Marriage and skiing

There is a unique event in North America that all skiers must once in their lives take part in. It is the George Syrovatka Downhill competition. Look it up.

This post is not about this event but it happened during this event! The post is about marriage and skiing. How you have to have a solid relationship to survive skiing AND marriage. Sometimes it is “difficult” to explain what happens on ski trips.

As always I must stress that this happened and can be confirmed with the “other” party.


At the end of every winter ski season, my wife and I clean up our ski outfits, air them out before storing them for the Summer. The rule is any money my wife finds in the suits is her’s, so she always carefully checks all those thousand pockets found in a ski suit. The morning went well until my wife finds a $600 very, very select perfume bottle in a pocket. There was also a short note. “Thanks Pavel for a great ski day” two small initials at the bottom !

Silence. Then that look! Men you all know THAT laser sharp look that can penetrate Swiss vaults. Slowly a smile appeared on her face, she knew that an interesting Pavel ski story was coming!

While all this is happening, my mind is racing to locate in my memory sells where the perfume bottle came from. Women’s perfume? I never wear such perfume. I have been known to wear other female “articles” but never such expensive perfume. I can not afford $600 perfume. I do not socialize with women who wear $600 perfume. All I get is…….”does not compute” from the brain!

I walk over to look at this mysterious $600 bottle of perfume, first,,,,, because I have never ever seen such expensive perfume and second,,,,,, to perhaps “re-boot” my internal hard drive with more cues! One look at the label on the bottle brought back a flood of feelings ,wonderful memories of a great ski day with a great women!

Here is that day and you be the judge if my marriage was worth this day!


It was the second day of the George Syrovatka Downhill competition which is “open” to all amateurs and as usual I was one of the first at the base lodge. Getting my coffee I noticed one women all by herself. She seemed tired and sad! I do not like to see sad people at ski resorts. Skiing for me is uplifting!

“May I sit with you” I ask. Without looking up she answers, “sure” Still in here world!

We talk and soon we find commonalities. She is from Czechoslovakia. My mother is from there. She met her first husband in Montreal during the Summer Olympics since she was a hostess, I lived in Montreal at the time and worked in the big O in security.

She many years ago was a ski instructor at Jay Peak. I also many years before her was a ski instructor there. I could see that as we talked she was coming out of her “sad memories”. We began to talk about the coming ski day and I could see it was going to be a problem for her. It was a typical Vermont day. -15 with wind chill in the -30 and she was in her, “Park Avenue” outfit very, very chic but not very functional.

I always carry extra ski outfits for my wife and I “just in case”! This was such a case so I offered her my wife’s outfit. In 15 minutes she was transformed from a New York ski bunny to an average Vermont skier with no defined sex gender clues ! With her hat and goggles she was like all the other skiers. I did not really want to ski with here since I had my “stash” of powder waiting for me at Beaver Pond. Seems she knew about it! I forgot she used to be a ski instructor here at Jay.

I tried my next tactique. Ski hard and fast with no stopping hoping she would give up! By 11:30 she was showing me some new spots. I also began to see a smile on her face. She was re-discovering her past. Each run down made her realize what a great time she had here and that some people accept her just as a great skier!

On one lift up, the two skier besides us were chatting about the race and all the media coverage and “hype” from the “stars”! I happen to look over and saw her “sink” into the ski hood and that smile harden ever so slightly! They asked me if I had seen any of the “stars”. “No” I replied. Off we went at the top and this time I promise myself not to hold back just to be nice. Since I was first,,,,,, I picked the most difficult line, the most tight line , yet she was there. She was good!

Suffice to say it was my best day skiing. She pushed me to ski better than I had in a long time. I know she had a great day because the little girl smile was back. All that mattered was skiing faster and better than Pavel. Yes she was competitive, but in a positive way. She wanted to better herself.

Suddenly I realized it was late in the day I did have to be home and I did have a 2 hour drive. Quickly we skied down to the base lodge, she changed into her “other” suit and off I drove forgetting to tell her what a great skier she was.


Three months later my wife finds the perfume bottle. The label said it all, IVANA.

after reading your posts my life seems so dull...

Gavin,

My wife often wishes she had a more "dull" life. So please do not think it is all "great".

As I get "older" and perhaps "wiser" I realize that we all have a role to play in this world. No one life style is "acceptable" and even desirable for everyone.

Gavin, your comments also allows me to make a comment. I hope I am not "taking" too much time and space from other skiers on this site. I never usually share all these "events" on a general site. I am very reserve in real life, In fact few people at my work even know about this "side" of me.By chance I meet some of my students or former students in the skiing context and they all think,,I am a twin!
Skiing brings the little boy out of me! I am very ordinary, quiet and conservative in the academic setting.

Those pain killers do have secondary effects. I am sure I will read these postings in a couple of months and wonder why I ever "let it out"!
Is there anyone out there who also has these "secondary" effects!

If you feel I am not letting others "speak" or post messages please tell me. I will babble with my pillows! You see it takes me about 15 minutes to get to computer. It is a long trek in many ways.Then another 5 just to rest and boot!

Meanwhile my brain is racing about with many skiing ideas.You can appreciate that I am rarely "fixed" in one spot for long,,so to have this body,, hold me back is quite a problem. I am starting to appreciate Dr. Hawkin's situation!

I am sure many times my wife would love to meet you.

dont stop, i enjoy them all and as i occasionally get spare time at work it happily whiles away a few moments reading them.
i dont actually regard my life as dull, just in comparrison to yours perhaps!
i've only recently joined this and snowheads and its doing wonders to getting me excited for my week in the snow, esp as i missed last year due to buying my first property.
im enjoying all your coments, just been reading your posts on snow shoes which is useful as this year we plan to hire a guide for some back country boarding. money and conditions allowing we're also hoping to have a go at heli skiing, feel ought to do it once at least! any experience of this?

Gavin,
Thank you for the reply.

I will soon be doing a great deal of snowshoeing once I am let out of my cage! There is something so rewarding to walk into a forest and experience the silence. We do not do enough of this!

Skiing is not just a sport. It is a life style which offers many rewaeds

Gavin,

I too like to snowshoe, but since I have lost my husky dog, I find it "difficult" to use same trails. I is amazing how attached we get our pets.

Often I will hike into woods with just some basic tools and my winter tent. Sleeping in -30 winter weather is so rewarding. The silence is "touching"!

We have here an ice hotel where tourist come from all over to sleep in a "real" ice hotel!
All of them say it is an experience they will never forget.

Will soon tell you a story about how my family "survived" a two day snow storm where we had to make a snow cave. Since then,,my boys insist that at least once every winter I make snow cave for them in my back area and they sleep in it. Imagine the feeling you have knowing you can and will survive any winter storm. As long as you are well equiped and know what to do!

pavelski wrote:Gavin,

I too like to snowshoe, but since I have lost my husky dog, I find it "difficult" to use same trails. I is amazing how attached we get our pets.

Love huskies. Here's our Alaskan




Now we should discuss solutions for dog hairs on all the synthetic thermals.


Trencher

Trencher wrote:

pavelski wrote:Gavin,

I too like to snowshoe, but since I have lost my husky dog, I find it "difficult" to use same trails. I is amazing how attached we get our pets.

Love huskies. Here's our Alaskan




Now we should discuss solutions for dog hairs on all the synthetic thermals.


Trencher

Oh what a sweetie!