Ski Bum Blog

Now that I am working on my second book project, I’ve scaled back my perusing of internet forums in regards to ski-related issues. Fortunately, the co-founder of Mountain Riders Alliance forwarded me this link suggesting that the owner of Canada’s Sunshine Village has bullied Teton Gravity Research into removing specific threads from its popular website.

Not surprisingly, Sunshine Village suffered from a public relations nightmare following this incident. The reported mistreatment of employees fueled a firestorm of comments on internet message boards this winter. None of these boards is more popular than TGR’s. But while the situation hasn’t been forgotten, chatter over the internet had certainly died down in recent weeks.

For that reason Ralph Scurfield Jr., owner of the Alberta resort, made a horrible tactical move by threatening legal action against the iconic action sports company. An internet message board is an open forum, not a journalistic endeavor. One of its main functions is to allow people the freedom to express themselves on a variety of subjects. Yet it appears Scurfield is attempting to censor the internet, which is a bold move even by his standards.

Whistler-based Pique Newsmagazine columnist G.D. Maxwell wrote an interesting column about Scurfield, one that echoes the thoughts of many winter sports enthusiasts. It also reveals a pattern of tyrannical behavior. Given Scurfield’s history with lawsuits, TGR couldn’t simply ignore the threat. As a result, it temporarily removed the information Scurfield wanted to be removed and consulted its own lawyers on how to proceed going forward.

Of course, a lawsuit based on one guy’s bruised ego is not worth fighting. At the end of the day, however, I believe the TGR threads about Sunshine Village will resurface. And when they do, Scurfield will likely be the dartboard for additional doses of venom spewed his direction.

While promoting In Search of Powder this winter, I was often asked ‘Is the ski bum really disappearing?” My answer is always the same, which is there will always be ski bums, disappearing doesn’t mean extinct, and those that believe the ski bum is flourishing are likely using multiple definitions to cover a wide spectrum of ski and snowboard enthusiasts.

Some reviewers, even ones that liked my book, referenced stories published by the New York Times, Boston Globe and ESPN.com suggesting that the ski bum isn’t disappearing — or at the very least has morphed into something else.

That being said, I think it’s great that the ski bum has become a debate topic on bar stools and dinner tables. I am pleased that people are taking my book seriously enough to discuss the merits of it. Question everything in life.

However, those who question my book’s argument (that the ski bum is disappearing) are likely using a different definition of the term. In my book, I use the classic definition for a ski bum. The original ski bums, those that spawned the subculture starting after World War II, are the barometer. The definition of ski bum, in my mind, should begin and end with them.

Those using other definitions, I believe, are really engaged in arguments such as “Jeremy’s book is narrow-minded because it only uses the original definition” or “Ski bums also include ski and snowboard enthusiasts who don’t fit the original definition” or “Jeremy Evans isn’t the authority on ski bums.” All of these arguments can be made rather easily, but ultimately whoever is making such an argument is likely using a different definition of the term “ski bum.”

Of course, there should be some wiggle room from the original definition as long as the tenets of ski bum culture remain intact, but at what point does too much deviation simply become something else altogether?

The New York Times article mentioned someone that was laid off from a high-paying technology job because of the country’s recent economic downturn and decided to become a ski instructor. But will that person continue to teach skiing when the economy rebounds and they can land another high-paying technology job?

Ski bums don’t change directions with the wind. They have a life sentence to the mountains. There is a big difference between a person choosing to be a ski instructor because they turned down a high-paying job and a person who accepts being a ski instructor because there aren’t any jobs, let alone high-paying ones.

There are cases being made that early retirees living in the mountains are also ski bums. Maybe they were lawyers or doctors or senior management members and decided, at age 60, that they’ve made enough money and are headed to the mountains. But where were they in their 30s, 40s and 50s?

There is a big difference between a person choosing to move to the mountains when they are financially set and a person who moves to the mountains knowing they might never be financially set. Insolvency is part of the subculture’s charm because a ski bum isn’t beholden to money.

There are also cases being made that telecommuters living in a ski town and making six figures somewhere else are also ski bums. But would they live in Telluride and ski if they had to live on a ski instructor’s wage?

Don’t get me wrong. These people have amazing lives and are probably the envy of their friends and family. To be able to live in the mountains and ski or snowboard is truly a dream, but not everybody who skis or snowboards is a ski bum. And not everyone who skis or snowboards wants to be a ski bum. It’s an athletic pursuit, yes, but it’s also a philosophical one and it’s not for everybody.

Money has never been a ski bum’s currency. That’s what makes a ski bum unique because American culture tends to trumpet the acquisition of money. More than five decades ago, Warren Miller shot rabbits and lived out of his van in Sun Valley, Idaho. He gave beer to a lift operator one day and skied free the rest of the season.

How does Warren’s lifestyle and philosophy toward life at that time compare with someone making $150,000 by telecommuting and would probably stop skiing if they lost their job? It doesn’t, so I never bothered to try and make the correlation. By including differing philosophies spread across various groups of people, it cheapens the term and is borderline disrespectful to the subculture’s pioneers.

It’s funny. Nearly everyone who read my book didn’t have a problem with me suggesting that ski towns are now resort towns or that ski areas are now ski resorts. These new terms are reflective of the major changes that have happened in the American West, which are detailed in my book. But not everyone is on board when I suggest that it’s time to create new terms for these new “ski bums” that are reflective of the same major changes.

If the ski industry continues to modify the definition of a ski bum to the point of including everyone and abandoning the original definition, then what’s so special about being ski bum? At some point it’s no longer hallowed ground. It’s dirt everyone walks on.

With the proliferation of websites, blogs and twitter accounts, skiers and snowboarders are at the forefront of a technological revolution. There are plenty of them out there, but here are some of my favorite websites and blogs, ranging from the informational to the inspirational. Some of them are obvious selections, but maybe there is a new one listed below that you can add to your list.

Chris Tatsuno: Van-traveling ski bum whose father in Sun Valley was the first In Search of Powder reader to send me fan mail.

Mountain Rider’s Alliance: Super cool organization dedicated to reshaping how resorts operate. A values-based group of skiers and riders. Read MRA’s blog.

Protect Our Winters: An environmental outlet founded by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones. A good site that unites and informs.

Teton Gravity Research Forums: The all-encompassing information bible. Comments/threads are sure to provoke a rainbow of emotions.

SOS Outreach/Ski Duck: Non-profit organizations that work with youth, including disadvantaged and disabled, and expose them to the pleasures of winter sports.

Sierra Avalanche Center: Along with coffee and stale donuts, a morning staple for Tahoe-area backcountry enthusiasts.