Too Young...

We are always super excited for the winter season to start...Craig & I love snowboarding and that's why we live in the mountains, right? This season started off great with a trip to Switzerland, which Craig fell in love with and cannot wait to return to... Then we came back to UTAH and there was nothing...no snow and no snow? Crazy, huh? Mid January came and we finally had some decent storms rolling in after a month and a half of a dry spell. We all know what this means...riding the white and fluffy powdahhh is what makes our hearts beat faster. Catching first lifts at PCMR and enjoying every second of it was amazing!!! We could be ski bums for all I know and be completely happy and satisfied...the outdoors are amazing in UT and we love this kind of lifestyle. Maybe that is also part of the reason we want to move back to PC so badly, not only friends but being able to get up and be on the mountain within 10 minutes is just amazing. We rather sacrifice living in a big home in the valley and will most likely live in a small condo or apartment...just because the quality of life up there is what really matters to us! Back to where it all started...

Now to what really has been on my mind. Two amazing people have passed away this month doing what they love...skiing and snowboarding.

One is the famous 29 year old freeskiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died  during a training session in PC's half pipe. What a loss! She was such a great person and so inspiring to so many female athletes because she pushed so hard to get females to be able to compete in her sport in events such as the X-Games. Female freeskeeing was finally accepted into the 2014 Winter Olympics and all Sarah wanted to do is compete and fulfill that dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. She died too young! My friend Kristy actually knew her very well. The day she died we went on a long run and she told me all about Sarah. Kristy worked at Quicksilver/Roxy and developed Sarah's first Ski's with Roxy for her. She said that Sarah was so accomplished yet so humble and nice, which was rare in this industry.

Watch this video below and you can see how her husband Rory just adores her because she is just such a genuinely great person inside and out.

Then there is Alecs Barton, a 24 year old kid that was about to graduate from the U of U. He was the most genuine person that you would have known. He looooooooooved the outdoors and his girlfriend! He was experienced in the backcountry and was always equipped with the gear necessary, i.e. beacon, shovel...you name it. He was  cautious and educated himself of snow and avalanche conditions before he would embark on a hike up the Wasatch Front with many of his friends. But last Saturday, he for some reason fell short of knowing that the conditions where tricky and not meant for him to go snowboarding in. He died in an avalanche...and with him gone a lot of people just lost one of their best friends ever. He was the most amazing person that lived his life to the fullest and the way he wanted it, without any regrets. He left a lot of people behind that will miss him every second of their lives. He had more amazing adventures in his short life than most people have in their full lives. My friend went with him last summer on a Canyonlands mountain bike tour...they had the most amazing time and he wished he had one more day with this awesome kid who showed everyone how to really live!

Watch this fun video of him catching some awesome days up in the Wasatch:

It makes me unbelievably sad that amazing young people like this die! Yet it also makes me take a look at my own life and lets me know that tomorrow can be my last day so I better have fun and enjoy every minute I have left without any regrets. Love Life!