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Be Silly, Please 🙏

Skiers enjoy Alta patio vibes on a sunny day. ◙ Erin Carr

My alarm goes off at 6 a.m. It’s a silly idea to go backcountry skiing at this point, given there’s almost no snow, but we plan to anyway. Or, we plan to plan to try. Over breakfast and coffee, the plan slowly deteriorates. One partner is injured, the other barely slept, and I’m in no mood to push for a sufferfest.

I’m already awake, so I kick back, watch soccer and drink more coffee (duh). Eventually, skis are loaded into cars, and I make my way up to Alta. We boot up in the parking lot, surrounded by a steady stream of people walking by in ski blades. An inordinate amount of ski blades. Actually, I think everyone outside of myself and the few friends I came up with have blades.

On the patio, Andrew Pollard is dressed in a black-and-white-striped referee uniform and wields a megaphone, which he has no problem using on anyone and everyone. On the table in front of him, a gold spray-painted lamp post is adorned with a matching gold spray-painted cheese grater. I learn this trophy will be presented to the winner of today’s ski blade freeski competition.

Apparently, everyone who is anyone is participating in the blade comp. There are a few people on purpose-built blades, but most have taken an angle grinder to their setup for the season and remounted bindings on the amputated sticks. Some have crafted swallowtails. Someone obviously split one ski into two asymmetrical skis, seeing as the tail is now one tip.

Suddenly, I become self-concious of my serious attire: long skis, snowpants, a christmas sweater. (Ok, not that serious, but in comparison it feels serious). It’s a juxtaposition I have found myself both a part of and an observer of this past year. We engage in a silly-yet-serious sport. And while I’m not here to downplay the seriousness, it’s refreshing to be immersed in the silliness today. Ski bladers make ridiculous turns, use each other as gates, and a band jams live music on the patio.

My ride leaves me, I stay to dance, and the party moves to a DJ setup in the back of someone’s car in the parking lot. I find another ride, a friend of a friend who lives nearby to me (I think), and we dance until the sun sets and then some.

—Liam

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