InFocus Magazine

Dave Hay sits in his living room, straining to recall the complicated itinerary of his upcoming business trip. First he’s skiing with a group of Swedes in Whistler for three nights, then he’s meeting an old Scottish friend in Frankfurt to ski the French Alps, although they’ll probably hit the slopes in Switzerland as well. Then it’s back to Canada for stints at Kicking Horse, Revelstoke and Lake Louise—he rattles them off with all the enthusiasm of a housewife dictating her grocery list—then a week or so in Telluride, Colorado before heading back north for some heli-skiing in Whistler.

No, Dave Hay generally isn’t one to grumble about his job.  He sips fine wines, dines on gourmet meals, stays in the best hotels the world has to offer and—oh yeah—spends his days skiing the best terrain on the planet.  For the humble owner and sole employee of Skiing on the Edge, it’s all in a day’s work.

Skiing on the Edge is a bit of an enigma.  It’s not really a ski school, although it does involve an element of coaching, nor is it a vacation company, although it definitely takes skiers on some fabulous trips.  Its precise definition lies somewhere in between.

From its roots as a boutique high performance ski school offering athletes the opportunity to prepare for extreme terrain, Skiing on the Edge has evolved into a more personalized program that takes advanced, and generally wealthy, skiers all over the world on skiing holidays.  Although coaching is still a part of it, the real magic of Skiing on the Edge, says Hay, is much more transcendental.

“Clients have come up to me over the years and have said ‘It’s not about the skiing is it?’  Well, it’s not really.  We happen to be skiing, but it’s kind of a metaphor for life.  You sort of learn skiing through these experiences and comparisons in life, and we try to battle skiing as we would battle any challenge.  We just have more fun skiing.”

Hay has established many strong friendships with repeat clients during the 18 years he has been in business, and these connections ensure the fun isn’t just confined to the slopes.

“People don’t really feel sorry for me when I drive out of the driveway to go to work,” says Hay.  “Sometimes I’m staying in the finest hotels around and dining in the finest places that countries have to offer.  And the wines, oh my gosh!  These guys are on a holiday and it’s like a celebration.”  It’s not uncommon, he says, to enjoy a $700 bottle of wine with dinner, “or three or four,” or even a $4,000 bottle of champagne.

“I’m there to enjoy it with them,” he says, with characteristic modesty.  “And no, I can’t tell the difference between a $1,200 bottle of fine red wine and one we can buy here at the liquor store for $50, but I do appreciate the stories and I do really appreciate my involvement in their enjoyment of it.  It’s a cool job.”

While Hay realizes that many people would love to do what he does—and in fact people from all over the world have contacted him for a job—it’s his unique character and experience set that he believes are the secret to his company’s success.