WINTER WIDOWS : A SURVIVAL GUIDE A look at the realities and joys of loving someone married to the mountain. BY SHANNON DUNFEY KONVICKA, WITH KARA YOUNG
ed seeing someone who works in ski area operations: weeks when you hear, but rarely see, your partner leave and come home; nights when you wake up at 3:30 a.m. to find their side of the bed cold because they had to rush in to work to fix a snowcat that broke down on the hill; the constant weather obsession. It was then that I became a winter widow, a role I’ve embraced through mar- raige, childrearing, my own career, and a move to Sugarbush Resort, Vt., where Pat- rick took up the position of VP of moun- tain ops and recreational services. WELCOME TO WINTER WIDOWHOOD For those unfamiliar with this season-
al situation, let me paint you a picture: from November 1 through mid-April (sometimes stretching into May), you essentially become the primary manag- er of home and life logistics while your partner’s time is consumed by the daily workings of the mountain. It was during one particularly brutal February week, when Patrick had essen- tially vanished into snowmaking opera- tions, that I discovered I wasn’t alone in this experience. My friend Kara Young, whose husband works at Mad River Glen, Vt., was living the same parallel reality. While Patrick was buried in snowmak- ing and mountain operations, Kara’s hus- band Ry, MRG’s marketing and events manager, was navigating the unique
I met my husband in the White Moun- tains of New Hampshire in Decem- ber 2016 at Wildcat Tavern’s weekly pasta feed for ski area employees. He marched in like a bundled-up Storm- trooper dressed completely in black, hood up, “Wildcat Snowmaking” in bright white reflective lettering on the back of his jacket. At the time, Patrick was the Wildcat mountain op- erations manager and deep in 24/7 snowmaking mode, trying to get 100 percent open for the holidays. We started dating that winter. As a former professional snowboarder who had competed in the X Games, I knew skiing—but I had no idea what went into making skiing possible until I start-
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