In Search of the Elusive Hardcore Skier Chick?

Being Valentine's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to devote this entry to man's other obsession...women. So I was up in LA this past weekend visiting my buddy Carl. We were out with his girlfriend, Teahnna, and were walking back to my car after eating a wonderful meal at very nice Italian Restaurant (Dolce) in Hollywood. As we're walking down the sidewalk along Sweetzer Ave past a car (I don't remember what kind of car it actually was), both Carl and I were struck by its roof rack. It was covered with stickers from a whole slew of resorts including Alta, Snowbird, Kirkwood, Squaw, and Jackson Hole to name a few. Carl turns to me and says, "I almost want to leave this dude a note suggesting that we get together for some skiing." I nod my head in agreement. Teahnna's response to this is, "What makes you think this car belongs to a guy, it could be a girl's car!" Carl and I turn to each other and just start laughing. I reply that girls like that don't exist. Carl adds fuel to the fire, saying that if she did exist, he'd be out with her right now.

Needless to say, Teahnna didn't find our comments very funny. But it does raise an important point for those of us who are addicted to skiing or any other sport where the participants are mostly dudes. How do you balance the relationship you have with your girlfriend/wife (who expects you to be home on the weekends) and that with your love of the sport (that takes you out of town seemingly every moment that you have off)? As a sub-question, should you look for a woman who shares your interests or a woman who doesn't share them, but can respect your passion for them?

I'm not even pretending that I have the answers to these questions. God knows that I am a complete mess when it comes to women! But from observing a number of relationships (friends and family, some ideal and others less than ideal) and thinking quite a bit about what I value in a relationship, I have at least developed my own opinion.

Of course, the ideal situation is to find a woman who would be driving the aformentioned car with the nicely decorated roofrack. That way she can share in your passion and you both can go skiing every weekend. As a side note, I would hope that she is either roughly as good as I am or is totally understanding if I want to ditch her on a powder day. When I get onto the mountain, I know that I become a completely self-centered asshole. I am a firm believer in the "no friends on a powder day" rule. (Sorry Dad for ditching you at Alta!) But it hurts me to wait for people while I see beautiful powder getting tracked up. So she'd have to either be good or understanding. (Note: If she'd be into skiing steeps and hucking cliffs, I would consider that a major turn on!) If she was a crappy skier who expected me to hang with her on a powder day, it probably wouldn't work. She'd probably hate me by the end of the day.

That being said, I have gradually become more realistic and have come to realize that the odds of meeting a woman who is a smart, hardcore skier chick are pretty slim. Just finding a single girl like that is tough. Every dude who skis wants to meet her. On top of that, you also have to have some chemistry-which further reduces the odds. Then you need to prevent yourself from acting like a moron and screwing it up-for me the larger concern and one which reduces the odds yet further. I know this all sounds incredibly pessismistic. So in the end you're left holding out for something you're not likely to find. So like most normal people, I think the answer is to find a woman with whom you just enjoy hanging out with and can understand your passion for skiing. Naturally there's going to have to be some compromise on both sides. So you can give up going out of town some weekends when the snow is no good. But hopefully she'll understand that skiing is a part of who you are. If she's cool and a little adventurous, maybe she'll take up the sport herself.

PS: If anyone who reads this knows if that roofrack did belong to a woman who is single, I'd indebted if you could get me her number.