A Full Life

Happy Wednesday! A short and sweet newsletter today; a little ahead of schedule because I’m moving next week and don’t think there’s any chance I’ll be able to cross “write newsletter” off my to-do list alongside “pick up couch,” “return uhaul,” and “get cash for tipping movers.”

So here’s a little blurb from the archives. I wrote this coming off the longest break I’ve ever taken from work (barring being unemployed) after my office was closed 12/20 - 1/2. I skied and spent as much time with friends as possible — and once it was all said and done, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy to be sitting at my desk with sore legs.

So naturally, we’re gonna talk some more about hut trips and skiing. See you at the bottom.

Backcountry Chronicles

When I look back on 2024, I’m struck by the sheer mass of how much I have to be thankful for. Between great books, candles that straight up smelled like heaven, living in the coziest house ever while finding the coziest apartment ever, getting to know a plethora of new friends while sustaining amazing relationships with old friends, and of course, being outside as much as possible.

All sorts of inspiration was brewing after 2024 and it nearly burst out of me when I read Kellyn Wilson’s TOGS letter about hut trips; one of the more heartfelt, heartwarming, and resonant pieces I’ve ever read. I especially loved this quote:

The good kind of tired. Like the tired I am after I finish writing this newsletter late at night!

One of the best parts of the good kind of tired is the way your brain gets tired, too. Suddenly, all the trivial concerns of life and monotony falls away, and the questions you didn’t realize were plaguing you bubble up to the surface. As much as I love skinning before the sunrise, some of my most helpful and beneficial times on the skin track were the days I was glued to my desk starting at 8AM and was able to sneak away around 3PM to get outside.

On the drive up, my brain is racing and replaying some of the more stressful parts of my day, but by the time I’m 1/8th of the way up Loveland, it all melts away. I’m suddenly enamored by how beautiful the sunset is, how good the cold feels on my face, and the sound of my skins sliding across the snow.

Midway through 2024, I told some friends that my hope for the rest of the year was to be able to look in the mirror, have the courage to ask the hard questions, and more importantly, stick around for the answers. Internal excavation is where growth happens

My hope for 2025 for myself (and for all of you! All of my friends! Everyone, really!) is to give myself the space for that same excavation - whether it be via outdoor adventures or just sitting in my bed with a journal. What habits do I have that don’t serve me anymore? Where are my bind spots? What am I proud of? What have I not been proud of?

For me, all the answers to those questions have come up after being tired, so here’s a list of things that have recently made me feel the good kind of tired:

• Listening to an episode of Diabolical Lies and sitting in silence for a full 10-15 minutes afterwards digesting all of the absolute bombs that Katie and Caro just dropped on me.

• Waking up at 4:30AM to skin Loveland with a best friend and new friend last Friday.

• Filling out my wealth planner (shoutout KGT!)and making a financial plan for 2024.

• Re-reading Between Two Kingdoms and 1. marveling over how f*cking amazing of a writer Suleika is and 2. intermittently crying (yes, this book made me cry.)

• This episode of the Money with Katie show about taking action offline, consumerism and community. I paused it multiple times while driving to sit and let some of the knowledge they dropped sink in.

• Skiing at A-Basin all day Saturday and pushing myself harder than I ever have on that mountain to keep up with the group I was with (12/10 recommend putting yourself in situations where you’re the worst skier in your group. Complete guarantee that you’ll push yourself and get better.)

• Watching YouTube videos about belaying, taking notes, and trying to wrap my arms around climbing. New hobby alert!

• Writing an article for work and editing, more editing, and then checking all of my sources.

• Going to the gym and following a new workout plan that involves venturing into the depths of gym bro land (ie: the weights section).

• Writing this newsletter!!!

Growth is a gift.

Artiste Break

No new art this week because I’m a grandma and threw out my back on Saturday, so hunching over a desk is a little unattainable at the moment. Here’s a piece of art I saw online that especially hit home with the upcoming move.

Editors note: She’s only moving eight blocks the street, but let her have a moment, okay?

To Go Snacks

⛷️ An Illinois skier who visited Park City during the holidays filed a class-action federal lawsuit against Vail Resorts on Thursday on behalf of himself and “thousands” of guests. The reasoning for the suit is Vail “fail[ing] to warn customers that a strike was imminent and would affect their visit.” I’ve got my popcorn ready for this one.

❄️ I went and saw Joel Gratz from OpenSnow give a talk about the state of the snowpack in early November and absolutely loved his data-driven approach to, well, everything that came out of his mouth (we can always trust meteorologists). There’s a lot of hyperbolic chatter when it comes to climate change (in both directions), so here’s some actual data to show that winters are, in fact, getting warmer.

⛰️ The National Park Services dropped a plan to ban climbing bolts and anchors in wilderness areas after lots of controversy. My two cents is I’m not educated enough on climbing etiquette or rules, so just read as much as you can and figure out how you feel.

Happy turns!

- McCall 🌻

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