The hardened truth behind the pow chasing dream is revealed by Heather Hansman in her recently published book Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns and the Future of Chasing Snow. Access to fresh snow, living simply, and fueling 100+ ski days have been the cornerstones of generations of ski bums and the town centered around those ideals. Hansman takes an honest look at the dark side of those dreams, the socio-economic realities, and of course the bliss that has kept a cycle of fun-seeking skiers pursuing the dream.
Heather Hansman is the author of Powder Days: : Ski Bums, Ski Towns and the Future of Chasing Snow.
Here’s a brief excerpt, and a fine example of the narrative Hansman pursues:
For me, it flipped into a fixation fast. Skiing threaded through everything from the jobs I chose to the people I loved. I spent that first winter believing that skiing could be enough. In May I signed another lease, and then another.
Like any obsession, the reality was more complicated. Even calling yourself a bum signals a level of privilege, and many people who claim the identity often come from money (and lots of it), which affords them their vagabond lifestyle in the first place. There’s an imbalance that comes from chasing something fleeting and selfish because it can all fall apart in one bad fall. Scanning lift tickets sucks. Ski towns, and the built-up fantasyland of resorts can be havens for inequality and abuse. Skiers are drawn to excess and there is plenty to go around.
When I moved to Colorado in 2005, risk was everywhere, but in a way that felt exciting. I liked the brag of drinking too much, and I was too naïve to notice harder drugs. Climate change seemed vague and theoretical, and no one I knew had died in the mountains yet. The Great Recession hadn’t shaken my generation’s idea of stability yet and corporate entities were just starting to binge buy resorts. I didn’t understand the direct connection between my rampant anxiety and my relentless impermanence, and I thought living in my car was cool. I thought I could exist like that forever. – From Powder Days
You can find Powder Days at your local bookstore or online here.
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While most of the WildSnow backcountry skiing blog posts are best attributed to a single author, some work well as done by the group.
1 comment
I really identified with this podcast. I am a third generation ski bum. My grandmother ski bummed in Alta in the 40s, my mother, Aspen in the 60s. I had stints in Montana, Aspen and Salt Lake at about the same years as the author ski bummed. My son is in gradeschool, and to be frank, it seems unlikely he will enjoy the snow sliding experiences that have been in my family for generations, barring some financial windfall. The day prices for tickets are just too high, the lodging too expensive; the real estate is beyond exclusive. Both my wife and I are fortunately well compensated professionals, but it seems like ski areas are catering towards the upper upper echelon of the socioeconomic rung and wealthy retirees. Its very sad to see the ski industry stunt it’s own growth like this, while decreasing access to families who have a legacy of skiing.
At least we live in a golden age for mountain biking… You can camp with your family for a pittance near almost any world class trail system. You can ride for free or pay a fraction of the winter price for lift tickets at a bike park. If I want to visit family in the Roaring Fork Valley for a ski trip though, it costs as much as a semester of tuition at a state school. Things change, and our thing is changing fast.