Major Ski Blunders : 1

I have been skiing for some years so I thought I had seen it all!

Then one more comes up !

This happened to me yesterday !

I had several pairs of ski boots laying around and my son "suggested" I sell a pair to his friend ! I did ! I spend two hours fitting him, installing a new liner, explaining how each buckle works and how to enter ski boots !

Off he goes happy to ski with his young son the next day !

At 10 AM I get a frantic call, "Pavel help,,,I can't get into the boots" I even took off my socks and tried to get into them with bare feet " HELP !!!

I calmed him down and asked to explain all he did AFTER he left my home!

( Ho,,,,,,I must tell you all that it was -30c at night )

He tells me, "well I put boots in car, got all my ski material ready and picked up my boy"

Silence follows,,,,I ask, "did you leave boots in car " ?

My heart sank as I heard the reply, "well of course I left them in the car ready to ski "

My major blunder 1. I assumed a beginner would know to NEVER LEAVE SKI BOOTS IN COLD conditions!!!!

There are hundreds of stories about what skiers will do to protect their boots! The most famous is Stenmark who could get any boots he wanted as he was winning major races,,but chose to ski on his 5year old boots !

I told the father to go back home,,,place his boots near a hot air source and watch a ski movie with son! The next day I met them at ski center,,again showed him how to put on ski boots!

My reward for all that was to see his 9 year old son grinning from ear to ear as his father was told how to put ski boots on !

I just winked at boy ! We are now friends for life!

Please everyone in the ski world,,,a warm ski boot is like a great big hug when you need it, it is like a cool sip on a hot hot summer, it is the beginning of a great ski day,,,,or torture !

Now wait for the next boot blunder coming up !

Pavel