5 Signs That You Were Born & Raised in a Ski Town

The mountains are not only my paradise but also my home. Way back in the age of dinosours my parents relocated from the flattest place on Earth: Minnesota, to the bumpiest: Park City. They came for the powder, for the exquisite nature, but mostly for the powder. And they wanted their children to share their affection of snow with them. So my mom helped me build snowmen to build an apprecation for this white gold and my father built record-breaking sledding tracks for me to break as many bones as possible probably. And for whatever reason my admiration for the mountains has always stuck. And all of us native skiers share these following traits:

1. Tourists Are the Most Maddening Objects in Human Existence
Imagine this scenario: it's an absolutely wondrous day on the mountain; the skies are blue, powder is abundant and there's practically no one around, the world is serene and still. Then, out of the blue, a forty something year old, beer bellied bloke in a neon pink and purple full body suit comes whooping and hollering with his gazillion children. Then this man has the nerve to jovially walk up to you and exclaim where he's from; West Texas and that he hasn't skied since the 80s. And you just glare at him. He asks for directions towards the lodge, grudgingly you tell him to literally just ski down the mountain. But the worst is when the tourist acts like they're a local. Ugghhhhhh just stop! This is a pretty extreme example of a tourist but basically they're way too happy, ask too many questions, and most need some serious fashion tips. But tourists boost the town's economy so they're  okay I guess.

Tourists. Photo courtesy of Tribune.com.pk

2. You Honestly Don't Understand Why People Don't Like Winter

Me when winter rolls around. Photo courtesy of
 live science.com

It's okay if winter isn't your number one season, but if someone says that they hate winter, let's just say that I'm done talking to you. I get it, you've lived in SoCal your entire life, you've never experienced a winter storm or 60 below weather. But don't be coming up here yelling how much you hate the cold and snow when you are literally surrounded by at least 1,000 skiers. What these people need to understand is that with winter comes amazing things. For example, snow and snow equals immense joy from fresh pow skiing. Sure it may be like 11 below, but that's why jackets are a thing, where one.

3. You Have an Unique Childhood
Most people's favorite childhood memories consist of hot summer days and bright purple popsicles. But a ski kid's favorite memory is always on a snowy winter's day sledding or rolling in the fluff (at least it is for me). And the pre-teen days are full of you and your friends piling into your mom's subaru outback and heading up to the resort. And then in high school all you want to do is stare out the window and watch the snowflakes gently land. Then once you're finally in college you can't really relate to anyone's childhood of going to the beach and waterpark because you never went anywhere like that (your parent's reasoning were that you already live in a vacation hotspot). But your childhood is truly unique and it's what made you, you!

4. You Have Some Immense Pride For Your Hometown
When someone asks a native skier where they're from, they better be ready to be bombarded with a lot of information. Because growing up in a mountain town is pretty distinct, and you're proud of that. So you love talking about where your from. You can talk about your high school's unique social hierarchy (alpine skiers on top and the winter haters on the bottom), how you were raised in a log cabin deep in the woods, and of course your love of snow!

5. You'll Always Want to Come Back
Ever since I was little, I have dreamed of going to a big city. And one day I went! But I realized after a while of being among the hustle and bustle of the city, I wanted to go back to my sleepy little pine tree covered town. You'll begin to miss the slow moving atmosphere and friendly people. You'll