Jonathan Ellsworth & Cody Townsend, who ski 100+ days a year for a living, would like the rest of us to shut up about poor ski conditions
On the latest Blister podcast, responding to this Powder article about Western skier visits cratering, the host and founder of Blister went off:
> If you live in the West and complain about conditions this year you're "soft as hell"… if you're "complaining you didn't get as many powder days this year, you are living the most privileged life out there"… "I skied 100 days this year"… if you're "gonna bitch the whole time about conditions, I'm sorry, but shut the fuck up"… "either stop skiing, or keep doing it, but just shut the fuck up."
Cody nodded along. I got unusually annoyed. So here's my response, in two parts.
Part 1: We should check our privilege?
The average skier gets 6–10 days a season. If you ski more than 21 days, you're already in the top 7% of skiers. If you're skiing 100+ days, you're in incredibly rarified air. You're the 1% of the 1%, moreso if you get paid to be there.
So when a couple guys who ski 100 days a year, professionally, and live in a mountain town, as their job tells the family that scraped together a week in Utah to shut the fuck up because they're "privileged" to have hit rocks and raindrops the whole time? The irony is doing a lot of heavy-fucking-lifting.
The lecture is coming from inside the gondola.
Part 2: Yes Jonathan. The future of snow is connected to political activism.
Jonathan also tied the rant to climate, saying frustrated skiers should "enact policy change" or shut the fuck up. I agree completely.
The difference is that I did everything I fucking could in this last election cycle (and the one before that and the one before that and every one since I turned 18 and gained the right to vote) to get politicians elected who will do something about climate change. I donated. I phone banked. I annoyed the fuck out of my friends and family making sure they understood the issues and had a plan to vote. I was uniquvocal about who I was supporting and why.
I was also listening to Blister during the last election cycle when Jonathan was serving up the most milquetoast "well, there are good and bad people on both sides I don't want to align myself with a specific party" non-takes you could possibly have on the literal political question of whether the snow keeps falling. You don't get to demand climate activism from your listeners while refusing to say anything more committal than "hmm, complicated" yourself.
That's it. That's my rant.
In your own tempered language: "shut the fuck up," Jonathan. It was a shitty ski season for lots of us. Chill. Get some perspective. And Cody, next time your buddy goes unhinged, maybe tap the brakes?
EDIT: To be clear, I think "it's annoying when people complain too much about conditions, just get out and have fun" is a completely reasonable take. It was the delivery of a 20-minute impassioned profanity-filled whiny lecture-scold that got to me.