Last weekend I got to downhill ski at Marble Mountain in western Newfoundland and Labrador. I usually only get out on the boards once or twice a season so I cherish every moment on the hill, when for once, I’m not working hard to go uphill. In a contemplative moment while being so gently carried up the hill, I thought about how I approached living a day with a day ski lift pass.
I aimed to be on the hill when the lifts first opened. I wanted to be there until the last run sign went up. I barely wanted to take time away from the slopes to pee or rest or eat. I wanted to eek out every possible run out of that pass. The first run cost $72. The second halved it to $36. Then it went to $24, onto $14.40 and then dropped to $12. I practiced mental math with each lift up the hill and made peace with the fact that I couldn’t ski enough to get the cost per run down to zero (unless, of course, I put on my climbing skins and sponsored the uphill portion through my own efforts).
I got a kick out of trying so hard to get so much out of the experience. I thought, “One day, I’d love to have a season’s pass-then I could come up on only ski a few runs rather than have to milk so much out of a day.” My next thought, however, took to me to a different place. I liked how much I was taking from the day. I liked that I wasn’t taking time for granted. I liked that I wanted to suck the marrow from the ski lift pass (and all the attendant experiences that went with it). I liked that I didn’t want to waste a moment.
I vowed in that moment to remind myself often that I want to strive for a ski life pass life. One where I aim and want and hope to take all that I can from each moment. Not one where I assume that life is a season’s pass that I use only when I feel like it or when the weather is nice or when my friends are going. I want to ride the chairlift of life up as many times as I can each day and enjoy the pleasure and joy of all those wonderful twists and turns on the way down–not to mention the amazing views and the occasional tumble. Lift pass life-oh yeah!
TA Loeffler's Adventures that Move 
It’s so true, you quickly become spoiled when Marble in just down the road and you really start to take it for granted. I’ve had a couple mornings where I’ve slept in instead of getting to the hill, but not many. I try to get in as many runs as I can every time I go, because I know this winter won’t last long and then it’s back to the east coast for me! We should of had a few runs together!
Yes…if I were at the Grenfell campus, I would ski as much as I could…perhaps until my legs fell off. Then I might take up snowboarding or telemark turning and I’ve always wanted to be on ski patrol.