Monday, January 11, 2010

Chasing Ski Bums Away

You got to relax, we got to kick back
Brothers just sit back, enjoy me like a six pack...

Back in my days in Boulder I knew a few kids that desired to be a "ski bum" post-graduation, or even in between years of their schooling. That meant scraping together a few bucks, moving to the Vail Valley, Summit County, Steamboat, or some other mountain locale. They would end up renting a room in some house or run down apartment, getting a job as a waiter or waitress, maybe actually working at a resort complete with a nice name tag (Ashley, Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA.) Of course, they'd still supplement their meager means with Ma and Pa's credit card or cash. They'd still roll around in their nice rig, rocking the latest skis, and drink to their hearts content.

They'd usually last one ski season before heading back down I-70 to join the rest of us in the real world. But they'd wear their year of "ski bum" status like a badge of honor for the rest of their lives. A few made it a year or more, and more than a few made it home, landing a plush job among the tourists, forever shedding their "ski bum" image.

They never quite assumed the "ski bum" life of one Charlie Touts. For 40 years he's been a true ski bum. Sleeping in a Volkswagen, shovelling snow, washing dishes, whatever it took to ski every day. Now the man is coming down on Charlie for living on public land and marijuana charges and they've had in in the pokey for more than a month. He wasn't quite living in George Washington's nose at Rushmore, the 63 year old was living in a gravel parking lot. And he wasn't moving bricks of marijuana, he had a small supply of hippie lettuce in his pocket. Hell, he should've been given a ticket by the ski bum police if he didn't have any green sticky icky on him.

Other bloggers can debate the politics of the situation, but really? Is this what passes for law enforcement in the mountains. If you want him out of the parking lot, just chase him away; tell him there's a outlet sale of used skis in Breck, a hot tub party (too 1980's?) in Vail, or a free Warren Miller screening in Keystone. Let the ski bum be exactly what the name is: a true ski bum.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Broncos out of playoffs, Spring Training a month away, Nuggets going through the motons, no one cares about the Avs, CU recruting sucks, and CU Hoops headed for bottom finish...so I guess we get skiing posts.

8:32 AM  
Blogger good days said...



شركة نقل عفش من الرياض الى سلطنة عمان شركة نقل عفش من الرياض الى سلطنة عمان
شركة تركيب جبس بورد بالرياض شركة تركيب جبس بورد بالرياض
معلم دهانات بالرياض معلم دهانات بالرياض
_

2:06 PM  

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