This was published 8 years ago

Ski season Australia: Ten ways to tell if you're a snow addict

Do big, white flakes make you delirious? It's possible you're a snow tragic

By Rachael Oakes-Ash

Updated July 23, 2015 — 11.06am

We all know one: the snow tragic who counts down the days between the end of one ski season and the beginning of the next. The person who chooses a skiing or snowboarding film over a blockbuster new-release movie and names their children Seth, Xavier, Travis and Torah.

Any place you've skied or snowboarded, they've already been to. They won goggles in an online competition once and now declare themselves "sponsored" by that eyewear brand.

When you travel in their car, you hear the distinctive rattle of snow chains coming from the boot, despite it being 30-plus degrees and the middle of summer. And their dream is to live in a tiny house on wheels in the car park of their favourite ski hill with a can opener with which to open food foraged from their parents' kitchen cupboards.

Some of us just can't get enough of the snow.Credit: iStock

If this sounds familiar, and you suspect you might yourself be a snow tragic, here are another 10 sure signs to consider:

1. You know the number of resorts at which you have skied or boarded and can probably recite them in alphabetical order. You love those Facebook world ski map apps that ask you to list your ski travels and you actually post the results on your social media.

2. You keep a count of the number of days you have been on snow this season – and every season that came before – and happily drop that number into any conversation, relevant or irrelevant. "I will have a latte please. No, make that a cappuccino. It's a tradition on my 550th day of the season to celebrate with a cappuccino. I've been doing it for 250 gazillion years."

3. You have every ski pass you've ever owned. Every one. The missing ones you found on eBay.

4. You are allowed to vote, drink alcohol, drive a car (not in that order) and you still collect stickers. Lots of stickers. You write to ski and snowboard brands for stickers. You cover your car with stickers, your helmet with stickers, your luggage and anything else within a metre radius of your life with stickers.

5. You wear your ski jacket out in town just because. You don't live in a ski resort, you live in a city, and as soon as the temperature drops, out comes the ski or snowboard jacket. You get extra points if your ski jacket is still sporting lift passes from resorts gone by.

6. You suffer from ski or snowboard mentionitis and an uncanny ability to turn any conversation round to that one time on that ski hill when you ... (fill in the blanks).

7. You know what a synoptic chart is and can actually read one. High is a pressure system to you, cold is a front.

8. Your non-snowboarding and skiing friends (if you have any) think you speak in tongues. "The avi was epic, tried to take some turns but came up short in the white room, too much sluff."

9. You think melted cheese is a meal and schnapps is a dessert.

10. You actually use the dashboard on the RFID lift passes. If you understand what this means, that also counts.

Are you a snow addict? What are your telltale signs? Post your comments below.

Instagram2Win a ski trip to Whistler

We've partnered with SkiMax this season for the annual #misssnowitall Instagram competition. You could win seven nights for two at the swanky Fairmont Chateau in Whistler, plus lift passes for two people at Whistler Blackcomb for six days and return flights for two from Sydney to Vancouver thanks to SkiMax.

Just tag your winter-inspired Instagram pics #misssnowitall #skimaxholidays to enter. We'll publish five finalists each week, with one winner at the end of the season. See this week's top entries in the gallery at the top of the page.

Pro photographers can win a Sony 4k Action Cam with Helmet Side Mount and Board Mount worth $697 (they are not eligible for the Whistler prize) by tagging their pics #misssnowitall #skimaxholidays #pro. We'll choose one pro shot a week as a finalist with one overall winner at end of season.

Click here for competition terms and conditions. See the latest entries below.

The Sydney Morning Herald