Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Like everyone else, the beginning of a new year represents a fresh start for me.  I reminisce on the past year, thinking fondly and sometimes not so fondly of moments that I hope to or hope to not remember forever.  It can be difficult to avoid dwelling on what was not accomplished.  The key is to remember that tomorrow is always a new day, and whether it is January 1st or August 15th, you can resolve to make positive changes in your life any time of the year.  That being said, I have a few of my own that I will be starting…today, though I may choose to tack on more throughout the year.  My goal: make it all 52 weeks without giving up.  Frequent gym goers are familiar with the “January Crowd” – The people that resolve to better themselves by working out, but come February, the gym, like-clockwork, slims down again (pun intended?) when people quit, get too busy and give up.  I challenge you this year to make time for your resolutions.  Don’t be a “January Crowd”.  Push yourself, so that next year, your resolution will not be the same as last year and the year before and the year before and the year before….. but positive additions to your lifestyle.

This year I gained new members to the family and lost some others.  For the family we gained, I love you with my heart.  It is hard to believe there was a time without you because you fit in as if you were always there.  For those we lost, I resolve to remember you everyday.  Remember how you touched our lives, but not dwelling on the last conversation I’d wished we had.

This was my best year yet, I hope 2014 is even better.  Cheers!

xoxo

s

 

 

February….

February has been a rough month, yesterday I learned that I lost a friend, inspiration, and important contributor to the ski industry in the avalanche at Stevens Pass. While I did not know Chris Rudolph as well as some people, I feel especially heart broken because Chris was so welcoming to me from the moment I made the decision to move to the Pacific Northwest. He consistently sent me job postings that he thought I might be interested in and suggested often that I come up to Stevens Pass to take some turns with him.

When we finally met in person this fall, he introduced me to his whole team and told me about some of the marketing strategies that he had been working on throughout the summer at the resort including the huge success of the introductory bike park. When funding was pulled for the downhill mountain bike park at Stevens Pass, Chris used his creativity and innovation to raise enough money to keep the bike park idea alive and in about 36 hours at that. Keep in mind, this was still an idea at this point, dirt hadn’t even been pushed yet. By this point, it was already late in the summer season, and when the park did finally open it was only for one weekend. However, Chris pushed forward, receiving major kudos from mountain bikers both locally and throughout the bike community. This story speaks to the passion that Chris showed for the ski resort industry as a whole, he understood already that Stevens Pass would have skiers and riders flocking to their slopes during the winter, but that bringing those crowds for the summer time was possible as well.

I learned about Chris first, and when the news of Jim and Johnnie followed, I found myself feeling like a disaster. Three ambassadors to our sport that I am sure were mentors, leaders, and inspirations in their own right each. My heart goes out to their families.

photo: hh

This blog is dedicated to finding the positivity in each day, and as very sad as I feel, what I can say is that I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet Chris at all. I will continue to be inspired by his passion, his welcoming and kind personality, and the power that the tight knit ski industry has to support each other.

Before we know it, March will be here.

-h