A blog about winter in the PNW would be incomplete without mentioning skiing. This sport has been a constant enjoyment of mine since my early youth. From my hometown of Bend, Oregon; I was able to visit Mount Bachelor most weekends since it is just a thirty minute drive from town. This enabled me to build a skillset that I will continue to use for the rest of my life. However, the sport itself is at a point of crisis and is increasingly becoming inaccessible for many.
I was especially fortunate enough to continue skiing into college. However, I witnessed many of my friends’ families lose the ability to afford ski passes. The real issue is not that skiing itself is too expensive of a sport, rather resorts can overcharge more each year. Unfortunately, this is a widespread phenomenon that is much too common across the US.
Colorado’s renowned Vail ski resort began spinning chairs in 1962 and charged a fee of five dollars for a daily lift ticket. Even in its early days, the resort upheld high-quality operations and opened the country’s first gondola in 1966. By that same year, the resort granted visitors six square miles of available ski terrain. For reference, Mount Bachelor’s ski boundary today encompasses 6.7 square miles. When considering inflation, a Vail ticket today should cost about 44 dollars, however this season a standard lift ticket rings in at $239.
There really is not another sport that offers the fulfillment that skiing does. The activity itself is incredibly majestic and feels amazing especially on a fresh powder day. I worry that soon the amount of people that are able to enjoy skiing will shrink immensely due to rising prices. This poses its own danger to the mental well being of many as people lose the ability to make it up to the mountain. Overall this leads to a decrease in vitamin D consumption and physical activity. Both of which are necessities to mental wellbeing in the winter.
I hope that many more people get to experience the glory of a great ski day. Recent movements may play a role in shaping this reality. Currently, a group of Bend locals are working to buy back Mount Bachelor from Powdr Corporation, which many believe to be the company responsible for huge price increases at the mountain. If this type of ideology can penetrate other mountain communities, there is hope that skiing can improve the lives of countless others.
Disclaimer: This post contains content from my own self-produced work on Mother Nature vs Mother Culture, a magazine released by Jetty Media Group. To read more into this subject, take a look at the full project https://issuu.com/jettymedia/docs/mother_nature_vs_mother_culture
Sources:
https://www.thesnowcentre.com/snowsure/news/the-benefits-skiing-and-snowboarding-has-on-your-mental-health https://discovervail.com/about-us/
Jack Skidmore 
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