Sex, lies and love at the snow

have a friend, let's call her Magdalene, who was picked up at the Keller in Thredbo. Now, if you know the Keller you know it's named after Helen Keller because that's how blind you have to be to go there.
Every ski resort has a Keller - the kind of bar-come-nightclub where your feet stick to the dance floor, only you don't notice in your drunken state.
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But back to Magdalene, though perhaps we should call her Kim, as monosyllables is about all one can handle at closing time at the Keller. Kim met Jim (we'll call him that because it rhymes) and you can guess the rest. But the story doesn't end with a morning walk of shame and Jim struggling to remember Kim's name because it's really Magdalene and Magadalene, we mean Kim, giving Jim a fake phone number should he be inclined to come back for seconds.
This Keller love story finishes with a walk down the aisle, two kids, a happy 18-year-old marriage and regular trips back to where it all began. Against all snow romance odds, this one didn't just survive, it thrived.
Ski resorts around the globe are a seething pit of sex, love and lies, and that's just the seasonal staff at ski school.  Seasonal workers are a sure-fire way to get your heart broken, as the snow melts they're on their way with a "I love you but the season's over" line that's worn around the edges.
There's nothing like throwing yourself down a hill at full speed on planks, while avoiding other skiers and boarders, to make a person believe they can do anything and have anyone.
I've witnessed it first hand. Altitude amnesia is alive and well for the singles above the snowline (SATS) who conveniently forget their wife or girlfriend back at sea level and may even store their wedding band in the glove box as soon as they pass the national park gates. What goes on tour, stays on tour, right? Wrong, just ask Tiger Woods.
The snow leopards (younger sister to the cougar) in America's ski land of private jets and second snow-homes prey on the SATS in the hope the SATS will leave those wedding rings in the glove compartment permanently and support them in the snow-princess-style to which they think themselves deserving.
Australian snow leopards love Thredbo. Why? Because the last census night revealed the highest single male median income in the country.
If Europe's ski capital of financial excess, Verbier, is anything to go by then a marriage vow must be broken more than once a day from what I've seen. But then, it is the second home for Britain's stockbroking community and according to a recent survey  72 per cent of bankers are unfaithful to their partners.
Not that we're counting. If we were we'd note that Austria would be the place for women to get lucky in love (or not) as the average Austrian male has 29.3 sexual partners (the global average is 13.2) and men looking for action would head to New Zealand's ski fields where, according to the Durex Global ex Survey, the world's most promiscuous women abide.
There was a time for Snow It All where the thrill of skiing at home and abroad, and the knowledge I would always be leaving, fuelled my own commitaphobe ways. I'd convince myself I had found the love of my life in gore-tex and then lament the distance between us, a distance my job as a travel journalist would always put there. When you 'fall' at the snow it's not always on the slopes.
The ski industry is a perfect place for those with commitment issues who move between nothern and southern seasons, but there comes a time where even they have to grow up. Is there anything sadder than a middle-aged (or older) ski instructor lusting after giggling university students half their age every night at the same bar? Yes - that same ski instructor at the same bar doing the same thing the following year.
But back to Magdalene, again. The romantic in me loves her story because it was against the odds. Sure, the men can complain about the 'sausage factory' known as the snow where the Y chromosome far outweighs the X, but ladies already know that while the odds are good, those goods can be more than odd. Throw that in amongst the dark walls of the Keller and true love is not likely to bloom.
But it must bloom more than I know, for last season I witnessed an entire bridal party complete with bride in full meringue-style frock heating up the Keller dance floor though the bride spent more time supporting the back wall. Now there's some wedding photos I would like to see.
It's for this reason I have also always loved the resort of Loveland in Colorado where every Valentine's Day loved-up snow-obsessed couples dress up in their finest bridal gear, click into skis and snowboards and ride the lift to the top for a communal wedding officiated by a local celebrant. I like to think it's love that has driven them to unite, not just the annual 'Marry Me and Ski For Free' lift pass for the brides and grooms February 14.

Though it never surprises me what people will do for a free lift pass.
Have you fallen in love for a night, a week or a season? Did you meet your life partner at the snow? Have you been hit on by married men or women at a ski resort? What sex, love and lies stories do you have to share? Post a comment on the blog below.
WIN a five star heli ski trip to New Zealand

Above: Azur Lodge and heli-skiing with Southern Lakes Heli-Ski
If you've been watching the weather you will have seen the mammoth powder storms that have been dumping white goodness across New Zealand's South Island this week. Avid skiers and snowboarders know it's all about timing. Get the tail end of the storm and arrive in time for sunshine and you'll score the most epic ski days of your life.
Lucky for us New Zealand's ski cities of Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown are a mere three hour's a way. Air New Zealand make it even luckier with direct flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and daily flights from Sydney to Queenstown throughout the season. Translated? As soon as a storm hits you can be there in time for first lifts when it clears.
One lucky Snow It All reader is about to experience this first hand.  We've got a five-star heli-ski break for two to Queenstown to give away with return Air New Zealand flights for two from Australia to Queenstown and two nights at the uber super swanky $1000 a night Azur Lodge in a private villa with breathtaking lake views, daily breakfast, afternoon tea, drinks and canapes, airport and town transfers. In a word - plush.
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So get cracking, tell your friends and enter. How? Post a comment on our blog referring to today's blog topic and explaining why you should win. The best, most interesting entry will be the winner. It's that easy. You can also enter by emailing misssnowitall@gmail.com.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/blogs/snow-it-all/sex-lies-and-love-at-the-snow-20110721-1hpmn.html#ixzz1TkcVBW5m