The Decision to Ski
Ski day 4 of the season.. I wasn’t planning to ski today so I didn’t set an alarm. I woke at 7:00am and closed my eyes knowing it could be a lazy(ish) Sunday. An hour later I opened my eyes and briefly entertained the idea of hitting the mountains. Feeling a sense of joy, I sprung out of bed and packed my gear.
The Drive to the Mountains
I maintained the same level of happiness on my drive. Okay, it’s not like I was 10 out of 10 happy, but I was generally in a good mood. My pre-ski playlist was hitting, and I envisioned the chairlift moguls of the backside of Keystone.
My rental Toyota 4runner was foreshadowing of what future-me could feel like. Trading in my truck for a vehicle of different function would not only be more suitable for city and mountain driving, but would also represent the adult version of me. It felt good. But do I truly need to make drastic life changes, or am I overreacting from a recent relationship ending. This question has contributed to confusion in my mind lately. Anyway, back to skiing..
The Skiing
The skiing was a video replay of the preview airing in my head on route to the slopes. The experience on a particular day is dependent on personal level of confidence and the snow conditions. Today was an opportune day where my skiing prowess matched the favorable mountain environment. As I like to say.. I diced it up. Even receiving recognition from the lift riders above for my unique ski style.
A transition jump out of the moguls under the Outback lift of Keystone.. My happy place
People of the Chairlift
A standout moment from today was my interaction with an older gentlemen (60’s) on the Wayback chairlift. I was lined up to ride the lift by myself, but he willed his way on the lift with me. Frustrated at first as I look forward to playing hype music on my solo lift travels, I quickly got over my self-pity and initiated the conversation, “Beautiful day out”.
He provided a friendly response and the small talk transitioned to more meaningful dialog.. explaining how he’s professionally retired and now a fulltime ski bum. He humbly portrayed his ski-in, ski-out house in Breckenridge. Anyone who’s experienced the Breck-connect gondola knows of the fairytale-esk mountain mansions for viewing pleasure as you anticipate the ski day.. Yep, he lives in one of those.
Curious of how he’s affording a $5 million plus house in Breck, I asked about his professional career. I should have followed up, but he stated he managed editors of a writing company on the east coast. Based on his current lifestyle, I speculate he was an executive (or owned) a well-known newspaper or magazine out of Boston (he was a former resident of Massachusetts).
Connecting the Dots
As I stumble into manhood, my inner youth creates resistance. However, it’s becoming “Windex on a new window clear” that it’s time to grow up and be a man. Part of this transition for me is exploring my curiosities and seeking passions outside of athletics (ironically, I skied both days this weekend). A recent flame in my heart is the idea of exploring my creative thoughts and translate the thoughts to words on paper (computer screen). Or simply put: Writing.
So there I am, on the lift with a professional writer of great influence and accomplishment. It’s funny how life works sometimes.. At this point the chairlift ride is half over which means I have about 3-4 minutes to pepper him with as many questions as possible.. Here are some of the nuggets from our back and forth.
- I asked if a consumer market still exists for writing (articles, blogs, etc.) as the digital age of social media videos have taken precedence. He responded, “Yes, there’s always going to be a market for writing”.
- I explained how I’m looking to explore my curiosity of writing and asked for suggestions on where to begin. He said the key is to consistently write about something that you are very knowledgeable about. He didn’t use the word, but find a niche. I wanted to reciprocate to him my level of understanding, so I proposed the example – “I could blog about my ski days”…”Exactly!” he agreed.
- AI – He had a progressive view on the somewhat controversial topic. He said to use AI as a tool for grammar and editing once you are complete. AI won’t replace human writing because the audience connects to personal stories as it relates to their life. Summary: AI is good, but not a replacement. I did not use any AI assistance on this article.
- Humility – The exact way I would want to conduct myself if I experience fame / notoriety. Or under any circumstance for that matter.
A Quick Google Search
Upon further research, I state with somewhat confidence that I rode the lift with Martin Baron. Some notes on “Marty” Baron..
- Journalist and former executive editor of Washington post during the ownership of Jeff Bezos.
- Prior to the Washington post, Martin held positions at the following companies
- Executive editor of The Boston Globe
- The New York Times
- The Los Angeles Times
- The Miami Herald
- Noteworthy awards
- 2016 Pulitzer Prize
- 2018 – two Pulitzer Prize awards
- 18 total Pulitzer Prize awards under his executive leadership
- Books
- Collision of Power
The Takeaway
So this is me taking Mr. Marty’s advice.. This is ski day number 4, but blog number 1. Maybe that lift ride was for a reason. Glad I got my butt out of bed and went skiing today. What’s in store for next time?
