70
|
WINTER
2017
I suppose I havemy
parents toblame...
growingup in theGatineauhills,
close to skiingandamazing trails
for hikingandbiking.When I first
visited theCollingwoodarea
some tenyearsago, I began to
feel likeakidagainandwho
doesn’t love that feeling?
Is it not theclosest thing to living
freeandpure?
Weall growup far too fast in
thisworldand lifequicklygets
cloudywith responsibilities. It’s
easy toget caught up in it all;
the rat race toprogress inour
careersandprovide for the
future…But,what about thehere
andnow?Formanyof us the
futureneverarrivesbecause it’sa
dreamyouarealwaysworking
towards. It’salwaysabout
tomorrow.
Making themove to the
GeorgianBayarea isall about
living for today. It’sabout the
hereandnowand feeling like
akidagain.
I suppose it’salsoabout ‘who
youknow’—mybrotherandhis
familymoved to theCollingwood
areayearsearlierand invitedme
up foraweekendof skiingback
in2007.My sister-in-lawwasa
local andhadgrownup living
at thebaseofGeorgianPeaks
SkiClub.
Itmust havebeenagoodweek-
endbecause I leftwithamember-
shipbrochureandabig smileon
my face. Iwasamazedat how
good the skiing scenewas.Great
terrainandvertical pitch (for
Ontario) - similar towhat I had
skied in theOutaouaisandevery-
onecould really ski! I hadn’t
beenonboards innearly10
yearsbutmypassion for the sport
was suddenly re-ignited. The
alpineprogramsmade it an ideal
familyactivitywitheveryoneout
on thehill andparticipating. I
wouldwatch (and still see) the
5yearoldsworka ski at avery
advanced level. TheHouse
leagueand Interclub ski racing
foradultsaddedmore fuel to the
fire.Mybrotherand I could risk
everythingandcompeteagainst
eachotherat theweekly races.
Thiswasanexercise inSibling
Rivalry101with the loserbuying
thebeerat thebarafterwards… I
forgetwhowonwhat racebut
egoswere surelybruisedalong
theway. The70+agegroups
wouldhave similarwagersand
beequallycompetitive.While I
didn’t yet havea familyofmy
own, thisnew setting looked like
theperfect long termplan.
IwasALL in.
Then ImetDiana,mywife tobe,
and shebegan tocomeup for
weekendvisits. Shequickly fit in
with the ‘quiet and reserved’
sceneat theClub. Maybe there
wasalso LivelyCupweekend in
there somewhere?
MAKING
MOVE
7
Words | Photos | Nick Hamilton
escarpment l iving
Left: NickwithRyder (Winter 2016)
Right: DianawithBrody
{
Making themove to theGeorgianBayarea isall
about living for today. It’sabout thehereand
nowand feeling likeakidagain.
