My skiing life

So this season started back in October. It was almost 10 months to the day since I had been on skis. Back in the fall I can't begin to explain the dread and hesitance that loomed over my knee. I was also so excited to be back. My emotions were playing a game of war over how I was going to ski.
It started with headed up Alta with a few work friends. When we got to the top of the slope I asked " Hey can I not go last, in case my knee is a problem?" They all let me go first. I had new and the stiffest boots I have ever owned and huge anxiety over my knee. On the uphill it was fine, held up to the two two laps. On the way down It was scary. First turns were way less aggressive then I usually ski. I thought the boots were too stiff and I made the worst decision of the season and the season was over before it began. I ski hard and I love to ski hard. after the first run I was devastate, crushed and wanted to cry the reach of the way down the hill, MY SEASON WAS GOING TO SUCK.
Then I left Second Nature, and become a ski bum. I got a job teaching skiing to kids at solitude ski resort. The snow continued to fall and it was a great early season, for skiing. For work it was slow and that was compounded by the fact that I have forgotten what is was like to be in an industry reliant on tourism. We, the locals were revealing in the the early snow and some of us could not imagine why we didn't have any ski lessons. It was some of the veteran instructors who had to remind us that good early snow doesn't equal lessons. Then came the Christmas vacation came around and so did the tourist with more snow. I planned on working the whole 20 days over the break. It was a time to make money and I wanted my share. I worked groups and private lessons with families. When I worked with the families it was like a movie, Aspen Extreme to be accurate. I got lunch everyday. Once we walked into the slope side bistro, boots on and all, it was fancy. I put my ski school jacket over the chair and tried not to grin too wide. At the end of the meal, in which I had one of the best club sandwiches ever, we got a discount because of my jacket. Man I was living the life. After that I was told I was given another private because I was working hard and doing a great job. I was give the opportunity to establish a client base for the following season, again living the life. It was a wild ride over the break. I even got sick I was working so hard. Then the lessons stopped. And we are all waiting for the next big ski weekend, Martin Luther King weekend. To this day I have skied 400,000 vertical feet at solitude in 33 days, that is 12,000 vertical feet a day on average.
And that is only the front country, or like my great grandpa said "On the yo-yo" referring to the lifts. Today I went out and toured in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We skied about 3000 feet today. This is my 9th day in the backcountry. The avalanche conditions have been fairly mellow all season. Which has made the challenge finding the good snow to ski. Since it hasn't snowed much in the last 2 weeks, we are very spoiled here and you can hear us whine about it too, the southerly facing stuff has a sun crust (http://www.fsavalanche.org/Encyclopedia/sun_crust.htm) about an inch thick. This makes for some hard turns and not fun skiing. So today were hiked and skied some of the best untracked snow that region. It was so fun and the turns so good, even the tired wanted more. Those endorphins that pumped through us made us crave for more good turns, made us push our empty tanks uphill one more time for those most coveted turns.
While in bounce, in resort, I have been mostly on my alpine skis. I have become aware of my bad habits on my alpine skis and on occasion I can make a run look good. When we don't teach we head out and do clinics, free ski lessons and tricks to help us teach. Which has all made me a better skier. It is a funny switch from one setup to another, teles to alpines.
Life has been good and money has been on the fence, but for the type of life I'm living I can't complain. Money will come and that is that. Hope all is well with all of you and enjoy what you are doing, or find something you do enjoy.