Let It Rip

Years ago during a mountain-guiding clinic, I learned a lesson on throttling my potential I'll never forget.

There'd been a group of about eight of us. We were huddled by a cluster of trees on a ridge near the boundry-line of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Wind was whipping, snow was flurrying, and we were doing final gear checks before heading into avalanche terrain. I was the only snowboarder in an otherwise all-ski crew. To minimize our risk, we spread out in a single-file line from the gate to a safety point below the exposed ridge. That's where our lead-guide was waiting for us.

It was a training day. The goal had been to rotate through the group so we all had a turn to "mock lead", or practice being the guide with the rest of us playing the role of fake clients. When we got to a more technical section of the route, our lead guide had us go one-by-one again. This time, there was a fair bit of room until the safety point where we'd regroup. When it was my turn to go, I focused on riding safely. In hindsight, I don't know what that really means because the slope we were on was safe—we'd checked. I think maybe "rigid" or "uniform" might be better descriptors.

The last person to ski down to us took a different approach.

With the rest of us watching, this person ski'd the shit out of that line. They looked fantastic. It seems obvious now when I think about it, but it's because they were having fun. People were murmuring. A couple of low whistles rang out between us. Standing next to me, our actual lead guide leaned over and said "there are people who ski and there are skiers—now that's a skier."

I hate to admit it, but I remember being jealous.

It hadn't occurred to me to kick up the throttle. In my head, we'd been in guide mode. I thought that meant safe, reserved, and calculated. I hadn't ridden the line the way I'd wanted—I'd ridden it the way I'd thought was expected. That was the difference.

As that skier made their way down to us and rejoined the group, I'd thought about it some more. And it made sense: if you've checked the conditions, and there are people who have your back, let it rip.

Today, this is what I'm thinking about.

Because I'm going on stage tonight to tell a story that will be broadcast on national television. So when I get my cue, I'm going to let it rip and have some fun.