5 Stages of End-of-Season Grief

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End-of-season grief. If you are a skier or a snowboarder, you have experienced it before. As the days get warmer, the Ski Resorts start to close their doors for the summer. And while your neighbor may be rejoicing to see the sun again so she can hang by the pool all day, the feeling is not mutual. Skiers and snowboarders alike start to go through what is known as the five stages of end of season grief. Think you might be experiencing this? If you are going through one of the stages below due to ski resorts closing, it is very possible.

Denial

You might be in the denial stage if it is the End of the Season and you are still trying to convince yourself that the resorts aren’t really closing. You might be telling yourself that they are just shutting down for the weekend so they can prepare the runs for…Summer Skiing? This logic will eventually stop working for you. But that’s okay, because although the ski resorts may be closed, the backcountry isn’t! You pull out your backcountry gear and get ready to hike for some snow. Your denial starts to wear off as you trek through dirt and mud only to find a few turns at the top of the peak. This isn’t the kind of skiing you were hoping for. You step into the next stage.

Anger

If you find yourself spontaneously yelling at Mother Nature for taking away winter, you may be experiencing the anger stage of grief. In this stage you will most likely spend your days complaining to your friends and family about the weather until they can no longer be around you. Eventually you will realize that getting angry with Mother Nature, the snow gods, or anyone else for that matter will not get you anywhere. You enter the next stage.

Bargaining

If you are in the bargaining stage you may find yourself on Expedia.com searching flights to Whistler, Mt. Hood, Chile, Switzerland….or anywhere that the snow lives on through the summer. You are probably telling yourself it doesn’t have to be over. You could skip town for the summer. You could do it. But then you realize, you have a job. A real job. You’re trapped. You come to the conclusion that skipping town isn’t going to work. You move on to the next stage.

Depression

You have now started binge watching ski movies while making a countdown paper chain for opening day of next season. Yes, you have made it to the fourth stage of depression. This stage also includes reminiscing through old pictures of powder days from the season and looking through Instagram Feeds of your friends who were able to escape to Canada or South America for the summer. Living vicariously through movies and pictures is nice, but it isn’t fixing anything. There is no way you are sitting around all summer watching movies in your room. You step into the final stage.

Acceptance

Okay so the season is over. It’s not like there aren’t any other ways to spend time in the great outdoors. You put your Skis in storage and pull out your summer gear! It is time to spend days playing on the lake or on the trails biking and hiking. Sure, you are sad to see winter go, but summer is great too! Utah Skis is also getting ready to take on the summer. Look out for summer gear coming to the website soon!

Written by Jessica Osterloh