Blessing of the Skis

It was a lovely sunny morning leading into noon time when a group of about 80 people gathered on the slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain to seek a blessing of safety on their ski's and their mountain. Sugarloaf has a very tight knit community, and it was really nice to see a few of them get together about a matter which can be overlooked a lot of the time. Skiing is a very dangerous sport and many things can go wrong in just one split second.

This event acknowledges the risk of the sport and is taking action by asking for a blessing over the long season ahead. It was not an event aimed at a specific religion, it was just an open ceremony. It was encouraging to see people who have different walks of faith come together and support something that they all believe is important. Each year there about 1-3 people who have not been so lucky on the slopes and have passed away. There is nothing worse than having someone die doing something that is so much fun.

There are many reasons why some people enjoy the sport of skiing; some do it because they love spending time with their families, others just like being out in the natural beauty, and then there are some who do it for the adrenaline rush. I like to ski for all three of those reasons. But my point is that no matter what you do it for no one likes to see someone get injured or killed. Many people take the Blessing Of The Skis ceremony quite seriously.

As skiers many of us wear helmets to protect our skulls and other protective gear to be safe on the slopes. People look as this Blessing as putting on another layer of armor on their life. Now I don't know what you believe in as a religion or any thing at all but skiing has risks and why not do everything you can to ensure your safety on the slopes. I thought this was just a unique event which I thought I should do a little write up on-I hope you liked it!

.)) Sam Morse