Living Life to the Fullest
Gourmet meals, fine wines and skiing the world’s best terrain are all in a day’s work for local ski guide Dave Hay
Despite Hay’s decadent business life, the devoted husband and father remains a humble family man who is always quick to comment on the downside of Skiing on the Edge—the time away from home. Even in the summer months, when Hay makes his living as an independent journeyman carpenter, he’s always careful not to take on large projects that would take away from his time with family.
Hay, his wife Jane and their two sons, Wilson and Spencer, are all outdoor enthusiasts who make the most of their time together, especially enjoying a family day on the slopes of Mount Washington.
“We’re fortunate here on the Island to have a ski area like this,” Hay says when asked how our local mountain compares to some of the places he’s skied. “It has a mix of everything I’ve ever skied. It’s got the well-groomed runs, the beginner to intermediate runs, you’ve got the backside and you’ve got trees. It’s very exciting for the kids as there are even chutes to ski down.”
Perhaps not a lot of dads would be excited about their 12- and 14-year-old sons skiing down chutes on the backside of Mount Washington, but Hay isn’t your typical dad. His sons are both more than capable skiers—Wilson was just named to his school’s senior racing team—who have been skiing double-black diamond runs since they were as young as four years old.
“I recall skiing on some of the extreme chutes on the backside of Lake Louise,” recounts Hay with a chuckle. “As I stared up at my child on this 55-degree slope, or whatever the heck it was, he’s saying, ‘Daddy, don’t you think it’s getting a little steep?’”
His young son’s nervous query echoes one that Hay is often asking himself lately as he tries to decide how many more seasons of Skiing on the Edge he can handle, or whether his job is getting “too steep” for his aging body. Although he’s in fabulous shape, even for a man much younger than himself, he estimates that he’s logged about 25 million vertical metres of skiing over the years, and all those runs are starting to take a toll.
“I’m kind of treading lightly on just how far I can take my skiing career, and just trying to time it so that I don’t die out on a ski hill in pain,” he says. He also acknowledges that he will need to have his knees operated on “to one degree or another in the next handful of years.”
Hay’s genuine love of his job and the fact that he at least partially credits it with keeping him alive and healthy make the thought of retirement particularly difficult to ponder. Complicating the dilemma is Hay’s acceptance that his retirement will likely spell the end of Skiing on the Edge.
“This kind of business thrives and survives almost exclusively because of the personality that’s doing it,” he says. “Without my involvement, I think it will eventually have to die a natural death, just because you can’t sell the same experience.” Hay isn’t optimistic that he could find a replacement with the right combination of skiing background, age and personality that have defined his business.
Skiing on the Edge is currently booking trips into 2010, and so it appears that it will be around for at least another couple of years. As long as it is, Hay says he’s going to enjoy the ride and appreciate all that the business has done for him and his family.
“I must say, it’s been pretty nice,” he says with a smile. “You get to travel, you’re wining and dining in the best places the world has to offer, and you’re with some pretty incredible people that give you insights into their own lives. It’s been an amazing, amazing, amazing life for me so far.
“And it’s paid for,” he adds with a childish grin that spreads from ear to ear. “It’s how I make my money!”