Offering prescription for winter blues
Winter in the Inland Northwest can challenge the most determined optimist. Storms lay siege to the region. Dark commutes frame daylight hours spent indoors. Black snow lines the curb. Cars are filthy. The sky hangs low.
You can’t change the weather, but you can turn the tables. Bad weather is good for skiers and boarders. Let it snow! Banish the blues with clean air, breathtaking views and a great workout.
While the city turns grey and bony, the surrounding mountains fatten up on pure white snow. Five resorts within two hours of Spokane operate accredited ski and snowboard schools. Drive up a winding mountain road to enter another world.
Take medicine
“If you live in a place like this, you better have something to do in the wintertime,” said Gary Garvin, lifetime skier and licensed mental health counselor in Spokane. “It’s dark and cold, the air around here gets pretty stagnant. That’s a recipe for winter blues.”
Garvin helps a lot of people deal with winter blues. He said that inactivity leads to deficiencies in serotonin, a brain chemical that helps keep one’s mind healthy. He also mentioned that lack of sunlight prevents the body from producing Vitamin D, a vitamin essential in building strong bones and teeth, that some believe may prevent certain types of cancer.
When it gets real bad, doctors call winter blues “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” Medical therapies include drugs like Lithium and fancy “full-spectrum” light boxes designed to bathe patients with simulated sunlight. Exercise is also part of the prescription.
To treat Spokane’s winter blues, Garvin suggests stimulating your serotonin and absorbing your Vitamin D the natural way – on skis or a board.
“I actually encourage people to investigate all the options,” he said. “You can ski, board, go cross-country or snowshoe. There’s a vitality one feels in the mountains with the clean air and inspiring views – and the elevation bumps up the UVs you need to stay healthy and energized in the winter.”
Follow instructions
Save the light therapy for your houseplants. Head for the hills. Every local resort has lesson programs designed to help anyone get started right away. Skiing and boarding are more fun – and safer – with a lesson background. Slide down the mountain on your feet, not your backside.
Mt. Spokane operates the largest ski and snowboard school in the Inland Northwest, with 125 certified PSIA (Professional Ski Instructions Association) instructors. Private lessons are underway and multiweek sessions begin the first Saturday in January. Ski and snowboard school director Maxine McIntyre said there are still plenty of spots available.
“We offer three-week and six-week groups sessions,” McIntyre said. “On a daily basis, we offer walk-in group lessons twice a day at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.”
McIntyre said there’s a place for everyone to feel welcome, along with a deal too good to refuse.
“We’ve taught first-time skiers and boarders as young as 3 and as old as 74,” she said. “For adults wanting to learn, I highly recommend the E-Z Ski and Ride Program.”
The EZ Ski and Ride 1-2-3 Program is available at all five local ski areas. The package takes care of everything: skis or board, boots, poles, plus lessons and a lift ticket for three sessions. Prices for the package range from $79 at Lookout, to $89 at Mt. Spokane and 49 Degrees North, to $119 at Silver Mountain and Schweitzer.
Enjoy the results
The price of one of those fancy full-spectrum light boxes buys a new lease on winter for two or more people. EZ Ski and Ride makes it easy to sign up the whole family. In the spirit of the season, why not put a new snow outfit under the tree for your sweetheart, with a lesson voucher tucked in a pocket?
In a matter of weeks your outlook on winter will change. Time flies when you’re having fun.