, you're spending more than that if you stay in Denver and do something social anyway. And you have now a pleasant experience getting up to the mountain, than an unpleasant.
[00:37:44] Sam: And then, well, the commercial vehicles are also...
[00:37:45] Tim: Well, they need, they need a lane all themselves.
Yeah. You know, the semis going up there. I mean, that's why it gets backed up is because when they go up and down the passes, they can only go 30, 40 miles an hour. Yeah. People flying by them going 70. Yeah. And then, you know, people getting over everyone's braking. So yeah, there definitely needs to be, I think, yeah, maybe even restrictions like, you know, weekend restrictions on commercial vehicles going up there.
Um, I don't know how realistic that would be, but.
[00:38:12] Sam: Well, and here's another thing. Have these mountains ever thought about capping the amount of people that they let on in a given day? When the parking lots are full. You know? Ugh. Guy staying there with a little clicker. Counting how many guys are walking by him getting on a lift.
But I think, I think there are some mountains that do it, I think, in California that actually do cap the amount of skiers that they let on.
[00:38:33] Tom: How about a limited number of passes that they issue? Is it on a lottery system right now or no?
[00:38:37] Sam: No, you can... You just...
[00:38:39] Tom: They just sell them out and say, deal with that shit yourself.
[00:38:42] Sam: Because they know people are going to do it still. People like us...
[00:38:45] Tim: -and then they-
[00:38:46] Sam: Idiots!
[00:38:47] Tom: You are idiots!
[00:38:48] Sam: I know. I know.
[00:38:49] Tom: Where else can you get away with this hysteria? I know, I'm an idiot. What concert sells unlimited tickets and then whoever can show up and cram in there first gets to go?
A fire code,
[00:38:58] Sam: You know? Right. Yeah.
[00:39:00] Tom: Cause Red Rocks would be miserable if they allowed that too, but they don't cause they're smart.
[00:39:04] Sam: I mean, does Disney World do that?
I don't know. Because that, I mean, that picture from yesterday made Disney World look like Topeka, Kansas. Quiet. Barren. Yeah. So, I don't know, maybe a cap on the amount of people or season passes sold.
Because if you don't get a season pass by X date-
[00:39:22] Tom: How about a bidding system on the season passes? Right, so there's a certain number you have to bid up the prices of the season passes? Maybe the, wealthiest people get to go.
[00:39:32] Tim: Maybe the out of staters, you know.
[00:39:34] Tom: Yeah, I would, I don't know, man. I'm just, you know, I'm trying to think of an economic solution that makes sense, as far as the numbers go, in the next ten years, to solve the problem.
[00:39:43] Sam: Yeah, I just think, I think we're, the city is so far behind on coming up with a solution. We've really have never heard any proposition on making it better. Right now, ever. So, and I think there's going to come a time, like we were saying that the resort companies, Vale and Elterra are going to have to step up and be like, all right, well, this is going to significantly impact our industry.
People are not going to deal with this anymore.
You know, it's only getting worse year after year.
[00:40:07] Tom: It's like, uh, the cost of, uh, of, uh, college, of education, right? At some point, you reach a tipping point, and the brand takes a hit. Yeah. And I think that we're on the beginning stages. I'm one of the leaders in that movement. Locally. And I'm trying to, uh, recruit, support, and, uh, really put this thing together in a structured manner. Yeah. You know, because, because I'm done. I'm done. I'm going to, I'm going to the wildlife refuge in Keensburg. Yeah. The weekend, right?
[00:40:35] Tim: A lot to see out there in Keensburg.
[00:40:37] Tom: That's, that's where my mind's going is what else can I do?
I'm thinking about pottery studios. I'm thinking about um, What else was I, uh, soap making and, um.
[00:40:47] Sam: But you're an active guy, Tom. I don't see ya making soap on the weekend. No, I'm, what I'm doing is encouraging other people to say we've reached the end of an era. Skiing is dead. I am the, I am the Nietzsche.
I am the Nietzsche. Skiing is dead. I'm a nihilist in skiing right now. I don't want anyone to go anymore.
There's no turning back. You're done.
[00:41:10] Tom: I want it to be done. I want the brand to die. What's died in the last 30 years that we can say this is headed in that trend? What activities? Horseshoes? Gone. I don't even see a single park with horseshoes anymore.
Yeah, bags, bags of... big game
[00:41:26] Sam: It's an insurance problem, you know, people don't want...
[00:41:29] Tom: No, it became cornhole, that's the problem. That's true, yeah. But, uh, what else has died? What other trends have just gone by the wayside? That's a good question. Think about what was poppin? Racquetball. Pretty dead. Yeah. Now. Yeah. Why?
[00:41:44] Tim: But how many people really got into racquetball? Oh, it was massive. Huge. Yeah. Bowling.
[00:41:49] Sam: I missed that whole deal. Was it really massive?
[00:41:52] Tom: Yeah. I think so. Yeah, yeah. Ostensibly it was. Uh, bowling. Uh, takin a hit, movie theaters, goin away.
[00:42:00] Sam: You wanna have a good time, you can always go down to Arapahoe Lane's Dollar Bowling Night.
[00:42:04] Tom: Yeah. You know. I was there two nights ago. There you go. Empty. Yeah. Felt like a graveyard. The guy gave me shoes for free.
[00:42:10] Sam: You know where everybody was?
[00:42:10] Tom: He was just so thrilled I showed up.
[00:42:12] Sam: You know where everybody was?
[00:42:12] Tom: Everybody was skiing!
[00:42:13] Sam: They were on I 70!
[00:42:14] Tom: I know! And I was like, the joke's on them. Okay, cuz I didn't have to wait for bowling.
I showed up, I walked to the lane, the guy handed me shoes. He was so glad that I came. Yeah. He said, don't even worry about paying.
[00:42:25] Tim: So Thomas, let me ask you this.
[00:42:26] Tom: I showed up after the doors were locked. They let me in. They were happy as hell. Just come on in. It's all free, baby. Happy to have you. We just want people to spread the word.
Yeah.
[00:42:41] Tim: Tom, somebody asked you this. Have you ever had a good day skiing?
[00:42:43] Tom: I have.
[00:42:44] Tim: What's your best day of skiing?
[00:42:46] Tom: Uh, I was done at noon and went straight in the hot tub. No, I'll tell you what. My friend John, when we were kids, had a ski in, ski out condo in Breckenridge. There you go. This is old school nostalgia.
Could walk out of his condo, not a big condo, but the most functional, and they sold it, and it blows my mind that they did, but That was probably the best day, is where when I decided I'm done skiing, I knew I could be in bed within 30 minutes. And that's hard to, it's hard to stitch that together when you're visiting.
Yeah. So, so, but that, the best day skiing was going up there and skiing the um, the, uh, Peak 9, right? The, the, the massive Independence Bowl, is that it?
[00:43:24] Tim: Oh, yeah. Yeah. So that, you know. Pretty steep.
[00:43:26] Tom: Beautiful. Steep. Um, I've, I've, I've suffered a few injuries, a few collisions with trees, uh, a few concussions.
I've never torn something. So, any day where I didn't do that. That is going to be up, up on the best day. Uh, the Colorado 9 last year was horrible skiing, but a pretty fun concept of, uh, we did nine ski runs in the morning, took a bus back and did nine, um, round, uh, holes of golf and nine innings of baseball.
And uh, that was,
[00:43:57] Tim: That was a lot of fun. Yeah. You were on that. Yeah.
[00:43:59] Tom: Were you on that?
[00:44:00] Sam: I was working.
[00:44:00] Tom: Oh yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Are you going to join this year?
[00:44:04] Tim: Oh yeah. Memorial day.
Do you know when out there anyone you are invited?
[00:44:08] Tom: We are selling tickets. Now we got two buses this year. You know,
[00:44:12] Sam: Michael, our logistics coordinator will send you an evite, get you on the spreadsheet
[00:44:16] Tom: To anyone not aware of that out of state, new to Denver, whatever the Colorado nine is a legendary day where we wake up at the crack of dawn and, uh, we, we, uh, go skiing and ski nine runs
in May, which is a horrible time to ski, extremely dangerous.
[00:44:32] Tim: Warm though, your feet don't
[00:44:33] Tom: Oh, you're warm. Yeah, you don't get cold. That's a great part about it. And, uh, and, uh, you'll be exhausted. Come back, golf nine holes, and then go to nine innings of the Rockies game in the evening. And, um, a few people went to a jazz club, or the funk Herbs, and, uh, and, uh, nine songs as a bonus.
Yeah. And, uh, That's, that's cool. I like that skiing was part of a feat. Yeah. You know, that's pretty neat. Yeah. So you are invited. Contact me or anyone, DM any of us, and we'll get you in. Um, we're selling tickets, and uh, it's a fun experience. It's um, it's a bit of a mess. I'm gonna be straightforward with you.
Uh, people started drinking at 6: 02 AM.
[00:45:12] Tim: A lot of white claws.
[00:45:13] Tom: Yeah, yeah, a lot of, uh, yeah, a lot of white people, actually, really, just to be honest.
[00:45:18] Tim: Do not have to, yeah, no driving involved, so.
[00:45:21] Tom: That's the best part. I'm saying that my favorite part of skiing is A, someone else is driving me, um, B, I'm either staying up there the night before or the night of, right?
And then C, I don't have to drive back because I'm terrible at driving in the, in the dark. And it's, it's exhausting for me. And then, uh, and then, uh, and then there's a good lunch on the mountain. I think that really would tick the box.
[00:45:43] Tim: Have you had those good days where you stayed up there and also had good snow?
Where it snowed like six, ten inches that night and, you know, you're skiing and that?
[00:45:52] Tom: Yeah, yeah, I've had like powder day, you know, where, um, you know, where it's like a, it's like a blizzard though. I mean, it's just, it's cool, but you know, I don't know how many powder runs you have to do until you realize, all right, that's good.
I should move on to another activity now. I mean, I should really-
[00:46:08] Tim: I don't think there's an, I don't think there could ever be enough. Yeah.
[00:46:11] Tom: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, look, I, you know, I, I enjoy it. I enjoy it. It's cool. It's fun. You get to kind of shift around in that stuff and fall down and, and, uh, and then you, you decide, okay, great.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna go make soap.
[00:46:25] Sam: Well, it sounds like it's not your thing. I think we can be clear...
[00:46:29] Tom: No, no, no. It's... I will, I will keep skiing. You know, and also another thing that'll be fun is having kids. And, and then teaching them to ski. Right? Yeah. And then being like, look.
[00:46:38] Sam: I'd rather pay someone to do that, I think.
And that's all, yeah. It's quite a miserable experience. Definitely. The first couple days.
[00:46:44] Tom: Oh no, what I meant is. Teaching them to ski meaning hiring someone and then sitting and watching them while eating and drinking indoors indoors, yeah, I might not even be at the mountain. Yeah, I might just drop 'em off...
[00:46:54] Sam: By then you'll just put on a pair of goggles and be able to watch them live.
[00:46:58] Tom: Yeah, yeah, right.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, VR skiing sounds way better. I cannot wait for VR because skiing is the first thing that I'll do because I don't have to go anywhere I guess. How great does that sound? Yeah. I don't know why everybody needs to get ice cold.
[00:47:13] Sam: Fresh lines from the comfort of your own living room, huh?
[00:47:17] Tom: They're just gonna have this big stimulator where you put these hip harnesses on and you get to kind of pivot and stuff. Yeah.
[00:47:21] Sam: No more than three feet from the chips and salsa.
[00:47:25] Tom: No, the bed is really what I'm getting at.
[00:47:26] Sam: Yeah, I think another thing we need to address is your energy levels. It sounds like that.
[00:47:31] Tom: Crater by 11am. Yeah, done. Done. No, look dude, I just like, I like rest. You know why? Because when I have restful weekends where I can focus and work on what's important to me, I know I can go take a six week trip somewhere later that year. Yeah. It's all deferred. That's true. Fun. Yeah. For me. You know, it's how I've designed things, but it's about your goals, right?
If you love, if, if your passion project, so to speak, it's just being outdoors and, um, waiting, then may I recommend-
[00:48:02] Tim: Which it really is, I think just not only skiing, but just the mountains in general. I mean, even during the summer months, I mean, we're up there, it's almost better. Yeah.
[00:48:10] Tom: Yeah, I mean, yeah, I, I think the summer months are when
[00:48:12] Tim: You're on the river.
You're camping. Yep. You're you're hiking which
[00:48:15] Sam: Backpacking is a whole 'nother...
[00:48:17] Tim: You want to talk about? Yeah, you want to talk about something?
[00:48:19] Tom: I can't even get into that. It's just
[00:48:21] Tim: What's the point? What is the point? It's you're walking up a hill hungry Starving. Yeah.
[00:48:28] Sam: You got some trail mix, but not too much because you got two more days out here.
[00:48:31] Tom: Backpack is miserable. I don't even want to get into that now because that's,
[00:48:34] Sam: That's another beast.
[00:48:35] Tom: So yeah, the, the, um, I'm not against it, but I do think that there's a right way to do it. And hopefully, uh, for instance, my brother has the electric warmers for the feet that come with a power station.
[00:48:49] Sam: Yeah, it's like a Ghostbuster.
[00:48:51] Tom: Some kind of generator you have to wear on your body. Is this solar powered?
[00:48:56] Tim: Kinetic energy as you go down the mountain, I think it warms up. Yeah.
[00:48:59] Sam: Friction.
[00:49:00] Tom: I, yeah, I have no idea how it works.
[00:49:02] Tim: It's solar powered. Yeah. Which is, And then you can, or, yeah, and then you charge them at night and I think it holds like eight hours or something.
[00:49:08] Tom: Oh, okay. Okay.
[00:49:09] Sam: Yeah, shout out to your brother who will get to the ski mountain, do or die, no matter the I 70 conditions. Michael, That's a guy who never backs down.
[00:49:17] Tim: He's, he's that optimistic friend from your list.
[00:49:19] Tom: He's a machine. I would argue,
[00:49:20] Sam: He's that guy on your list, you know, that says it's gonna be a really good time.
[00:49:23] Tom: Yeah. He'll delude you into thinking you're going to have fun. Yeah. Which is a skill.
[00:49:28] Tim: And I think that's part of the thing too, is when you're going up there, you know, if someone else is driving, when you're going up with friends, you know, putting on music, listening in the car, you're sitting in traffic, it's not ideal, but you know, you're shooting the shit with, you're shooting the shit with your buddies that helps.
[00:49:43] Tom: Yeah.
[00:49:43] Sam: It's an experience. Yeah. Do you think people feel pressured? All the new people that live here now?
[00:49:48] Tom: Absolutely. Do you think there's a pressure?
[00:49:49] Sam: They're like, I have to Oh. You have no idea. They can't...
[00:49:52] Tom: Social media has made has exacerbated the problem here, and that's why we have the crowds. Yeah.
[00:49:56] Tim: They're all about the gram. The top of the mountain, one run.
[00:49:59] Sam: Coors Light, Boomerang.
[00:50:01] Tom: But what I'm saying is that-
[00:50:05] Tim: Shotski.
[00:50:06] Tom: That stuff is baloney. What blows my mind is the costs to ski have skyrocketed and yet more people are doing it now than ever. Which is a trend which suggests that there's some impetus behind why people are going there every weekend.
And I do think it has much more to do with self PR and branding the self because people were just as into skiing and such 20, 30 years ago and being in the mountains. But now there's the ability to tell the story that you did it, which is a different motivation. That's very true. And a powerful one. Yeah.
You know, and, uh, I think it has an effect. My brother would be here to sit with us and talk about this, but he is stuck on I 70 coming back from skiing. So, uh, it does interfere with things like family as well, too. It does. Which is a shame.
[00:50:53] Sam: Yeah.
[00:50:54] Tim: You know, you could ski with family.
[00:50:55] Tom: You could ski with family.
That's how I learned. And then one time my dad came and then he just never came again and I was like, okay, I didn't understand that as a kid, but now I totally get it. He probably came a few times and was like, I'm not going to do this.
[00:51:08] Tim: Yeah. See, I think, yeah, my dad, he definitely figured out how to take us up skiing.
We would only, we get a five pass every year. So we'd go up about five times, maybe a couple more. And we'd only go on days that, um, we had off of school during the week. So it was if, you know, we had a Monday off, a random Friday or a half day or something, then he would take us up the lines, you know, there'd be no lines, no traffic.
Yeah. And that's kind of our, what was our first introduction was, you know, we didn't weekend ski even, um, growing up just cause- the lines and didn't have a place to stay most of the time.
[00:51:41] Sam: Yeah. Maybe people just need, like you're saying, more outlets here on the front range on the weekend, more creative avenues to, to adventure down.
But because really in the wintertime, what are you going to do in the city? People are like, well, I'm just going to go out and drink, or I'm going to, you know, sleep all day, watch Netflix, go to Lodo, you know. Tim likes to spend his free time
[00:52:02] Tom: Soulless.
[00:52:02] Tim: Tap 14.
[00:52:05] Tom: That's just sad. So they look at it as a way. I understand why you go skiing now.
[00:52:08] Sam: Yeah. It's just a way to be active on the weekend, I guess.
[00:52:11] Tom: You know. Yeah. Just getting up there. Just getting up there to sit. Yeah. Or wait. Stand. Stand.
[00:52:17] Sam: Really stand in the plastic-
[00:52:19] Tom: Skiing is just waiting, if you really look at it. There's a little bit of downhill action, but it's a 90 10 split to wait.
You're waiting to go up the mountain. It's a lot of build up. You're waiting at the bottom, you might wait at the top because you're scared, done that. Uh, you might wait at lunch to really string it out, done that.
[00:52:37] Sam: Meanwhile your feet are molded in a plastic shell of
pain.
[00:52:41] Tom: You can't- it's so unco... going to the bathroom while skiing.
One of the most miserable experiences, having to sit down and hope that you land on a toilet because your boots don't allow you to
[00:52:53] Sam: It's a toss up every time.
[00:52:55] Tim: You gotta go in the woods. You go deep into the woods.
[00:52:57] Tom: Yeah. You know,
[00:52:58] Tim: It's a whole experience in itself.
[00:52:59] Sam: A society that can land a probe on a comet, but we're still rocking plastic ski boots.
[00:53:04] Tom: There's something that blows my mind here. And that's why I put the go girl and catheter. Um, that's an essential part of skiing is being able to quickly relieve yourself if you had to,
[00:53:14] Sam: I think they've made ski poles that are designed for that reason, male only, but
[00:53:19] Tim: Yeah, my ski poles hold a, hold drinks.
[00:53:22] Tom: A liter?
[00:53:23] Tim: Yeah. Okay. You, uh, yeah, put whiskey in them. No way. Keep you warm. Yeah, the cat there has a little cap at the top.
[00:53:27] Sam: It doesn't keep you warm. It's a placebo effect.
[00:53:29] Tom: Wow.
[00:53:29] Tim: A little warm. A little warm.
[00:53:30] Tom: That's interesting. I like that cool stuff, knowing what people have done. So, anyway, well, that's, um, that's the gist of it.
I think, um, for people that are new here, um, my first advice is don't go. The second advice I would have is if you go, then probably follow a lot of the things. We just discussed and also the checklist, um, because you will run into someone, there's no doubt about that. Happened to me multiple times.
Happened to you guys? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It'll happen.
[00:53:57] Sam: Run into, been ran into.
[00:53:59] Tom: Oh really?
Yeah. You're gonna get hit.
[00:54:01] Tim: Hopefully they're not a lawyer.
[00:54:01] Tom: You're gonna get hit hard.
[00:54:02] Tim: You know, hopefully they're not a lawyer
and...
[00:54:04] Tom: Uh, we've all hit a tree here.
[00:54:05] Sam: I mean, if you think about it, a ski hill is just pure chaos.
It's just you do what you want. Where- all courtesies go out the window.
[00:54:13] Tom: -are people allowed to move at 40 to 60 miles an hour around each other with no regulation, no nothing, and just injure each other?
[00:54:22] Sam: Yeah. Russia is about all,
[00:54:23] Tom: Where is that at? Where, what arena, what, what other activity are we allowed to just collide with each other at full speed?
Yeah. Doesn't happen on a lake. Doesn't happen on land except for an organized sports where it's designed to happen. Yeah, it's a league of its own. It's chaos It's like being at the dog run. Yeah, you ever go to a dog park. That's what skiing is.
[00:54:46] Sam: It is with an aggressive slope, you know.
[00:54:51] Tom: And the only cool people at the dog park are the ones standing watching everything happen yeah, which is what skiing becomes when you do it.
Yeah. So follow the advice.
Maybe don't go.
Maybe think about what else you could be doing with your weekends. Hate to leave it on such a somber, nihilistic note.
[00:55:09] Sam: Stay safe, guys. Stay safe. And um, just remember that, uh, well, you've got, you guys have all hit a tree, correct? Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you've hit a tree. Gotten hit by other people.
[00:55:21] Tim: Other people, the double eject, both skis come off. Double eject. Couple barrel rolls down.
[00:55:26] Tom: Concussions?
[00:55:27] Tim: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Had it. Stay out of the terrain park, I would recommend.
[00:55:31] Tom: Yeah. Gotten separated from a group, lost for more than an hour.
[00:55:34] Sam: Oh, yeah. Oh. Oh, yeah.
[00:55:35] Tim: Had the ski patrol rescue me one time.
Another downside.
[00:55:37] Tom: Yeah.
[00:55:38] Sam: Group skiing. Yeah.
[00:55:40] Tim: Watch out for creeks.
[00:55:41] Tom: Who's triggered an avalanche? No. Nothing. No. No. Who's fallen into a tree well? Had to dig yourself out. Yeah. Who's lost a ski for more than a half hour? Yeah. Buried in powder. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:55:53] Sam: Yeah, the odds are against you guys in the ski and snowboard industry here.
[00:55:56] Tom: All of that is bound to happen. But you might have fun. You might. But just know that there's a plethora of things that are guaranteed to happen to you. So good luck getting yourself into that. And uh, does anybody want to add anything else before we, uh, call it good here?
[00:56:14] Tim: I think you summed it up pretty well there.
Yeah.
[00:56:17] Sam: Yeah, it's, it's a shitty sport.
[00:56:20] Tim: But, you know, those mountain views though. Yes, yes. Those are tough to beat.
[00:56:24] Tom: Our ancestors will listen back to this someday and be like, remember people used to go down those mountains on two sticks and wait for hours to do so. Yeah. And now we do it in VR. In your living room.
[00:56:38] Sam: That's very true.
[00:56:39] Tom: So, all right, well, thank you so much. This has been another episode of Grounded with the Front Range Fellas where we discuss all things in life with a Colorado and Denver flavor coming to you live from 5, 280 feet. And we thank you so much for listening and you're welcome to text us, to call us, to message us and let us know what you thought of the episode.
All of the things that could be improved from our conversation, but it's been a total thrill and we can't wait to get together and provide a value, valuable conversation about how to have a terrible experience doing things and how to have a not terrible experience doing things. Uh, any parting words?
[00:57:19] Sam: No, thank you, Tom, for your enlightening, positive words.
[00:57:24] Tom: We're here to lift you up, and then we're gonna tear you down.
[00:57:26] Sam: That's right.
[00:57:27] Tom: Okay. Well, God bless. Have a great night, and enjoy your Sunday. And to those still stuck on I 70, you guys are a bunch of idiots. Take care. Have a great night.
--
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