All the snow this week reminds me of what I really love about powder days: the peacefulness. There is a kind of hushed quality, a stillness, when the mountains are swaddled in snow. Deep in the trees or traversing to a secret stash, the noise of the chairlift and the clatter of the lift lines gets left behind and the mist of the storm envelops you. Sometimes all you can hear is your own breathing.
Don’t we all deserve some peace and quiet? After the hectic pace of work, the nonstop noise of kids, roommates, pets or whatever keeps your home humming, and the frenzied crowd in the powder line, it is nice to check out for a while. Especially when the snow is great.
My friend Jesse wrote a column about what music people listen to while they’re skiing or boarding. Whether it was thumping, energizing punk rock or smooth, flowing reggae, everyone seemed to have the perfect soundtrack to accompany their turns. While there is something undeniably musical and rhythmic about skiing and snowboarding, I still think it’s OK to shut off the iPod once in a while. Instead of losing yourself in the music, change it up and listen to what’s going on (or not going on) around you. Let yourself be swallowed up in the quiet of the trees, the baying of the wind, or the sound of your own gear slicing through the snow, and enjoy the ambient sounds of the outdoors.
Finding Peace on a Powder Day
