Weather worries...

All my life, I have behaved like a farmer, that is, looking over my head and wondering what the weather would be. I was, and still am, a “weather worrier.” The ailment is perfectly justifiable; my economic life has always hinged upon having enough snow to ski on, and even today, it continues to be the case with no end in sight.

Like a special breed of people, I generally never worry about elements that I control, but always tend to get down in the dumps for issues that are totally out of my control. This, of course, makes absolutely no sense and has to stop. As a matter of fact, I will quit worrying for the weather starting tonight because it has just begun to snow. Just mark my words!

Tips for staying warm while skiing

Every season is the same. I think I have all my gear ready when I go skiing, and then I discover omething's missing! Even though I've skied six times this season, the fourth day I hit the slopes was bitterly cold. I wasn't warm at all.

Then, I stopped to check my helmet and discovered the vents were wide-open. One hour later I was freezing round my torso; while I was riding the chairlift, I lifted the arms and found out that both opening were unzipped since the last time I skied with that jacket back in April! Will I ever learn?

France or America?

After living more than 35 years in America, I've had my shares of doubts and ups and downs related to the wisdom of having moved from my beloved French Alps. This happened mostly during the early years, when we still lived in New York and when I was missing mountain living so much.

Even though I did a lot of shuttling back and forth over the Atlantic during those years, my heart was always torn apart when I wondered where it truly belonged. As both our children were born and grew-up in North America, they would become the catalyst that forced us to decide in favor of one place over the other.

We moved to Park City, and in so doing, made a commitment for the new world. Almost thirty years later we are so glad we did! The mountains, although not as spectacular as the Alps, are great for skiing, hiking and mountain biking, the climate is phenomenal and the place remains uncrowded, yet it offers the perfect blend of metro-sophistication and rural quaintness.

Not something found in my native valley where most people are still living in the past and consider their present “bubble” quite “normal” without knowing any better. People who've moved around can't just live in these French ski towns alone; they need a “pied-à-terre” in Paris or Lyon to make their existence more bearable and a bit more “civilized...”

Would I enjoy moving back there full time? I don't think so; I'd probably go crazy after two weeks. I would miss the Rockies and America so much that I couldn't stand it. Like a shell is to a tortoise, my French culture is attached to me so no matter where I go, it follows me.

The American culture is not as deeply rooted though, and I would miss it terribly if I had to live out of the United States. So that's about it; I cherish my alpine memories in the rear-view mirror of my life, but go full-steam ahead into the future of America, my new home!

Ski Goals 2013

I've never looked at one single season thinking that I will be doing this, that and another thing. I'm very much goal-oriented for all the other areas of my life, but this approach has never permeated into my skiing outlook. So, the other day, when I was asked “what are you goals for this ski season” I had to think very, very hard!

I first remembered some wise words from Gérard Bouvier, a good friend of mine, who told me just a couple of years ago: “At your age, what do you have to prove?”. You see, I'm very competitive and have always looked at performing better and faster whenever possible. This approach of course has its own limitations as we age and our strength begins to decline.

At that point, we get less nimble and considerably slower. I am not going to argue with my friend and instead, will heed his wise recommendation! So, from that point forward, my goals on skis won't be measured in speed, quickness or slaloming through a tight grove of aspen trees.

Instead, they will be qualitative in nature and will consist of skiing much more often, but when I do it, it will also be much more smoothly and I will focus on saving all of my resources to enjoy a longer, fun-filled day on the slopes.

Sure, I'll go fast when I can and when it makes me more efficient, but never again at the expense of my own safety. I'll think more about being lighter on my skis, on better using the terrain to check my speed, make my turns and be one with the terrain. That's about right, less brute force and more “caresses” on the snow, this is how my skiing will be looking like this season and beyond!

World Cup's Swiss Army Knife?

To make things easier to organize and manage, Ski World Cup organizer love to hold as many events as possible on one single hill. To a degree, this may work for some venues like the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, but it's not always so great elsewhere.

Take Val D'Isère and Bellevarde as an example. The multiple use works to some degree for the downhill, that is nonetheless very much "man-made" in its overall topography. It's also okay as a slalom hill, but doesn't seem to function well when used for Super G or GS.

Yesterday, Ted Ligety got quite vocal about it and posted his dismay on Facebook. He said he had a love-hate relationship with Val D'Isère “An awesome place to ski but an awful race hill” he said. He went on about the steep and short race hill, “they have to set the course very tight, average of 21-22 m from gate to gate, with several under 17 m, at nearly a slalom distance, where all other hills have a 25-32 m distance gate to gate. A few meters makes a huge difference in skiability, especially with the new skis...”

According to Ted that sentiment was echoed by 98% of the racers (Hirscher and Luitz probably begged to differ), so go figure, but Ligety probably has another solid point and his ranting may validate the saying: “Jack of all trades and master of none” when applied to Bellevarde.

Incompetence galore...

Why are big, well established companies doomed? Because they're stuck in their way and they put up with mediocre CEO, managers and employees. Too many rules and an overwhelming fear of loss have dried up any creative juice and fueled mediocrity, whether it's under the form of people or idea.

It feels so much safer to nurture the status-quo than taking any chance. It's not the first time it happens however. Before Microsoft and some other big brands that I won't name here, there were the Roman and the Greek empires...

Cliffs of all kinds...

This month, we are already sick of hearing about the U.S. “Fiscal Cliff.” That cliff, while grossly exaggerated in its real probability and danger is something someone controls and can prevent. The “someone” are our most stupid members of congress that are united under the Republican Party.

Then, there's the “Snow-less Cliff” in Park City, where as the season advances and snow is not showing up, we wonder which economic impact this might have on our small economy.

That later cliff is totally out of our control, and praying or dancing won't make snow start falling. Washing one's car might be the only effective solution!