Why I was hitting the slopes until I was 80 | Letters

Letters: David Morgale writes about the sense of accomplishment he felt on the mountains, in response to Emma Loffhagen’s article on skiing being a waste of money. Plus letters from John Carter and Eric J Ascalon

While I accept that Emma Loffhagen may have tried skiing once and hated it, I disagree with most of her conclusions regarding this activity (The hill I will die on: People who ski have more money than sense, 7 March).

In the past it was certainly a sport exclusive to the wealthy, but today it is enjoyed by people at all economic levels. It is possible to rent boots, skis, helmets and clothing that is specially designed for cold weather. Holiday packages and lessons are also available.

Emma says that she has yet to hear a sensible explanation for why it is so popular. I had my first lesson at 45 with a group of six-year-olds and was hooked. I went on to take lessons, and the following year went on an advanced course that was a very steep learning curve.

It is the sense of accomplishment that one gets from matching one’s skills against gravity and the mountain, as well as the concentration that is required.

It is also a great way to forget about your problems and de-stress. I can remember standing on top of a mountain in the sunshine with only the sound of birds and the wind, with a view across hundreds of snow-covered mountain tops.

I agree that it can be seen as elitist and the bars are noisy, but I have had some wonderful meals halfway up a mountain with some great people, most of whom didn’t go to public school.

I finally retired from skiing at the age of 80, having damaged my knee in the only accident I ever had in 35 years. I still walk fine.

I will admit to one negative fact about skiing. Ski boots weigh a tonne and when you take them off at the end of the day, it has to be the greatest relief ever.
David Morgale
Edgware, London

• Emma Loffhagen’s article on skiing brought to mind the aphorism: “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
John Carter
Wimbledon, London

• Emma Loffhagen appears to mistake the glossy resort circus for skiing itself. Yes, there are people sipping champagne on Alpine terraces while electronic dance music rattles the windows. But there is another ski culture entirely – one that begins in frozen parking lots before dawn. It lives in dented Subarus and pickup trucks where people sleep so that they can afford a few hours on the snow. The participants are not hedge-fund managers but teachers, mechanics, healthcare workers, lift operators and assorted snow-obsessed misfits with secondhand skis and boots that smell like wet dog.

For them, skiing is not a luxury lifestyle accessory. It is a stubborn, slightly irrational pursuit of gravity, weather and wild terrain. The mountain does not care who you are, what school you attended or how much money you have. It cares only whether you can stay on your feet.

For many of us, skiing is cold, inconvenient and occasionally terrifying. It is a rejection of luxury and comfort, which is precisely why we are obsessed with it.
Eric J Ascalon
New Jersey, US

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