The Ski Bum Diaries — Time to Commiserate
Editors Note: Last week we published the first piece in a series titled “The Ski Bum Diaries.” Since then, the emotive tone of that piece has apparently struck a chord with ski bums across the land. We received this short essay from a contributor who had a few things of his own to say about the ‘waiting period’ that prefaces every winter.
Dear SHC,
A few weeks ago I received an invite to move to Salt Lake for the winter and pursue, what was then described to me as the “best winter of our lives.” My general indifference towards my previous situation made this move a relatively easy decision. A week later I was in my truck with a shitty CD on repeat as to avoid the religious talk shows and painfully bad country music that consume the middle part if our country. The drive from Maine to Utah was 48 hours of warped metal careening over gravel with the most beautiful, soft skinned girl in the middle with just a whiff of sex.
It had occurred to me sometime between Buffalo and Des Moines that the idea of the ski bum, although not historically unique, is becoming a dying breed. This made me nervous. Things become extinct for a reason and I thought that perhaps I was embarking on an impossible journey. Is the ski bum lifestyle no longer sustainable? Can you not support yourself working 2 days a week and skiing 5? I guess in hindsight, what the fuck did I really care, I had already made my decison. So now I am here in Utah, smack dab in the middle of my very own liminal period. My fleeting sense of self identity continues to diminsh and the only thing I really have to live off is the anticipation of “the best winter of my life.”
Yours Truly,
Heatwave
Tags: Heatwave, Ski Bum Diaries
December 31st, 2009 at 10:50 pm
dear heatwave,
you have made a great decision. the dying breed of ski bums welcome you to the culture. just yesterday i saw a van on the side of the road up the canyon to alta/bird. the owner asked me to yell at anyone who appeared to be breaking into his ‘home’ because as he told to me, “it’s all i’ve got”.
you may not have many possessions, drink rather than eat your dinner, and live in a room with 2 other guys, but i guarantee it will be a winter you will never forget!
love,
lowpressure