On 11/27/2010 08:58 PM, pigo wrote:
On Nov 19, 10:07 am, Dave U. Randomanonym...@anonymitaet-im-
inter.net wrote:

Is there anyone else here that is/was a ski bum? How long?

When in college, I would go to fall semester and summer
school. This way it took me 7 years (1960 through 1967)
to complete my undergraduate work.

During that time I worked in a ski shop and lived in a
ski share house in the winter. I also taught junior
program for my pass (1/2 day a week) and one year I
taught pro at a small local area. I always had my
Killington pass though through junior program. The shop
was great because I always got 40 hours in, had enough
money for my college tuition (a state school) and got
out with no student loans to repay or any parents to
repay either.

At this point I'm getting close to being retired just
doing a little consulting for a non-profit mortgage
lending institution. I can ski 3 to 5 days a week. More
than that would kill me physically anyway, so it's
enough. My wife skis some, her kids ski a lot and live
in very attractive skiing areas. One in the Lake
Tahoe region, the other close to the north Cascades.
My own daughter's partner is a former ski patrol at
Cannon Mountain and loves to ski, so anywhere I go
with family in winter, we ski. It's neat and not so
confining as being a ski bum and needing to earn a
living.

Currently I'm a Killington Ambassador, which gets me
my pass and LOTS of benefits both from the mountain
and from private vendors locally. We are the most
visible program on the hill. We do more with the
guests than even ski school.

Today, at the end of the day, I hung out with a family
who had taken one lift ride too many. They were
completely fatigued, out of shape to begin with. It
was getting dark. Bumps were invisible and the surface
was getting polished so it was icy and bumpy with
bumps you couldn't see. I got them down the "green"
trail and stayed with them until we were fully down.
Lifts close at 4PM. I got back to our clubhouse
at 4:55, and I picked them up already half-way down
the mountain. I encouraged. Picked them up when they
fell. Recommended the easiest way down and how best
to ski each section. Fun, nice communication, great
feedback from the guests. Gratitude.