Why Do We Ski?

By Asit Rathod

I thought my two hundredth ski down from the 11,239 foot summit of Oregon‘s crown jewel, Mount Hood, would have been a little different. It was a peaceful day with no wind, and the sun was shining down on me. Walking towards the summit I broke down and began to cry from the flood of emotions. I started thinking back on the years since my first summit and was amazed at what surfaced.

Sitting on the summit I could only remember less than a dozen epic ski descents out of two hundred. So the question hit me hard .... “Why have I kept coming back to this place so often if it wasn‘t about the skiing?” The tears slowly began turning into uncontrollable laughter as the memories of all the wild and special times came flooding back. In that moment it all made sense: it was never about summiting or the skiing.

The fact is I must have over five to six hundred times skiing from high on Mt. Hood. I have always followed two cardinal rules in the alpine: (1) safety, and (2) fun and happiness.
If neither of these rules are met, I‘m back at my car heading home to spend time with my loved ones.

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Good friends enjoying two feet of fresh snow from the summit down Leuthold's Couloir (Photo: Asit Rathod)

Soaking in the sun that special day, I remembered the first time a climber was really mean to me for bringing my skis to the summit, because he felt it was dangerous and he would have to rescue me if I got hurt. I remembered skiing the north side naked for the first time just because I could. I remembered bringing up a stuffed Boobie Bird for the son of my love because he wanted his Boobie to get to the summit. I remembered watching a boy named Bryce become a man before my eyes while spreading the ashes of his father Mark Cartier, one of the greatest climbers I've ever known, on the summit. I remembered spreading the ashes of too many friends taken before their time. I remembered every smile of every friend who came with me to the summit for their first time. I remembered the faces of every friend who told me while standing on the summit that this was one of the greatest days of their lives.

We all go to the mountains for many different reasons. It can be to escape the humdrum of day to day life. It can be we are searching to understand ourselves just a little better. It can be to feel, just for a moment, like a superhero. It can be that we need to find a bit of happiness when it feels like the darkness of life is winning the battle.

 

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Black McCoy coming through the Pearly Gates just shy of the summit (Photo: Asit Rathod)

What I know is the evolution of skiing and mountaineering has led us to this moment. It is no longer about being the first, the fastest, or who's done it the most often. It is about being like an artist entering the mountains with fluidity and harmony – matching the vibrations of this moment in our life with the alpine. We must respect the time we have been given by pushing the human spirit into places that once lived in our dreams. The Dali Lama has been asked many times “What is the meaning of life? He has always smiled and said “Happiness.” So what I do know now on my two hundredth summit that I did not know on my first is that we go to the mountains to find our happiness, because the future is beautiful, my friends.

About the author:
Asit Rathod grew up skiing on Mount Hood from the age of 5 He is a “suit” by day, but a big mountain athlete at heart. Asit spent 5 years skiing and climbing 200+ days a year between Chamonix, France and Las Lenas, Argentina. Having skied from Mt. Hood’s 11,239 foot summit over 210 times, he can be considered the snow sports ambassador to the state of Oregon. Asit works for Findlay of Wilsonville. He is a product ambassador for Volkl skis, TREW clothing, Zeal Optics, IceBreaker, and Naked Winery.

The Mt. Hood Community Mourns the Death of Mike Heffernan

By Ben Jacklet
Excerpted from Ben Jacklet’s articles in ShredHood.org

Mike Heffernan shredding Mount Hood. Photo by Randy Boverman

Mount Hood’s one and only Mike Heffernan died on Friday, August 19, 2016, after suffering severe injuries in a motorcycle crash on Mt. Hood. He was 53.

Mike was a lifelong ski racer, an enthusiastic motorcyclist, a retired cop and a dedicated family man with an edgy sense of humor and a profound sense of loyalty. He is survived by his children Mac and Kennedy, his sister Colleen, his brother Tim, his parents Sheila and Mike, Sr. and a large community of friends and family.

Mike Heffernan grew up skiing on Mount Hood with his sister Colleen and his brother Tim and got deep into racing at Sun Valley in Idaho during high school. He graduated from Eastern Oregon State College in 1987 before embarking on a career in law enforcement, serving with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office for more than 20 years.

Mike developed Young Onset Parkinson’s disease in his early 40s, but even after he retired from law enforcement he refused to give up the adrenaline-fueled activities that he loved. He continued to finish among the top racers in Schnee Vogeli Ski Club races, reveled in his epic motorcycle adventures, and tied for first in this year’s Ski to Defeat ALS vertical challenge at Mt. Hood Meadows. In winning the 2016 vertical challenge he skied nearly 60,000 feet in six hours while contending not only with his Parkinson’s, but also with a brutal bone spur on his foot that would later require surgery. He skied with intensity to win that trophy, and I am willing to bet that anyone who rode the lift with him that day remembers him vividly.

Mike was fascinated by the phenomenon that his Parkinson’s seemed to vanish at high speeds, enabling him to ski at 50 miles an hour or race his motorcycle at 120 miles an hour on the same day that he would freeze up so badly while just standing there that he would sometimes fall backwards and need help to get back up. Often he would catch his symptoms before they incapacitated him, and break into a vigorous run or calisthenics to fend them off. People sometimes thought he was joking or putting on an act, but he insisted it was real.

“When I can’t walk I can run,” he told me once. “As long as I am active, as long as I am using my mind and looking ahead and mentally interested in what’s going on, I have no symptoms. I can ride seven hours, eight hours, no problem.” 

Mike believed that downhill racing is “the most exhilarating thing you can do on skis,” which helps explain why he could still rip it in his 50s, with Parkinson’s.  Arcing a skid-free turn at high speed was embedded in his muscle memory, Parkinson's or no.

The Heffernan family asks that any donations be sent to Rock Steady Boxing, a Parkinson's support group made possible by Kimberly Berg, at 21983 S Sailing Rd, Estacada, OR97023, in honor of Michael V. Heffernan, Jr.

Rest in peace, Mike. We will miss you.

Excerpted from Ben Jacklet’s August 23, 2016 article in Shredhood.org

Ben wrote an earlier article about Mike, and what it is like to get Parkinson’s when you are young, what that disease takes away, and how people adapt and keep moving, sometimes in surprising ways. It is also a story about the importance of community.