Crazy 8's

It's 5 am on a cold winter morning, you drag yourself out of bed, grab the gear and head out the door. Each step of the way you question every life decision you've made to get you to this point; "What am I doing? Why do I do this? Is it even worth it?" After a drive to the base of the mountain, you gear up, strap on your skis and start to climb, just as the sun rises over the horizon. The questions return but they're a little different this time: "How does air get this cold? We've gone so many steps already are we ever getting there?" and then you see the first light sparkling on fresh snow and think "Does the world ever get prettier than this?" 3000 feet of elevation gain later you climb over the crest of the ridge. Now it's decision time, surrounded by fresh sparkling snow you're faced with the question do I drop or not? Now, it's go time. You rip off the skins, change skis into board form, clamp your boots and give it a little hop. The snow is like dust with each turn, the powder sprays out, and then you reach the drop. For a moment everything is quiet, you're weightless, steering a board making its way down a cloud. Everything is peaceful, yet thrilling at the same time. Every question that ran through your mind is now gone, you know, you're willing to do anything it takes to have that feeling again.