Skiing and Adulting During a Record-Breaking Utah Winter
Katelyn Kommer
I just cleaned my room for what feels like the first time all winter. And it’s mid-April. Snow started to accumulate in the Wasatch Mountains mid-October, and it hasn’t stopped for six months. Storm cycle after storm cycle has dumped fresh powder into the ski resorts right outside of Salt Lake City, where I live and (attempt to) work. On March 24th, Alta Ski Area officially recorded its snowiest season on record. According to the resort’s website, the ski area averages 538” per year. By the end of March, Alta surpassed 800” of snowfall with more storms in the forecast.
Needless to say, this ski season has been beyond phenomenal. This is my third winter in Salt Lake City, and third season as a skier. With my retail work schedule, I’m lucky enough to have Mondays and Tuesdays off so I can hit the resorts with fewer crowds. Every Sunday night the routine has been the same: arrange carpools, make plans, prepare for the snowy drive, and get the gear ready to go. My days off fly by in a flurry of group photos, fresh powder, lift beers, and fleece layers. I do my best to cram all my chores in during my work week so I can spend all day skiing whenever I can. While I’ve been happier than ever this winter, adult responsibilities have been lurking. Simply scheduling time for an oil change or to renew my car registration feels like an impossible task while trying to squeeze as much time on the mountain as possible.
I love the stoke and motivation of the outdoor community in Salt Lake City, but it does breed pretty intense FOMO (fear of missing out). Whenever I decide to take a day off to rest my body or take care of chores, there’s this lurking feeling that I should be outside instead. And of course, social media doesn’t help. Consuming videos and photos of my friends’ powder lines and epic ski days sometimes make me question if I’ve even done enough this season. I certainly have some really fun videos and photos from the season, but if I don’t put them into a trendy reel did I really experience it? While I absolutely love powder skiing, the madness and frenzy of chasing the “best lines” possible just isn’t worth it to me.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve reflected on what I’m taking away from this season. I certainly have certain all-time days in mind where the snow was phenomenal. However, all my stand-out memories are associated with who I spent those days with. A group of friends and I did a road trip to Big Sky, Montana and ended up missing out on fresh snow back at home. But, I didn’t feel like I had missed out one bit. I’ve realized that who I’m driving up the canyon with is more important to me than how many inches of snow we got overnight. I whole-heartedly disagree with the popular expression “there’s no friends on a powder day”. While I have no problem taking a solo ski day, I would much rather share the stoke with friends than head off on my own just to get fresh tracks.
Because the skiing has been so good this year, I’ve been able to connect and bond with friends across different groups and join in on massive social ski days. It’s felt as if the whole city has been focused solely on the snow total for the last six months, and now that the sun is coming back out we don’t know what to do with ourselves. It’s always so strange when the outdoor store I work at pulls all the ski gear off the floor and transitions to bikes while the resorts are still open. Meanwhile, the bikers and trail runners seem to come out of hibernation and suddenly trailheads are full by 8 am. This constant ebb and flow of activity can be exhausting, and hard to take a step back from. Whether it’s sunny, snowing, raining, or windy, there’s always a way to get outside and play in Utah.
Over the last three years, I’ve had to really work to schedule in personal time for myself. What I’ve found to (somewhat) work for me is to have one dedicated day a week to do my weekly chores, and one weekend every few months to reset and chill. However, a lot of these days have been shucked to the side due to a friend offering me a ride up the canyon for some powder skiing, or a beautiful sunny day for a trail run. I definitely don’t have the balance quite figured out yet, even though on social media I appear to be having fun all of the time. When friends and family ask me “how I have time to do everything,” my quick response is that my room is always a mess.
