DEEP IN THE POCKET

Experienced powder skiers call it the White Room, a region a spacetime where you’re not merely skiing on the snow, but you’re fully immersed in it. Even the most dedicated only get to visit once in a while. Others may only get there once or twice in a lifetime. Each time is a special moment, and even more rare to be captured so perfectly by a camera (in this case, by Larry Hall).

We were at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, chasing a storm. The runs were getting a little skied out, and it was still early enough in the season that you had to be careful not to get caught in a creek. As the willows show, the snowpack wasn’t that deep yet, and terrain traps lurked, hidden by the thick white blanket.

We can train, practice, and pursue our passions. Only rarely does that everything come together, when time slows down, and conditions conspire for the magic moment. The trick is to stay fully present — the space between transcendence and catastrophe can be a millimeter’s shift in balance. It happened this day. And I am truly grateful.