One aspect of skiing that every skier deals with is travel. It's inevitable, particularly out West. Today was an 11 hour van ride from Walla Walla to Truckee, CA. I used to dread these long drives, but i have learned to cope with them. The trick relies on acceptance and altered expectations. When I start a van ride, I alter my world view so that the world is the interior of the van. This leads to a low standard of living, as you might imagine, and low expectations of life. In this semi isolation, the small things become big deals: having a pillow, a good book, music, conversation, gas station stops. The stops are incredibly exciting- an enlargening of the world! Because of this perspective, I am happy and satisfied on the van rides.

Using this trick has also taught me to be cautious not to fall into the same technique in everyday life. Because it is easy to narrow your world to your immediate surroundings and lower your expectations, and thus be satisfied but never fulfilled, you have to guard against it. Be aware of the size of your world and if it doesn't include life outside your range of vision, it's too small!

Now I'm in Truckee, CA and looking forward to skiing at the beautiful Auburn Ski Club tomorrow morning!