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Some of the geekiest people I know have become the best skiers/snowboarders on the mountain. I know a guy who used to regularly show up to the terrain park and

Some of the geekiest people I know have become the best skiers/snowboarders on the mountain. I know a guy who used to regularly show up to the terrain park and do double frontflips over 60 foot jumps. He's got a PHD in physics now. I know another guy who used to compete in big air competitions. Senior iOS developer. My friend Brian does double cork 10s. Medical doctor. This sport is for nerds. If you're nerdy, you have an even greater chance of being successful at it because you know how to focus on getting great at something.

sakopov 8y ago
I do a lot of expedition-style backpacking either alone or in a guided group. The groups are always full of tech people, mostly from SV. It's almost like the only people who can afford fun shit are the techies.
- mtnGoat 8y ago
  could it be they are the only ones that can afford $600 per day guided trips? MDs and tech nerds are well paid.
  - sakopov 8y ago
    Nah, It's not even that much. $600 will get you a very good, 3 or 4-day guided trip to the backcountry in Oregon and Washington. You'd be hauling your gear, food and skies/snowshoes. I do think that techies can easily afford this stuff, but I also think what's more important is they can afford to take a lot of time off work (or just leave their jobs all together knowing they'll find another gig fairly quickly) to enjoy things like this.
- marmshallow 8y ago
  Are these all in Northern California?
  - illegalsmile 8y ago
    Not at all. There are high end touring and backpacking, i.e. full service guided hut/cat/heli drops and hut to hut style, all over the world in or near most major ski destinations. Most people I know who can afford to do these trips is within the STEM group or independently wealthy. Or they're younger with no overhead and they dirtbag it for a awhile to save up but this is the minority.
- bendixso 8y ago
  Park is fun for me. It's relatively cheap too. You just need a ski pass and your gear. I would also qualify as a tech d-bag but I don't spend a ton of money on the sport and generally look like a dirtbag when I'm out and about
  - beezle 8y ago
    Depending on the mountain and the park, you may even be able to get away with just foot power.
paulcole 8y ago
> This sport is for nerds. Having a lot of disposable income helps, too. Or if you're a dirtbag, the ability to live as cheaply as possible so you can spend as much time as possible on the mountain.
- tmh88j 8y ago
  >Having a lot of disposable income helps, too. It's not that expensive unless you have to travel far enough warranting an overnight stay. I was able to afford decent equipment and lift passes from working a cashier job in high school. You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.
  - mburshteyn1 8y ago
    Cashiers job and no financial responsibilities.
    - tmh88j 8y ago
      You're just going to ignore the remaining 2/3 of the post where I said the following? >You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.
nscalf 8y ago
This is the exact same thing for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Half the guys at my gym (in a random town in South Florida) are engineers or doctors.
- drharby 8y ago
  Unexpected joe rogan?
parthdesai 8y ago
Is that the case or is it because winter sport is so expensive and we are well paid compared to people in other fields? I recently went to Berlin and Prague, and met a lot of people who worked in tech that had quit their job to travel for 6 months.
GuB-42 8y ago
Senior iOS developer, medical doctor,... The common ground is not just geekiness, it is money. Skiing is expensive, and in order to get good, you need to practice a lot. I am curious to know how nerdy skateboarders are. Skateboarding and snowboarding share some similarities, but the former is much more affordable.
- sk8tadmon 8y ago
  iOS Developer, ex-skater, and snowboarder here. Skating is much more technical than snowboarding. There are many variations of the same trick as well as the entire flat-ground realm of skating. However, I have taken my worst bails snowboarding. The terrain park is on a different scale of "bigness" than a skatepark, creating more potential risk.
- jmkd 8y ago
  Skated regularly for 31 years, in many countries, with thousands of others. Skateboarders are not nerdy. The accessibility of skateboarding puts it leagues ahead of an expensive sport possible only in certain locations at certain times of year.
  - fuball63 8y ago
    There are definitely nerdy aspects to skaters, despite most skaters being non-argumentative and easy going about those aspects. A lot of skaters are very particular about their wheelbase, deck width, wheel size/durometer, tail/nose style. Skaters are also obsessed with archival of magazines and video parts, leading to some nerdy discussions of 30 year old events that the mainstream would consider trivial.
- starpilot 8y ago
  Yeah when I was skiing 3-5 days a week at Mammoth, I met a lot of physicians and business owners on the lifts. Some astounding conversations too, a middle aged group using a private jet to hop between resorts. It's impossible to not notice the atmosphere of rich white people at any winter resort.
- bendixso 8y ago
drharby 8y ago
It took me to 'my friend Brian' to pick up your sarcasm.
quickthrower2 8y ago
PHD in physics. Aha. Maybe that helps. He knows why the snowboard does what it does and goes where it goes.

sakopov 8y ago

I do a lot of expedition-style backpacking either alone or in a guided group. The groups are always full of tech people, mostly from SV. It's almost like the only people who can afford fun shit are the techies.

mtnGoat 8y ago
could it be they are the only ones that can afford $600 per day guided trips? MDs and tech nerds are well paid.
- sakopov 8y ago
  Nah, It's not even that much. $600 will get you a very good, 3 or 4-day guided trip to the backcountry in Oregon and Washington. You'd be hauling your gear, food and skies/snowshoes. I do think that techies can easily afford this stuff, but I also think what's more important is they can afford to take a lot of time off work (or just leave their jobs all together knowing they'll find another gig fairly quickly) to enjoy things like this.
marmshallow 8y ago
Are these all in Northern California?
- illegalsmile 8y ago
  Not at all. There are high end touring and backpacking, i.e. full service guided hut/cat/heli drops and hut to hut style, all over the world in or near most major ski destinations. Most people I know who can afford to do these trips is within the STEM group or independently wealthy. Or they're younger with no overhead and they dirtbag it for a awhile to save up but this is the minority.
bendixso 8y ago
Park is fun for me. It's relatively cheap too. You just need a ski pass and your gear. I would also qualify as a tech d-bag but I don't spend a ton of money on the sport and generally look like a dirtbag when I'm out and about
- beezle 8y ago
  Depending on the mountain and the park, you may even be able to get away with just foot power.

paulcole 8y ago

> This sport is for nerds. Having a lot of disposable income helps, too. Or if you're a dirtbag, the ability to live as cheaply as possible so you can spend as much time as possible on the mountain.

tmh88j 8y ago
>Having a lot of disposable income helps, too. It's not that expensive unless you have to travel far enough warranting an overnight stay. I was able to afford decent equipment and lift passes from working a cashier job in high school. You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.
- mburshteyn1 8y ago
  Cashiers job and no financial responsibilities.
  - tmh88j 8y ago
    You're just going to ignore the remaining 2/3 of the post where I said the following? >You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.

nscalf 8y ago

This is the exact same thing for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Half the guys at my gym (in a random town in South Florida) are engineers or doctors.

drharby 8y ago
Unexpected joe rogan?

parthdesai 8y ago

Is that the case or is it because winter sport is so expensive and we are well paid compared to people in other fields? I recently went to Berlin and Prague, and met a lot of people who worked in tech that had quit their job to travel for 6 months.

GuB-42 8y ago

Senior iOS developer, medical doctor,... The common ground is not just geekiness, it is money. Skiing is expensive, and in order to get good, you need to practice a lot. I am curious to know how nerdy skateboarders are. Skateboarding and snowboarding share some similarities, but the former is much more affordable.

sk8tadmon 8y ago
iOS Developer, ex-skater, and snowboarder here. Skating is much more technical than snowboarding. There are many variations of the same trick as well as the entire flat-ground realm of skating. However, I have taken my worst bails snowboarding. The terrain park is on a different scale of "bigness" than a skatepark, creating more potential risk.
jmkd 8y ago
Skated regularly for 31 years, in many countries, with thousands of others. Skateboarders are not nerdy. The accessibility of skateboarding puts it leagues ahead of an expensive sport possible only in certain locations at certain times of year.
- fuball63 8y ago
  There are definitely nerdy aspects to skaters, despite most skaters being non-argumentative and easy going about those aspects. A lot of skaters are very particular about their wheelbase, deck width, wheel size/durometer, tail/nose style. Skaters are also obsessed with archival of magazines and video parts, leading to some nerdy discussions of 30 year old events that the mainstream would consider trivial.
starpilot 8y ago
Yeah when I was skiing 3-5 days a week at Mammoth, I met a lot of physicians and business owners on the lifts. Some astounding conversations too, a middle aged group using a private jet to hop between resorts. It's impossible to not notice the atmosphere of rich white people at any winter resort.
bendixso 8y ago

drharby 8y ago

It took me to 'my friend Brian' to pick up your sarcasm.

quickthrower2 8y ago

PHD in physics. Aha. Maybe that helps. He knows why the snowboard does what it does and goes where it goes.