I've been missing skiing a lot during the Covid Years (last two years)

 It's gotten very complicated regarding skiing. If you watched "The Bubble(2022)" on Netflix then you saw how Kate McKinnon as a studio executive is Skiing somewhere in Europe while everyone else is quarantining for Covid (which is pretty funny in itself) but also true if you were rich enough then.

So, the main thing that stopped me from skiing (downhill) was Covid because I will be 74 soon and 75% of the people dying worldwide the last 2 years from Covid are over 65. So, statistically the easiest way to die (the last two years) is to get Covid if you are my age. And I have lost 2 people that I know so far from Covid and many members of my family now have also had Omicron since December since it is incredibly contagious. And this spring 3 million Chinese (mostly over 65) will die of Covid or more because they were not vaccinated with anything in China.

So, skiing (at least downhill Skiing) didn't seem like a really great idea. I also ski cross country on Mountaineering metal edged skis. But, my friends are not willing to wait for me (because cross country can be almost any conditions because they are usually not groomed where I ski on Mt. Shasta. So, cross country skiing is now a pretty big risk for me at this age if my ski buddies won't wait for me if I fall down in bad conditions on the trails. So, even though I really miss skiing a lot I have to be practical at this point or else I won't survive to be 75 basically.

Even if I want to ski downhill at a ski park like Mt. Shasta Ski Park the conditions have to be perfect for me at this age. I stopped skiing Black Diamond runs a few years ago because I found my right ankle wasn't strong enough anymore doing left turns on steep slopes. So, at one point I took off my skis and walked down in the dark. Then I saw someone go by doing a snowplow very fast. I realized I could also snowplow so I put my skis back on and snowplowed back to the ski Lodge in the dark. This is when I gave up skiing on black diamond advanced slopes.

But, I can still ski good enough to ski on Intermediate slopes so I will likely do that more now that I hope Covid might be slowly fading out. Skiing is my favorite sport to do and always has been. My 2nd favorite sport is snorkeling in Hawaii which I plan to do this fall there with my wife and another couple.

I missed skiing this year a lot but hopefully next year I will be able to do this again.