Ultra Sitting

As an appreciator of all things epic, I feel compelled to post this even though it has nothing to do with running, skiing, or any other kind of mountain recreation. Rather this post revolves around epic physical inactivity. This past Sunday, my brother Jason completed a ten day Vipassana meditation course in Elbert, CO. Throughout the course of ten days, Jason was completely silent, and had zero human interaction. He consumed only one meal per day and spent the majority of his time traversing the deepest recesses of his mind in near constant meditation. Vipassana provides an avenue for "self-transformation through self- observation" with an emphasis on the relationship between body and mind. Participants in the course are forbidden to communicate with each other, practice yoga, journal or do anything else that might resemble activity.

I get restless in the time it takes me to sit and write a simple blog post, so the thought of sitting for ten days literally makes me squirm. I am in awe of this kind of mental endurance. From what I can gather, ultra sitting is a lot like ultra running. There are moments of near perfection and moments of utter despair and desperation. The mental discomfort this endeavor provided was apparently equalled by physical agony. Jason insists that sitting for that long over the course of many consecutive days can be excruciating on the physical body. Needless to say I am extremely proud of and inspired by my brothers accomplishments. I can't help but think I might have try this one day.

You can find more information on the particular course my Brother did here.

This was actually the second time Jason has completed a ten day course. He did an absolutely unbelievable write up about his first experience that I would highly recommend to anyone interested.



This past Sunday I was feeling far less accomplished than Jason. You see, Sunday marked the official end to Ski season here in Aspen and as such, every local is obligated to rage. Aspen Highlands Mountain is always the quietest of the four during the season and is widely considered to be a local secret because of its high snow totals and awesomely big terrain. On closing day though, Highlands turns into a full mountain party as thousands of people turn out to celebrate. It has become the best party of the year in Aspen and always attracts a colorful crowd. You can tell we had a good time (Notice the belt buckle).





Thanks for reading.