There’s been a lot of talk this season about how bad it is.
Not enough snow.
Too much wind.
Wrong temperatures.
“Worst year ever.”
We hear it every day in the shop.
And to be fair, this has not been a banner winter by any objective measure. Snow totals are low. Coverage has been thin. You’ve had to be thoughtful about where you go and when. There’s no denying that.
But here’s the thing.
Elaine and I have been skiing almost every day.
Not perfect skiing. Not bottomless. Not face shots on demand. But real skiing. Quiet mornings. Soft turns where you find them. Sun breaking through trees. A skin track winding through cold woods. Moments that feel unreasonably good given the conditions on paper.
Recently, two customers came in after skiing Eldora.
I asked the first how his day was. He paused, smiled a little, and said,
“Ah… it was perfect. So beautiful up there.”
Ten minutes later, I asked another customer the same question.
“Another day at Suckdora,” he said.
Same mountain. Same weather. Same snow.
Wildly different experiences.
Skiing has always been like surfing that way. You don’t get to order conditions off a menu. You read the day, you adjust your expectations, and you take what’s offered. Sometimes it’s all-time. Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes the joy is in simply being out there at all.
That doesn’t mean standards don’t matter. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hope for storms. But it does mean attitude plays a bigger role than we like to admit.
This season has required a little creativity and a little humility. It’s asked us to slow down, look closer, and appreciate smaller wins. And honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.
The other good news? Patterns are shifting. We’ve had multiple days of snow recently, and more looks to be on the way. Winter isn’t done yet.
So no, it hasn’t been perfect.
But it’s been good enough. And good enough, when you’re paying attention, can still be pretty damn great.
— Dan & Elaine
Larry’s Bootfitting
