“You have to write a blog!” Skboot’s web developer says.   “Why?” I say.   “Because it’s good for SEO” they say.  Apparently, if you update your blog often enough and put it on your website, the Search Engines love it.  So, while I actually enjoy writing, it is with some hesitation that I am commencing this blog.  So, lots of encouragement pleeeeease!

So, the first dilemma I had was what to write about.  Well, actually, it wasn’t.   The first dilemma was: “do I write it from a company viewpoint, or a personal viewpoint?”  It seems that the common consensus was that as the founder of Skboot and having invented this brilliant little wheeled boot bag, I should write the blog from a personal viewpoint.

Then came the second dilemma of what to write about.  Now, everyone thinks that because I invented this great boot bag, I must be a great skier and an expert on all things skiey (is there such a word?).  Well, let me get this straight right from the start – neither apply to me.  I just happened to be someone who loved to travel and loved to ski and disliked immensely (I’ll try not to use the word “hate”) traveling while also carrying my ski boots and gear!  I couldn’t believe that someone hadn’t invented such an animal – so taking into account the words of Edmund Burke “The only way for evil to triumph is for good men (or women) to do nothing” – I decided to do something and dispense with the evil that permeated the skiing industry, which ultimately believes that all skiers are young, strong, athletic men who can carry all their ski gear in one little bag over their shoulders!

But I digress…so I’ve decided to write a blog in the first person about something that relates to skiing.  You know, I’ve always been someone who when they walk out the door, something crazy happens and I often fantasized about writing a book called the “Perils of Caroline” which was actually going to be about my love life, and while the content of these perils might be hilarious for most (women), it’s probably not that funny for skiers or people who travel to ski, and it would be totally irrelevant for the Skboot website.

So, as mentioned in my bio, I now live and work in Park City.  During the ski season, I am lucky enough to have been chosen to volunteer one day a week at the Park City Mountain Resort as a Lift Line Coordinator (LLC), which I prefer to call – and what Seinfeld would probably call – a Lift Nazi.  So, I’m responsible for getting groups of 4 or 6 onto a lift so the lifts are being utilized as much as they can be and while this might seem easy, to be honest, I’ve never had so much trouble counting to 4 and 6 in my life!  This, to people who know me, would not find this surprising at all.

But, prior to landing this great job, and prior to moving to Park City, Utah, I lived in Australia where swimming is a national sport – not skiing.  So, I thought I would entertain you with some of the funny (I hope) perils I have had on the ski slopes during the years and to share with you the goings on in Park City, Utah and in the lift lines of PCMR!

I would love for anyone reading my blogs to comment (no profanity please) and to share their stories also.  Please feel free to share photos of your skiing memories.  Let’s make this fun and interactive.

The chapters, I will call “Episodes” (and when you read them, you’ll know why), which I will intersperse with “Sidebars” of things that have nothing to do with me but events or tips or anything else that I think you may be interested in.  Again, I’m open to suggestions.

But for now, let’s start with Episode 1 of the Perils of Caroline – Living and Working in the Snow…we’re off to New Zealand!