This song encapsulates the essential truth of backcountry skiing: No Up-No Down, No Pain-No Gain. The effort and time involved in climbing makes the downhill that much more satisfying. This is actually true about any athletic endeavor or human pursuit. I wrote Grunt Factor after a brutal ski into Eiseman Hut, near Vail, Colorado during a total whiteout blizzard. The tracks of my friends breaking trail were obliterated before I reached them. Once at the hut, the skiing was amazing but required long detours to avoid dangerous slopes. It was fantastic and really, really hard going.
