It continues to snow here in Summit County, we had a serious snow squall/storm come through this afternoon, kind of peaking as i was Nordic skiing after the mountain closed and for the drive a few miles south of Breck to our condo. Nice! Tomorrow should be a genuine powder day, which is very exciting to have getting into April and is more than i had expected when we made our plans to be in CO for the 2nd half of the season.
I couldn't be happier, as the quantity and quality of the skiing we have had these last 6 - 7 weeks has been sublime. Still, both Mu and i have this nagging feeling that the mid 30's ski bum life leaves something a little lacking when compared to our days traveling.
In that vein, it has been interesting realizing that we aren't creating as many new and unique memories while here as opposed to traveling. Those 6 months of traveling abroad created the most memories per day/week/month of any period of my life. While things are amazing here, that ratio has dropped back to its historical norm. As a result, i came up with the Memory Index, basically the number of distinct and important memories divided by a set time period. In general for my life, when the Memory Index is high, my life is going well and i am excited about what is around and in front of me. When that index drops off, things are probably in a lull or i am going through a tough time.
As i have thought about this a bit more, i keep coming back to an econ concept that i studied in great depth back in undergrad, that of reference points. In essence a reference point frames people's perception of various experiences, and the findings in behavioral econ have shown that we react more dramatically to pains, things that drop us below that reference point, than to gains, those events that bring our utility above the starting point.
As it applies to our experience here in Breck, my reference point for this time was higher than when we traveled. Here, i expected to ski, one of my absolute passions, nearly every day. So, when i ski every day, i am just 'merely' fulfilling those expectations. Of course, i have had unforgettable memories here, with amazing runs both in and out of bounds. For example, here are some turns i took on Sunday, on a back country tour on the ridge above our condo. But, the turns and days can run together when they come so fast and furious.
On the road, my reference point was decidedly lower, in that uncertain environment it would have been irrational to expect or demand much on a day to day basis. As a result, everything cool and memorable that occurred came as a bonus. And we certainly had a ton of things happen that we will remember forever.
Right now, it is off to bed, that powder won't ski itself and need to make some enduring memories tomorrow.
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