The Good With The Bad

[reevesr1]

I went skiing with my 16 yr old son and his friend along with bcube yesterday. Heard Castle had been getting lots of powder and Ben had a day off from school, so it seemed a perfect opportunity. We got to the top of the hill to be greeted with some fresh pow and very, very flat light. We hit Drifter and started down. Boot top and deeper powder, but crappy underneath. Combine that with the total inability to see anything and a 49 yr old trying to keep up with 2 16 yr olds and a early 20 something and you get one exhausted ass old man by the time we got to the bottom (and I think if you ask Brent he would say keeping up to the 16 yr olds was no simple task for him either).

 

To add insult to injury, it seems as I've gotten older I've become more susceptible to motion sickness (maybe I'll tell a couple of seasickness stories one day. My friends back home call me the human chum line). Flat light combined with bumpy skiing brings on a feeling very similar to seasickness. It started to hit me on the lift up for the second run. I thought a couple of runs on groomers would cure me, but it turned out that I was too dizzy and nauseated to continue. In fact, it took me around 1/2 an hour to make my way down on the groomers from the top of the 1st chair. I was one sick puppy. I did manage to fight off the urge to puke, but probably should have just went with it. By the time I got back to the lodge I was drenched in sweat. Took 4 hrs to recover and ski a bit in the afternoon(following my nap from 12 to 1). I had never felt so old. As I sat in the lodge by myself, I actually started to wonder if my best years truly were behind me. I mean I can't ski flat light without getting sick for *&^% sake.

 

All these feelings had dissipated as I slid my hand under my first trout this morning (you were wondering what this had to do with fishing weren't you?) All feelings of "the best in behind me" had faded away to be replaced with feelings of absolute contentment with my place in life. I've started to wonder if fishing is my mid-life crisis obsession? But I don't think so as I've never really been in crisis. Life for me has always been pretty damn good.

 

I've fished my whole life. I lived for it when I was a kid. I did other things, played lots of sports and loved to play golf, but fishing was #1 with a bullet. But through my late teens and into my 20s (girls, golf, various team sports, job) and 30s (family, golf, various team sports, job) I didn't fish much. As I aged and my skill level in team sports dipped below a level I could accept, fishing started to take a more prominent role. As my oldest son became interested in fishing (and I picked up a fly rod one day) fishing supplanted golf as my favorite past-time. But fly rods and kis aside, I think for me this would have happened anyway (and I doubt I am unique in this). I believe this is because I came to realize I am better fisherman now than I was at any point in my life in the past. My waning physical skills have not detracted one drop from the skills necessary to drag those poor defenseless creatures from the depths.

 

Never again will I dive to catch a baseball or football. I hit a 350 yd, non wind aided drive just after a thunderstorm when I was 24 (1984-Persimmon driver, balata ball, very little roll). Pretty sure I will never duplicate that feat. I can't possibly hang with the young flat bellies on the ski hill. I may one day puke because I can't see the freakin' moguls. But I can still hike down a hill (though the trip back up gets slower) slip quietly into the water, and feel the thrill of my line tightening and laugh out loud when a trout makes a wild jump. And I have no doubt I'll be better at 60, or 70, and if I am completely blessed 80 than I am now. And that is a comforting thought.

[SteveM]

Way to put things in perspective, Rick.

Of course, the bottom line is: Yer gittin' old, Tex!

Just remember, we're all in this together...

 

[ÜberFly]

Maybe you should have eaten at MacDonald's on the way to the hill!!

 

P

 

 

quote name='rickr' date='Apr 4 2009, 09:41 PM' post='81795']

 

To add insult to injury, it seems as I've gotten older I've become more susceptible to motion sickness (maybe I'll tell a couple of seasickness stories one day. My friends back home call me the human chum line). Flat light combined with bumpy skiing brings on a feeling very similar to seasickness. It started to hit me on the lift up for the second run. I thought a couple of runs on groomers would cure me, but it turned out that I was too dizzy and nauseated to continue. In fact, it took me around 1/2 an hour to make my way down on the groomers from the top of the 1st chair. I was one sick puppy. I did manage to fight off the urge to puke, but probably should have just went with it. By the time I got back to the lodge I was drenched in sweat. Took 4 hrs to recover and ski a bit in the afternoon(following my nap from 12 to 1). I had never felt so old. As I sat in the lodge by myself, I actually started to wonder if my best years truly were behind me. I mean I can't ski flat light without getting sick for *&^% sake.

 

 

[Taco]

Thanks Rick

[reevesr1]

Maybe you should have eaten at MacDonald's on the way to the hill!!

We did! Sausage and egg mcmuffin for me. But the kids got 2 each. Didn't slow them down. Brent wisely abstained.

[Castuserraticus]

Getting older is better than the only other alternative.

 

A friend the same age as you and I told me a similar skiing story recently. Scientifically, it can be attributed somewhat to lack of practice. My friend, like many of us, was just generally more active in the past. Our brain is adaptable (neuroplasticity). When we are active, the balance controllers get lots of stimulation and are strengthened. Sitting in front of a computer 6-10 hrs a day allows them to atrophy. Quit work and ski full time and the problem will likely go away.

 

Our life stories are very similar. I sometimes think wistfully of the "good old days" when I was younger and much more active. However, I know in 10-20 years that today will be one of the good old days. I no longer play hockey with the boundless energy of 10 years ago. Now I revel in playing better positionally, putting a laser beam pass onto the tape of a breaking forward, and hearing from the younger guys that I'm pretty quick "for a guy your age". On our recent vacation to Costa Rica I didn't once dive into the sand to dig out a shot in beach volleyball but I could still run with the young guys in soccer - for a while anyway.

 

Yesterday I got out fishing for the first time this year. The stress of the economy and uncertainty about the future of my own small company had kept me bound to my desk. Walking along the river on the irregular terrain of untracked snow and ice was tiring. A few times I broke through unseen crusts into cavities of unknown depth. I wondered if there was cell reception in case I slipped into something and cracked a bone. My upper back muscles were tired and sore after waving a 5wt rod for 4 hours. I had to claw my way up the steep path from the river to my truck. It was a great day.

 

I landed 4 rainbows of 6 hookups. All were strong fighters. The last one, never seen, simply swam away effortlessly until the hook released. This first trip was a bit of a frenzy. I didn't really stop to drink in the scenery or admire the colouration of the fish. I just wanted to fish. Part of this is attributable to age.

 

There's about a 20 year period in my life where I fished rarely. Although the desire was always there, other priorities were higher - school, work, marriage, kids. Starting again was a conscious and selfish decision. Now each trip is precious because there aren't many of them. I am trying to cram 20 years of learning into a few years but I think I can do it because I'm a more conscious student than I used to be. I now recognize the vast amount of knowledge available to those who ask and I actively seek out answers.

 

[reevesr1]

Dr. Mr. Erraticus,

I would like to kindly ask you to not be more thoughtful and lyrical than I when replying to my posts. I would greatly appreciate.

 

Nice read, thanks!

[ÜberFly]

Exaxctly! And you didn't hear him whining about a sore tummy!!

 

 

We did! Sausage and egg mcmuffin for me. But the kids got 2 each. Didn't slow them down. Brent wisely abstained.

 

[alan2]

I sympathize with you rickr, my balance is getting much worse as I age, although I didn't do too badly out skiing the K-country backcountry powder on saturday. The flat light throws me off too, but not to the point of nausea. However this nausea is a fairly common condition with a fix, these days. Maybe you have it.

 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41...2/ai_n16370835/

 

Crystals dislodge in the inner ear and cause the condition. For my balance probs I do exercises on a balance board I made, which helps a bit. There are also specific exercises that sports physiotherapists can show you to retrain the ankle proprioceptors. The exercisies involve closing eyes, stand with one foot slightly forward, slowly rotate head left and right 6-10 times. Focus on maintaining balance when your head is held still after those movements. Repeat at least 6 times.

 

I even have trouble wading if I can't see the bottom. What a nuisance. And I suspect if I stand up in a drift boat and cast I might tumble out, too.

 

Anyway, hope this info helps.

[dube]

I'm not sure if if you need to worry about your age just yet.

 

Flat light powder conditions are difficult no matter how old you are. I remember a day at Louise a few years ago and it had snowed a lot the night before and was still coming down when we got there and visibility was the pits. We got into one of the bowls and you really couldn't see anything.... I guess you could see everything but it was all white so it was nothing to look at reference wise. So I pointed down and let her rip, I started off a bit fast and widened my turns out to check my speed. All of a sudden I just stopped and lost my balance and fell over, a tad dizzy. I stood up and gave a little nudge to get going and fell again, turns out I was pointing uphill. On one of my turns I held on too long and next thing you know I had done a complete horse shoe. All I could do was laugh, this had never happened to me before but I did find it quite amusing. We spent the rest of the day in the trees where you could see something and it helped.

 

Don't lose hope yet Rick. I know plenty of guys pushing 60 who can still out ski most people. Maybe not 16 year old whippersnappers but they are a breed of their own, also have not tasted their own mortality yet.