"This is my boyfriend Mike. He is a skibum and is going skiing in Chamonix this season", said my childhood friend Tina as she introduced me to her new boyfriend. The year was 1996 and I had recently moved to Helsinki.. I grew up in northern Finland and I was an active skier. For years I read Powder magazine and watched my idol Seth Morrison skiing in films, but I never had experienced anything similar. I wanted to ride the mountains as well, but I was a newbie and I didn't know where to start. When I was introduced to this radical-looking skibum Mike, I knew my chance had come. "Now or never", I thought.
Skibum living Photo: Per.Edin
Only three months later I took the bus from Geneva airport to Chamonix village. I was going to spend my first season at Chamonix ski resort. I was sooo excited. I knew Mike was already there, but at that time he wasn't my close friend. I also knew that there are about 30-50 other Finnish seasonnaires living in small but tight groups of skibums. There was only one way to get to the backcountries, and it was with other Finns. I knew I must break into the tight gang of Finnish skibums. I felt like I was going to a party without an invitation, but it was no problem for me, because I get along with people easily.
Skiing all the classic off-piste routes of Chamonix
Photo: Speedywithchicken
It took me a few days to make friendships and start skiing with other Finns and a few British and Swedish skiers. During the first 10 days I skied all the runs in the Chamonix ski area and that felt really good compared to Finnish ski resorts. Finally the guys asked me if I wanted to join their trip to the legendary E.N.S.A. couloir, which is a pretty easy off-piste run in the Le Brevent ski area in Chamonix. It went well, and during the next couple of weeks we explored many interesting easy-to-access couloirs, such as Poubelle of L'Aiguille du Midi, Poubelle of Gran Montets, Glacier du Ronde, Pas du Chevre, Couloir Rectiligne and Couloir des Cosmiques. During snowfall we went to ski the forests of Flegere, Argentiere and Plan D'Aiguille, or simply enjoyed beer while watching big mountain riding on a wide screen at a local pub. It was great. So great.
After my first season as skibum Chamonix I was already deep in the tiny powder-hunting culture and society of Finnish skiers. All I was interested in was skiing big mountains. Even in summer time I went mountain biking with other skiers, and guess what the main topic of our discussions was? Skiing, Chamonix and the upcoming ski season. Summers were actually nothing but preparation for the next ski season.
Skiing the mountains and exploring new cultures
Photo: Jmlasalsa
During the next few years I spent my ski seasons in France, Norway and Finland. I skied +100 days every year from November to May. Together with my friends we skied fabulous off-piste runs, large powder fields and glaciers and interesting forests. We expanded our playground to cover other ski resorts such as Zermatt and Verbier in Switzerland as well as the Aosta valley in Italy. Sometimes we went ice and rock climbing as well as mountain biking,or just visited nearby cities such as Grenoble and Annecy. Personally I loved to walk around the cities, enjoy good coffee and observe people and French culture.
I took pictures in order to preserve those moments. Those years were fantastic and they form a big part of my life. It was not all about skiing. In fact, the very best thing of all those years is the friendships. It was a great privilege to meet all those great and inspiring guys with whom I shared so many mind-blowing experiences.
Skiing with my little termites
Photo: Dannisullivan
Then it all changed again. I met my lovely wife and we now have four children. At the same time I started studying at the Helsinki University and working at a technology firm. I realized I am too busy with studies, work and family to continue as a seasonnaire anymore. I had to quit skibumming. Years went by and I found myself spinning the same hamster wheel as other suits. I got stressed but I persisted because I am strongly goal-oriented.
A couple of years ago I decided to show our oldest son what skiing in the Alps is all about. I didn't even think about different ski resorts as choices, so we went to Chamonix. For some reason it was obvious for me to bring our son to Chamonix. After a hiatus of many years I was back there, and I felt the same excitement and enthusiasm as before. I didn't enter the backcountries with our 12-year-old son, but we explored the pistes of Le Brevent, Flegere and Gran Montets. It was great to see that our son loves speed as much as I do, and we skied very fast together. Oh boy, we had a lot of fun.
The circle is closing. After eight years of a 9-to-5 job I had had enough of the hamster wheel. I founded my own company with a handful of friends. Now we focus on building our own business based on things we really like. Economical growth is important, but there is one primary goal and driving force in our endeavour. It's the freedom to ski whenever we want. We are all skiers willing to go back to the playground. Although building a business can be hard sometimes, it feels good to be back doing what we really love. See you on the powder fields!
Go further: If winter seems light-years away then find out about a good place in the Alps to go for pre-season skiing and what it is like going skiing in Chile in July.
