Published in Next Magazine, January 21, 2011.
"Let It Snow! They Don't Mind."
by Jeff Kagan
Picture it. Vermont. 2005. A big house party filled with a gaggle of guys on their first weekend getaway with the Ski Bums, the world’s largest Gay & Lesbian Skiing and Snowboarding Club. Chris French, the founder of the group, goes up to the loft to take a picture and he finds himself looking down on a room full of people who were complete strangers only months before, yet, now they seemed like a family, smiling, laughing and excited about their much anticipated upcoming steps out onto the powdery snow-covered hills of New England.
These trips are quite common for the 800-member organization – the skiing, the snowboarding, the feeling of inclusiveness and new friendships. However, they do have one surprising benefit: a strange feeling of youthfulness. “We woke up one morning to more than a foot of fresh snow. It was incredible to see how elated everyone gets when you're flying through giant puffs of fluffy powder -- you feel like you're a kid again.” says French, whose youthful smile radiates enough warmth to melt a snowman.
French grew up, the son of a preacher man, in a small farm town in Northern Illinois, population 499. He started skiing at age 7 on tiny riverbanks and refashioned landfills. “Back then, it took 2 minutes to get down the mountain and then another twenty to get back up,” he recalls. Thanks to technological advances in ski lifts, the entire experience has truly evolved.
French initially started the group not for his love of skiing but for his own interest in finding a skier to love. “I wanted to find a husband who could ski. That's the honest truth.” He looked around to see if there was an LGBT skiing & snowboarding club, and when he didn’t find one, this mogul of the mountain took the initiative to start one himself.
What’s in store for the Ski Bums in 2011? French is proudly launching two new programs, the first of which is an all-new College Chapter of Ski Bums (sounds like an 80’s movie, doesn’t it?). This will be a fun, affordable, laidback weekend getaway for college students.
The second program will involve an organization called Stoked, which works with at-risk youth in New York City to build mentoring relationships around snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing trips. “We asked if they'd be interested in partnering with us to adapt their program for LGBT youth, they immediately jumped on board with incredible enthusiasm,” French says. “We've now got a coalition of several organizations that are joining together in an inspiring team effort, and we can't wait for the program to begin!”
Find the Ski Bums at their monthly “Avalanche” party at Therapy Lounge. For more information about the Ski Bums and Stoked, see their websites at www.ski-bums.org and www.stoked.org.
Quickies
Get Out. Out of Bounds, That Is: The Out of Bounds NYC Sports Memorabilia Exhibit has moved to Boxers NYC (37 West 20th St.). See over 100 medals, ribbons and plaques all commemorating the unstoppable determination of LGBT athletes of New York City.
Tennis Anyone?: The Metropolitan Tennis Group raised $6800 this year for the Matthew Shepard Foundation! All proceeds support the foundation’s mission to teach and instill tolerance, respect and acceptance of LGBT individuals and everyone/anyone that is “different.”
Tall Drink O’Water: The New York City Gay Basketball League is sending two teams to the Sin City Classic over the MLK Holiday Weekend! The local gay team continues to dominate the Chelsea Piers League, after winning the Division 5 championship, they moved up to division 3 and continue on their winning streak (17 games in a row). Next, they are up against another straight team…The Topps… go figure.
Kiss My Ice: NYC Gay Hockey Association accomplishments: Matt Ingham leads his team with nine points, from eight goals and one assist for the Wizards. Matt has sat in the penalty box for four minutes. Adam Knoerzer received his first penalty of his career on January 8, 2011 and in the heavens above, someone killed an angel.
Dark Knights: The Gotham Knights Rugby Club will be hosting their Winter Indoor Training sessions (open to new members) on Thursday nights from 6:30pm-8:00pm from January through March 2011. For more information email info@gothamrfc.org.
