Six letters on a ski glove play a vital role in who I am

You see these six letters covering skiers' hands in volumes at US and Canadian ski resorts, but few have a story to tell on where they come from. Let's drill into the origin and how they have played an instrumental part in my life.

🎿I am, or at least was, an alpine skier. Inspired by Ingemark Stenmark and growing up 10 miles from the best ski slopes in southern Sweden, the Isaberg Mountain Resort stands 310 meters, 1,000 feet, above sea level, and offers a vertical drop of 140m/400ft. It is perfect for slalom and giant slalom. It got its first T-bar lift in 1968 and today sports several lifts, including a 6-chair lift to the top.

⛷️ I started racing late, at age twelve and continued until I began college. After a season on my own, I joined Hestra SSK, the local ski club. The usual drill was four months of intense pre-season training followed by 80 days per year on snow during good winters. As part of the routines, we became ski service technicians, and the last time my dad touched my skis was when I was 14.

🏆 For many years, I struggled to make it to the podiums and decided to make one big stride the season before going to college. I managed to win the state championship in giant slalom in 1987 by 2/100 of a second. It was a proud moment as I drove to close an 8/100 second gap to leap from 2nd to 1st in the second run. I have never been more focused in my life, before or after that moment.

⛷ As racers, we skied on 200/203cm long slalom skis and bumped up to 210cm for giant slalom, 1-1.5 feet longer than today's standards. I did a few downhill events where 220cm super stiff skis were the norm, and jumps during practice sessions took us airborne for ~70m/200ft. I just unpacked a pair that has been untouched since 1991.

🧤 One of the premier local businesses is Hestra Gloves, a provider of ski gloves. As a young athlete, we got sponsored with gloves after a well-attended pre-season program. Seeing their global expansion on display at ski resorts everywhere across North America makes me extra happy. Especially as their new leaders take the glove-making handicraft seriously and art that otherwise would have died out.

📆 The glove company started in 1936, the mountain opened for skiing in the 1936/1937 winter, and the ski club saw daylight in 1938. Trees amigos walk hand-in-hand in making a village with just 1,300 people famous after close to a century

⛪ The church in my hometown, Anderstorp, had a ski trip during spring break included as part of the confirmation program. A week up in the middle of Sweden, that was affordable for all kids. The program turned into a youth group and even took us to Austria. $40 for the bus, a week of accommodation, and breakfast plus dinner was hard to beat, even in the early 80s.

🚠 Many winters, we have gone on week-long trips to the Austrian, Swiss, and French Alps. We were enjoying incredible views and phenomenal skiing. Primarily by 24-30 hour bus rides each way, it was worth every moment of missed sleep. We were just 20 years old when arranging the first trip on our own and netted $1 per passenger for our first full bus of friends. All these trips groomed adventure spirits in a big way.

🎓 In first grade at college, we set up a goal to be ski bums for a winter when we graduated. We hired a 19sqm/190sqft apartment for three people during ten weeks in Val d'Isere 🇫🇷. To this date, it is one of the very best periods in my life. Starting with oatmeal for breakfast, a full day of skiing, a beer, and then home cooking 🧑🍳 in the evenings.

During the ten years of racing, I enjoyed tough training sessions and great friendships and developed my competitive instincts—something I have leveraged throughout my professional career. Only some realize the team element from the long bus, van, and car rides across the country to competitions, where you compete as an individual.

Enjoy a week or a weekend on the slopes. It is a great way to recharge and enjoy freezing temperatures. And in case you doubt, I still buy the racier version of Hestra ski gloves I can find.

Ulf Claesson | Johan Hellström | Peter Johansson | Claes Magnusson | Charlotte Sjödin | Tomas Stam | Persson Carina | Börje Finnstedt | Erik Berggren | Elizabeth Moberg | Tomas Carlsson