Thread: Smoker's Skiing poll/skier's smokin' Poll

Ok...a few minutes ago I breathed in a down feather from a sleeping bag.

Found myself hacking like a 30 year chain-smoker trying to get the damn thing out. (not fun when you still have broken ribs!)

People looking around at me with this sad, semi-worried, but mostly unconcerned look in their eye like: "Jeezus man...how long you been smoking??? Why don't you just fucking quit, for God sakes??"

I don't smoke. I've maybe smoked two packs in my whole life...and at least a pack of those cigs were before I was 13...sneaking cigs with my friends out back, away from adult eyes...talking shit...hacking....talking more shit. Standard rite of passage crap.... trying to look cool...but only succeeding at looking like 12 year olds trying to look cool.

First one sucks!! Worst shit in the world. Second one...you're prepared for the hack...so you breathe in a little deeper. Rush goes right to your head...knocks you off your feet sort of...heady shit...crack for a twelve year old...it's got that weird-ass kick to it...part friend, part foe...danger, Will! But because it is dangerous, it's definitely time for that third one...more hacking...always the hack...breathe deeper this time...let it sit in your lungs a little...even back then, somehow you know that will give you a better hit...breathe out slowly...cool this time... 12 year old joe cool...coolest kid in the world...no, coolest kid in the fucking universe. Because you feel so cool, you know this has got to be REAL dangerous...that makes it even more cool...like that dangerous looking bottle of Jack in your folk's cabinet...the one that they, because they're 'good' parents, keep under lock and key...but the cabinet has a glass door...and that bottle looks out at you through the glass and grins: "I'm dangerous...take a sip of me...I dare you." Bottles of Crown and Beefeater and Absolute right next to it...look more polite, a little less rough somehow, but just as dangerous...like a hipster with a hidden blade in his pocket. Danger and cool...cool and danger...swirling around each other in some sort misty, delicate dance...whispering in your ear...calling out...manga to a twelve year old. Danger....Cool.

But somewhere along the line...you realize that danger and cool don't have to be blood brothers...that sometimes Danger kicks Cool's ass...sometimes so much so that Cool is no longer cool, but simply Stupid. "Sucker!!". Danger rides away...king of the hill on his fly Sting Ray...leaving Stupid Cool fucking bawling on the curb like a three year old. Danger lied to Cool...it was always a big fucking lie.

It took me that pack that summer...spread out over I forget how many weeks...to figure out that that Cuz Danger was really just a loser...that I didn't want to be his friend anymore. "Yeah...tempt me with your heady high, Danger!..fuck you and your nicotine monkey hit...you're nothing but a hacking, yellow-nailed, wrinkle-skinned smelly lier...go fuck up someone else's life!!"

Over the span, I've smoked the equivalent of that second pack, I guess...trying to look cool in college, thinking that it might attract the girls...Top-down summer drives with my friends back when I used to have that big old rusty Impala convertible...reaching over, pulling that pack of cigs out of the glove compartment...lighting up to Jane's Addiction...yeah, I have to admit that DID feel pretty good. Even now, every now and then, meeting up with old friends after years, lighting one up in a drunken embrace with times gone by...it's all good shit. But man, don't KEEP doing it...it was never meant for THAT. That's Cousin Danger...he's whispering sweet nothings in your ear....it's a lie that will kill you.

So I have to ask you hackers...I mean you smokers...who ski and board and climb and skin...WHY THE FUCK DO YOU STILL SMOKE? Do you sometimes ask yourselves that?

Does it slow you down? Do you hack? Why do it? I'm truly curious. Is it a little monkey that just every now and then comes down off his tree and sits on your back? Or is it a big fucking gorilla that gets heavier every year, but you just can't get him off your back??

Man...I'm glad I finally coughed up that damned feather. No more hacking.

At 16 or so I discovered mary jane and cigs got the boot. Don't smoke enough for it to slow me down though...physically anyway.

No one i tour with smokes ciggs, but most smoke pot.


Sweet blog by the way

I'm pretty sure it's called addiction. For being such an enlightened new age hippie from AK you sure can be judgmental. Just thank your lucky stars your brain isn't wired like those that have addiction problems.

Never smoked tobacco but I lived in Prince George a mill town that had the worst air in BC and I was on asma meds after about 8 years ... even tho I spent a lot of time out of town

I was able to quit Flovent 2 years after leaving

Now I eat brownies now instead of smoking the gange ... much easier on the airways

Are there no standards? Surely a post about smoking poll should be in the PR.

Did you mean smoking pole?

So a little history; I learned to ski at age 7. I didn't learn to smoke until 13 and at that time ('76?) smoking was more socially accepted, and I was more focused on (my perception of) being cool than athletics. I was never a heavy smoker and in my late teens I discovered running, and when my ankles went to shit, cycling.

I kept my habit down to 3-5 cigs a day, all the while running 5-10 mi a day and after discovering cycling 200-300mi a week and racing. The smoking probably hurt my performance somewhat, but I still got decent results although my cycling friends always seemed kind of shocked and disappointed when they found out I was a smoker.

At 28 I quit cold turkey. I lasted 2 years before caving one night after some heavy drinking. One of the worst hangovers I can remember! Smoking makes hangovers worse, trust me. After that I settled back into my 3-5 cig a day routine.

In recent years it seems like I've simply lost interest in smoking. I guess my gorilla (never really a gorilla) has turned into a very small monkey (sea). I rarely smoke more than 1 cig a day; in the morning, on the porch with my coffee while the dogs do their business.

People ask why I don't quit completely if I can get by on 1 a day. I guess the short answer is because I enjoy my 1 a day and I don't see it as a huge detriment. I can rationalize it any number of ways, but the bottom line is that during the two years I didn't smoke, I didn't see a huge performance advantage or change in how I felt, other than wishing I could light up every time I cracked a beer or had a cup of coffee.

I kind of feel sorry for the people I see who can't seem to manage their addiction. I've heard all the stories about how tobacco companies put things in cigarettes to make them more addictive. I know lots of people who really struggle just to keep from smoking more than a pack a day. I guess if I had ever smoked that much I would be coughing up a lung every time I had even the slightest amount of physical exertion. Not to mention; who the hell has the time to stand around a smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day??!!

I still suck wind when hiking for turns or biking, but I think it has more to do with being at 10,000-14,000 feet than it does with smoking 1 cigarette a day. I could be wrong but I think I'd get just a much or more tar build up if I lived in a metro or industrial area or was in a different line of work, (or smoked a lot of chronic) but as mentioned, I can rationalize 1 cig a day pretty darn easily.

I guess the short answer is I don't think smoking cigarettes in extreme moderation has any significant effect on touring. I read somewhere that Tour de France riders used to smoke cigarettes pre-race claiming it opened up their lungs or some such. Can't say I buy it tho'.

AK, you need to add one more to your poll; I smoke one a day; you don't. GFY. (Good For You!)

Leave no turn unstoned.

Originally Posted by bendtheski

Did you mean smoking pole?

So a little history; I learned to ski at age 7. I didn't learn to smoke until 13 and at that time ('76?) smoking was more socially accepted, and I was more focused on (my perception of) being cool than athletics. I was never a heavy smoker and in my late teens I discovered running, and when my ankles went to shit, cycling.

I kept my habit down to 3-5 cigs a day, all the while running 5-10 mi a day and after discovering cycling 200-300mi a week and racing. The smoking probably hurt my performance somewhat, but I still got decent results although my cycling friends always seemed kind of shocked and disappointed when they found out I was a smoker.

At 28 I quit cold turkey. I lasted 2 years before caving one night after some heavy drinking. One of the worst hangovers I can remember! Smoking makes hangovers worse, trust me. After that I settled back into my 3-5 cig a day routine.

In recent years it seems like I've simply lost interest in smoking. I guess my gorilla (never really a gorilla) has turned into a very small monkey (sea). I rarely smoke more than 1 cig a day; in the morning, on the porch with my coffee while the dogs do their business.

People ask why I don't quit completely if I can get by on 1 a day. I guess the short answer is because I enjoy my 1 a day and I don't see it as a huge detriment. I can rationalize it any number of ways, but the bottom line is that during the two years I didn't smoke, I didn't see a huge performance advantage or change in how I felt, other than wishing I could light up every time I cracked a beer or had a cup of coffee.

I kind of feel sorry for the people I see who can't seem to manage their addiction. I've heard all the stories about how tobacco companies put things in cigarettes to make them more addictive. I know lots of people who really struggle just to keep from smoking more than a pack a day. I guess if I had ever smoked that much I would be coughing up a lung every time I had even the slightest amount of physical exertion. Not to mention; who the hell has the time to stand around a smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day??!!

I still suck wind when hiking for turns or biking, but I think it has more to do with being at 10,000-14,000 feet than it does with smoking 1 cigarette a day. I could be wrong but I think I'd get just a much or more tar build up if I lived in a metro or industrial area or was in a different line of work, (or smoked a lot of chronic) but as mentioned, I can rationalize 1 cig a day pretty darn easily.

I guess the short answer is I don't think smoking cigarettes in extreme moderation has any significant effect on touring. I read somewhere that Tour de France riders used to smoke cigarettes pre-race claiming it opened up their lungs or some such. Can't say I buy it tho'.

AK, you need to add one more to your poll; I smoke one a day; you don't. GFY. (Good For You!)

Well said . . . and good point . . .

Yet another sweet blog, AR you always bring the goods.

seriously rockin the bored life in ak huh, lets c who smokes or whatever.
bump the sitski thread would ya
bobby

Originally Posted by RaisingArizona

I'm pretty sure it's called addiction. For being such an enlightened new age hippie from AK you sure can be judgmental. Just thank your lucky stars your brain isn't wired like those that have addiction problems.

Oh please, don't play the victim card. You can't become addicted to cigarettes if you don't smoke them. All it takes to quit is a little bit of willpower. Of course, all it takes to not start smoking in the first place is a little bit of willpower, so I guess it makes sense that people who start aren't strong enough to stop.

Originally Posted by Soup Nazi

Oh please, don't play the victim card. You can't become addicted to cigarettes if you don't smoke them. All it takes to quit is a little bit of willpower. Of course, all it takes to not start smoking in the first place is a little bit of willpower, so I guess it makes sense that people who start aren't strong enough to stop.

Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Jong?

Originally Posted by bendtheski

....In recent years it seems like I've simply lost interest in smoking. I guess my gorilla (never really a gorilla) has turned into a very small monkey (sea). I rarely smoke more than 1 cig a day; in the morning, on the porch with my coffee while the dogs do their business.

People ask why I don't quit completely if I can get by on 1 a day. I guess the short answer is because I enjoy my 1 a day and I don't see it as a huge detriment. I can rationalize it any number of ways, but the bottom line is that during the two years I didn't smoke, I didn't see a huge performance advantage or change in how I felt, other than wishing I could light up every time I cracked a beer or had a cup of coffee.

I kind of feel sorry for the people I see who can't seem to manage their addiction. I've heard all the stories about how tobacco companies put things in cigarettes to make them more addictive. I know lots of people who really struggle just to keep from smoking more than a pack a day. I guess if I had ever smoked that much I would be coughing up a lung every time I had even the slightest amount of physical exertion. Not to mention; who the hell has the time to stand around a smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day??!!

I still suck wind when hiking for turns or biking, but I think it has more to do with being at 10,000-14,000 feet than it does with smoking 1 cigarette a day. I could be wrong but I think I'd get just a much or more tar build up if I lived in a metro or industrial area or was in a different line of work, (or smoked a lot of chronic) but as mentioned, I can rationalize 1 cig a day pretty darn easily.

I guess the short answer is I don't think smoking cigarettes in extreme moderation has any significant effect on touring. I read somewhere that Tour de France riders used to smoke cigarettes pre-race claiming it opened up their lungs or some such. Can't say I buy it tho'.

Damn......that you're able to keep it to one a day.....MAJOR KUDOS to that !!!!! That's like eating ONE GRAPE...or ONE peanut....ONE M&M. Major respect for that willpower, there!!! Damn, I'd be scarfing the WHOLE bag or the whole bunch...like a sled dog at a dog dish.

Towards the one cig thing...yeah, I sort of agree....I can't really see TOO much harm in one cig....that's how a lot of prisoner's of war made it through their ordeal...they got that one cig a day, and it kept their sprits up every day just waiting for that smoke time....I guess, in their head, it was five minutes of FREEDOM from their respective shit-holes.

Now The Chronic....that's different, there. That's tamping on SACRED ground. Actually, never really was an "official" member of the stoner brigade...the shit actually affects me like acid would affect most folks....so I've always been a little scared of stepping off into over-use. I go off on weird-ass flying trips, even on just regular ganj...even on leaf. Matanuska??? Hell, I won't even get into that 'MTF'. And the "Morphine Green" that is so popular in Anchor Point? If regular mary jane is like acid for me....that shit is like heroine.

Friend of mine in Homer..lived in an old school bus (not unusual, probably 80 percent of Homerites have made their home in school busses at various points in their lives, myself happily included)...the guy couldn't make it out of bed without a toke in the a,m.....another at 10 am...noon....4:20 pm...pretty much ALL night long then start again next morning...every morning. I used to get high just by visiting him in his bus...no need to light up...trippin' by sheer osmosis at his place. Good times, there, though! By Homer standards, he was just an ordinary toker, by Anchor Point standards...a veritable non-toker.

So given all that, I don't think weed is nearly as unhealthy as smoking. It can't be. I mean except for Homer, Anchor Point, Talkeetna, Cantwell, Fairbanks, Mountain View in Anchorage, all of Fairbanks, Juneau, Haines, Nome....errr, well, ok...except for pretty much ALL of Ak, Eugene, Oregon, half of Wash, most of BC (good shit there), a third of CO, half of Montana and Wyoming...WHO smokes 20, 40 J's a day??

Yeah sure...it's still smoking leaves, I guess...but just by virtue of less volume intake per day, toking is probably healthier than smoking...if one was to do either.

I smoke.. 5 to 10 cigarrettes a day.. more sometimes... and I run 6ish miles most days... I am 100% sure it affects me... damn addiction... but I cant seem to quit.

I have a friend that I hike with that will smoke a cigarette after a hard climb... pretty much right after stopping.. I can't do that.. This guy rides 100 mile road bike rides, and says he will light up right after he stops... who knows...

I know my lungs get tired before my body... I would love to quit. Ideas anyone? I tried chantix and it made me nuts... or a different kind of nuts than usual anyways.

Originally Posted by Soup Nazi

Oh please, don't play the victim card. You can't become addicted to cigarettes if you don't smoke them. All it takes to quit is a little bit of willpower. Of course, all it takes to not start smoking in the first place is a little bit of willpower, so I guess it makes sense that people who start aren't strong enough to stop.

My bad, you sound as if you have it all figured out. I wish I did, one thing I do know is that everyone comes from different places and experiences that actually do have a part in influencing our paths. Also it's been proven that those that become addicted do have some different chemistry and wiring in their brain. Growing up with extreme ADD I also know that most people that don't have those issues are often ignorant and judge those that do.

Victim? Nope, I'm responsible for all of my choices but I struggle with addiction, I'm guessing thats not your problem and you are lucky to be able to go through life without it, trust me.

Be happy you don't have an addiction but try and understand that for others it's a life long lasting struggle. I know a lot of others with admitted addiction issues and if you knew their stories and backgrounds of how there lives have been and the kinds of things they have been through you might have a different opinion and be a little more understanding.

Originally Posted by RaisingArizona

My bad, you sound as if you have it all figured out. I wish I did, one thing I do know is that everyone comes from different places and experiences that actually do have a part in influencing our paths. Also it's been proven that those that become addicted do have some different chemistry and wiring in their brain. Growing up with extreme ADD I also know that most people that don't have those issues are often ignorant and judge those that do.

Victim? Nope, I'm responsible for all of my choices but I struggle with addiction, I'm guessing thats not your problem and you are lucky to be able to go through life without it, trust me.

Be happy you don't have an addiction but try and understand that for others it's a life long lasting struggle. I know a lot of others with admitted addiction issues and if you knew their stories and backgrounds of how there lives have been and the kinds of things they have been through you might have a different opinion and be a little more understanding.

This..

I wish I was perfect like some of you... we all have different strengths and weaknesses...

Originally Posted by mtngirl79

I smoke.. 5 to 10 cigarrettes a day.. more sometimes... and I run 6ish miles most days... I am 100% sure it affects me... damn addiction... but I cant seem to quit.

I have a friend that I hike with that will smoke a cigarette after a hard climb... pretty much right after stopping.. I can't do that.. This guy rides 100 mile road bike rides, and says he will light up right after he stops... who knows...

I know my lungs get tired before my body... I would love to quit. Ideas anyone? I tried chantix and it made me nuts... or a different kind of nuts than usual anyways.

I've been thinking about THIS method as a way to help a friend who's been wanting to quit for years, because it's starting to hamper his outdoor pursuits...especially climbing.

Okay: Say you smoke 20 cigs a day and find it hard to stop cold-turkey. DON'T.

For every week...smoke one less cigarette a day. Week 1 = 20 cigs/day....week 2 = 19 cigs/day....week 3 = 18 cigs/day.....and so on, and so on.

In less than half a year you will have trimmed yourself down to maybe 1 cig a day...or even zero.

Seems way easier than cold-turkey...and a lot easier on the folks that live/work with you too.

Taking that long to gradually quit in a defined way gives your body time to adjust chemically. And if you need to go with maybe 1 less cig/day every TWO weeks, you'd still be mostly quit within 1 year.

Think about it.

Now...I understand that this method will NOT curb the psychological 'addiction', nor the 'addictive' personality. But at least it 'cures' the physcical aspect of breathing tar and other nasty particulates into your lungs.

I have friends who quit YEARS ago...and they STILL have an urge to light up when they see others lighting up after a meal or whatever. I think that is just an urge they're stuck with...so they just deal with it...it's just a fleeting urge to them and they overide it.

No addiction is EVER simple.

I smoke a pack a day. I enjoy smoking, but it's the worst fucking habit. Especially if you love to ski tour. I started when I was 13..

I quit cold turkey one time, and that was this past January. Only because I was in jail for 3 days. (For an underage drinking ticket, I kid you not. It was my first offense ever in colorado, I paid the ticket but failed to take an alcohol education class) As soon as I got out, I bought a pack of cigs. I don't know why. It was 95% psychological at that point.

I quit for a week last year on Chantix.

I made it past the first 3 days probably 5 or so times using other methods like gum.

I ate xanax for about a week like 2 years ago, and stayed smoke free for 3 months.

I just ate my first Chantix pill today. I started it again. I feel Chantix really does help take the edge off and I don't experience any of the bizarre side-effects some people get. Just a little nausea if I don't take it with a meal. I would really like to not have to resort to a drug to quit, but fuck it. People judge addiction levels on how soon a smoker lights up after sleeping. The FIRST thing I do in the morning is reach for my cigarettes. When I quit for the 3 month period, I would literally dream about smoking. I have enough will power to climb up mountains in freezing cold weather and in agonizing pain, but I can't seem to fucking quit smoking. I'm just weak.

My quit date is this Thursday. You're supposed to take chantix for a week before you quit, but I wanna start early cuz then Friday I'm gonna head up to the mountains and camp out til Sunday. Once I do quit, my problem is going to be alcohol. As soon as I get one drink in me, I suddenly NEED a cigarette. So I'm gonna have to stop drinking as well, which is going to be a bitch in itself.

Next week is going to be rough.

Hey mtngirl79,

I've smoked for 30 years. I could get away with it when I was younger...unfortunately. Quit once cold a few years ago, on a Monday to boot.

I love to ski, even though I suck at it and climbing ice or racing mtn bikes with one hand when I was young scared me less, lol.

F___ it, pick a date and lets just quit.

Originally Posted by RaisingArizona

My bad, you sound as if you have it all figured out. I wish I did, one thing I do know is that everyone comes from different places and experiences that actually do have a part in influencing our paths. Also it's been proven that those that become addicted do have some different chemistry and wiring in their brain. Growing up with extreme ADD I also know that most people that don't have those issues are often ignorant and judge those that do.

Victim? Nope, I'm responsible for all of my choices but I struggle with addiction, I'm guessing thats not your problem and you are lucky to be able to go through life without it, trust me.

Be happy you don't have an addiction but try and understand that for others it's a life long lasting struggle. I know a lot of others with admitted addiction issues and if you knew their stories and backgrounds of how there lives have been and the kinds of things they have been through you might have a different opinion and be a little more understanding.

Thanks to the onslaught of popular science everything can become an addiction. Whores, gambling, shopping, eating fatty shit, ect... We created a victim culture through all of this modern correlation research. Just quit smoking! Just quit fucking sluts! Us peoples aint got no ability to defer the short term satisfaction of a single cig for the long term enjoyment of a healthy pair of lungs when we're old. Most smokers quit on their own. Most heroine addicts quit on their own. It just takes some damn willpower and perspective.

I quit a few years ago. Never had much problem with any physical addiction. I just really like tobacco. I was able to quit for two reasons: 1) I decided to stop smoking a pipe and cigars as well as cigarettes (I had previously attempted quitting cigarettes only). 2) I went through a period of fitness obsessions. If you set a lofty yet concrete fitness goal, cigarettes turn into an enemy and lose their appeal.

Just back fm skiing in Europe. Holy hell do those Euro trash smoke! I've never seen so many cigarette butts littered all over the mtn. Especially right as you get off the lifts. Cigarette companies must love France. Been awhile since I've seen so many people smoking.

Originally Posted by bendtheski

People ask why I don't quit completely if I can get by on 1 a day. I guess the short answer is because I enjoy my 1 a day and I don't see it as a huge detriment. I can rationalize it any number of ways, but the bottom line is that during the two years I didn't smoke, I didn't see a huge performance advantage or change in how I felt

Maybe not a huge detriment to your athletic performance, but what about your overall health? I'm not talking about the way you feel on a day-to-day basis, but your long-term health. In any event, obviously one cig a day is pretty tame.

As for me, I've never smoked a single cig or any pot in my life. I'm sure that puts me in the minority, but I just never wanted to go down either of those paths. My parents both smoked cigarettes when I was a kid and I thought it was absolutely disgusting for as long as I can remember.

@ ChasChad I see your point, we have gone a little overboard with what we call addictions but I'm not playing the victim card, I have quit but I understand what others are going through and I don't care to be a harsh critic or a judgmental A Hole.