Skiing the Trees at Steamboat Resort On a Powder Day [VIDEO]

It's hard to describe to people why I am so passionate about skiing. Maybe because it's one of the best ways to become intimate with raw speed. There less than an inch of ski and binding between me and 60 miles per hour. If I let it off the chain, I could rocket to my death or major injury. If I dig in a big turn, I come right to a stop. There are few ways of crossing the landscape that are as flowing as skiing and snowboarding. The snow is so perfectly slippery. We can go any direction we want at any time; left, right, frontwards or backwards; as long as it works with gravity and we know how to use our gear.

I've loved it since I was 8 years old, and saw a little ravine in the woods in PA. When it clicked that I knew instinctively how to drop into it and hop right out as almost second nature, I realized there was a lot of fun ahead of me. Now, at 39, I love it more than ever. The free time and freedom are special moments that aren't always there, so I cherish them now more than ever.

It's always been about being in the woods. Even with how crowded some resorts become, on the hill, we're always only a few turns away from solitude. There is no better way to find my way into the heart of many of our best forests than chairlifts and skis or snowboards, at least for me.

Maybe the above video, shot at Steamboat Resort, can help you understand why I love skiing so much.