A professional ski instructor since 1996, I moved to Colorado, all by myself with my yellow Labrador retriever Chester. I was chasing the snow and following my dreams! Keystone was my mountain and I met the most amazing people there. My best friend and “twin” Jana and I had the most amazing adventures in the powder, in the back country, in the moguls and teaching kids and adults how to ski! We would look at the mogul field (bumps of fluffy white snow) below the chair on Bachelor Trail and I would click my poles together and say “OK boys! Let’s sell a lesson”. We skied the “zipper line” and popped off a few of the bumps twisting and doing little spread eagles, landing completely balanced. Oh the joy to be outside in the cold skiing those fluffy bumps.
It was in 2000, when I passed my Alpine Level 1 PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) that I bought my first Patagonia fleece vest with the PSIA logo. I wore that vest ALL the time with such pride that I was a part of this top notch organization of pro skiers. I loved to ski and spread the love of skiing to everyone!
Have you ever had that piece of clothing that gets so much wear that pieces of it just fall apart? My Patagonia fleece vest was my favorite and well, my zipper broke on this vest. I was sad. I didn’t throw it away. But ended up, buying another one in 2013, 13 years later, when I passed my Alpine Level 3 PSIA certification to replace my old vest. The photo below is when my stepdaughter, Samantha and I took our Level 3 exam at Hunter Mountain in New York. This newer vest experienced the same type of daily wear and in 9 years somehow I had the same issue and my zipper failed to zip.
Recently I went to the Patagonia site to see that they repair the old clothing and by fixing the zippers on both of my vests – they brought that pride back and my gear is now functional again! Fixed and beautiful to live on for many more ski days to come!
Thank you Patagonia!
