by Brandi
12. January 2010 20:31
Despite the usual slowdown after the holidays, Sun Peaks has had a lot going on. The resort played host to The Okanagan GS Ski Races over the weekend as well as the Sun Peaks Family Cup which spanned from the 4th to the 10th. The Family Cup invited multinational participants to compete against other in a myriad of competitions. There were over 200 racers in the GS Race and over 30 racers in the Cross Country Race. I think some people may have forgotten how much energy kids have until they watched these guys motor around all week. Kids and parents donned in racing bibs and big smiles were all over the place and looked like they were having a great time.
One person who may have been just a bit of better time was Thiago, the Sun Peaks Snow Bum. Since his arrival he has been soaking it all up and enjoying the perks of the title. I caught up with him yesterday to do a couple runs and get to know this super lucky guy.
My Monday morning buddies, Dave, visiting from the U.K, Jose, a friend of Thiago's, Thiago, and Sun Peaks local Blair.
Before we were even on the chair, there were numerous, “Hey Thiago! What’s up?” and one “Hey, Snow Bum!” proof of his semi-celeb status on the mountain. Since his plane touched down he has been photographed, interviewed and introduced to a ton of people.
The buildup surrounding the contest would be intimidating to deal with, but he is handling it like a pro. Over 22,000 people read about the contest on the day of launch via Twitter and a “Sun Peaks Snow Bum” search on Google yields over 46,200 hits on sites from all over the world. They range from Utube videos of contest entrants to Facebook pages dedicated to promoting a specific winner and almost every winter sports forum, online skiing magazine and tourism site mentions the contest. It is really a testament to the power of social media when it is harnessed correctly and how prominent the internet is to the winter enthusiast lifestyle. While it was inspired by Australia’s Best Job in the World Contest, it was so successful it inspired around six similar contests by other resorts and is being regarded as example of excellent use of social media by experts.
The uniqueness of the contest was mirrored in its winner, a Brazilian skier, which is a rare breed indeed. Throughout my morning runs with Thiago, it really hit home how special this opportunity is for him. Back home, or on his skiing vacations he is always acutely aware of how little time he had to get in as much skiing as humanly possible. South America also has a much shorter season than us. The thought of three whole months to do nothing but explore Sun Peaks is still blowing his mind.
When I asked him what he was looking forward to the most, he said it was impossible to pick one aspect, but the combined experience of belong to a true mountain community will be untouchable. I don’t think the judges could have picked a more grateful person.
Thiago has begun to post his blog entries. He will also be posting content on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Back home he is a freelance videographer and has worked on everything from advertising to documentaries so I am really looking forward to his videos. I think he is going to do a great job of portraying this mountain and its atmosphere. It will be refreshing to look at from a new perspective, especially from someone whose normal day-to-day is so far removed resort life.
He is easy to talk to, interesting and a great skier, so don’t be shy. Let’s show him some Canadian hospitality and give him some great Sun Peaks stories to share with the world.
Adios,
Brandi
