A week passed following my last attempt that left me 1300 feet short of my goal. I tried to come to grips with not completing a goal, but being a very goal driven individual I could not shake the disappointment. Even though it was a silly goal that meant absolutely nothing it irritated me that I would let almost 8 months of working towards an outcome fall short by less than a percent of the end goal. I had to see it out.
Eventually topping out we made a quick run up to the summit and enjoyed a beautiful, warm, wind free moment looking at all the surrounding peaks, quietly plotting other adventures for the future. It was so nice to be in the alpine with such nice weather after so many rough outings this spring. I felt incredibly lucky to be experiencing it.
At the end of the day the tour and experience far outweighed the goal, and honestly I did not think about vertical accent the entire day. I mostly thought of how fun it was to be skiing in such a beautiful place with a good friend on such perfect day.
This marked my final tour for the 2018-2019 season bringing an end to my vertical ascent goal and leaving my season total at 252,708 vertical feet.
What I learned is that although challenging at times having a goal got me outside more even when my motivation was low. Skinning through rain, questioning my sanity, I was always happy after making a few turns and thinking to myself without a goal I likely would not have skied today. It made me get more creative with my tours. Going to areas I would not have before, and squeezing in an enjoyable tour in a time slot I may not have considered before. I learned that access and personal free time become large limiting factors and in the end you flat out need the time to skin. If one had endless amounts of free time I think any goal could be achieved, however at a certain level I think it would become monotonous and mentally draining. The key is keeping it fun. I thought after this season I may set another goal next season but I am unsure that I will. I think perusing a larger goal may take away some of the enjoyment of the sport and the reasons why I head out, which in the end is for the experience and excitement. Going skinning just to skin sometimes takes you away from that want to go feeling and turns it into that gotta go feeling. In the end it was a great personal experiment and experience that I took a lot away from and will never forget.
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