I am sitting at my tiny student apartment in Hel(l)sinki, reading Skimbaaja (Finnish skiing magazine) and listening some music. I am surrounded by skis, boots, snowboards, mountain equipment, ropes and various camping equipment. I am reading an article of Jarkko Henttonen, a young Finnish freerider. He had discovered Chamonix in 1995 and was spending his season in this “mecca” of European mountaineering. The year is 1997 and I am preparing my first trip to Chamonix, straight to headquarter of European backcountry skiing. I am becoming a full time skibum. It has been my dream for years and now it is happening. Man, I’m so excited!

Becoming a full time skibum

That was already ten years ago and the article I was reading on that day was about Jarkko Henttonen and his mates spending seasons in Chamonix. Many of those guys are now my friends but on that day I did not know any of them. I remember reading the article with great interest and appreciation. I literately admired those guys. They were living their lives exactly as I had wanted. Being a skibum and skiing big mountains had been somehow my glorious dream. I come from Finland where many of the ski resorts are 5500 cm. high. Yes, you read it correct, 55 meters! Bloody hell! I guess you can understand why the Alps was a kind of heaven for me.

So I got myself to Chamonix in January 1997. I was a newbie and I was so damn excited.. and may be a bit afraid as well, just because it was all so new to me. Anyhow, I quickly found myself skiing fabulous powder and damn steep and icy couloirs with very skillful and experienced skiers. I had found what was looking for. I was at home.

Who is a skibum anyway?

Being a skibum is definitely a lifestyle. It is about great passion, attitude and dedication. As a skibum you are highly motivated in skiing and you are willing to dedicate months for skiing year after year. You spend all your money to skiing and you are not afraid of traveling far from home. You are ready to face new and unexpected situations, even difficult ones. You dedicate your life for skiing for many weeks or months, and you do it 100% every single day. Being a skibum is a lifestyle that can give you huge amounts of joy and experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. Not to forget the long lasting friendships it can give you as well.

Some folks might think that being a skibum is somehow glorious. Well, it is not. Mountaineering and backcountry skiing are of course fantastic sports, and up in the mountains you might feel privileged, but being a skibum has nothing to do with being famous (unless you already happen to be famous). It is just living your life as you want and dedicating your time to skiing. It is about great friendships and fantastic moments up in the mountains and in valleys. It is about living together with your friends in an unbelievable tiny appartment in pretty ascetic way. Every single dollar you make is spent to rents, food, ski passes, insurance, and equipment and of course, beer and red wine. It is great, and you can experience something that most of the people will never experience.

A typical day in the life of a skibum

So, what is a typical day schedule of a skibum? There are may different answers, of course, but this one comes from my practical experience.

06:00 Early birds go running. You better stay in good condition if you want to climb and ride mountains
07:00 Powder alarm! Wake-up, shower (if you got time), breakfast, finding your socks, boots, gloves, goggles.. It can be a nightmare when you share a 24 square meters appartment with 10-12 other skiers. Yes, that is true. It’s the best way to save with appartment costs.
07:30 Driving to the ski lifts with 100% frozen windows
08:00 First few turns, skiing down to a glacier, approaching a mountain face
09:00 Climbing a mountain face, skiing it down, having helluva great moments
13:00 Lunch on a glacier and then back to skiing, may be some forest powder or a nice steep couloir
18:00 Driving back to valley
18:30 To the bar… You just killed the mountain, now take it relaxed and enjoy some (lotsa) beer!!
20:00 Dinner at home with all other pretty weird dudes
21:00 Playing games, drinking beer, calculating math, sleeping..

Calculating math?! WTF? Yes, exactly. Some skiers spend their evenings by preparing for the university entrance exams. There are as many day schedules as there are skibums. My schedule was pretty much like that back in 1999. We went running in the morning because I wanted stay in good condition. Just because climbing mountains doesn’t feel good if you are a fatt ass.

The year 1999 was a dream season. We usually did not wake up if there was not fresh snow. It was a powder season number one. We went skiing the whole day, either in slopes or in backcountries. We climbed a lot and spent time in glaciers.

Would you like to become a skibum? If yes, I have only two words for you. Do it! For me those skibum years were so fantastic that I even see dreams about those days after many years. It was my dream come true and I am very glad I went to Chamonix first time on 1997. As beginners without a guide we took many high risks and we were in troubles few times, but luckily nothing serious happened. I must point out that risks in the mountains can be high if you are inexperienced and you have no guide. If you have no money to hire a guide (as we never had) you should find experienced skiers who are willing to take you with them. That might not be easy, but it is your cheap life insurance. Don’t ever, never go to mountains alone! Oh, and you need information. Read books like Chamonix backcountry skiing and talk with experienced people.

This was a real story of being a skibum. I hope this article gave you some insights of that kind of lifestyle. Being a skibum is a way of life that can give you experiences you never forget. If you wanna do it, then do it! You won’t be dissapointed.