Summit County Complex...

Summit County
Summit County Colorado
SUMMIT COUNTY COLORADO AND SUMMIT COUNTY COMPLEX... something I experienced in the early '90s

the world has changed... there are interesting trends to culture
one thing I have noticed... jobs in resort-vacation communities are no longer being filled by college age and post college age people from the states
in my limited travels I have seen more and more Eastern European men and women in their 20's working these jobs

at the beach... in the mountain towns... all over the country
I have seen it... it appears to be pretty consistent
is it documented... is this phenomena real... or is it just my perception

in my post college years I did a little bit of traveling
not an extensive walk about
just a bunch of little trips
trips that often involved working along the way
planting trees in Georgia for 4.25 cents a tree
even my bicycle tour in Europe involved my working at a Youth Hostel Camping area doing minor clean up so that I could camp and eat for free
my savings account has never been impressive
the messenger gig in Washington DC usually did little more than pay the rent with some money left over for beers... there was hardly any money left over for bikes
this dynamic always forced my travels to be on "a shoe string" budget

a cross country motorcycle trip took me through the state of Colorado
I had never been on a chair lift before... I had never skied... my only snowboarding had been on local sledding hills and golf courses
as I rode my motorcycle on those twisty mountain roads I felt a connection
after a few months of living and working in Marin County California I decided I would leave Mount Tam and its scene for the bigger hills of Colorado

it was not that well thought out... I had no idea what I was getting myself into

I sold the Kawasaki KZ750 that caught fire in Wyoming for 800 bucks... which was pretty alright... since I had bought it for 4oo dollars back east
it seemed like a fair price since I had just replaced the chain and the sprockets to accompany its taxi cab yellow paint job I had given it... not to mention it was running pretty nice

with that money I bought a plane ticket back to Washington DC where I loaded up my car and headed back out west
with a Burton Woody on the roof I left off for Colorado with no concept of what I was doing
once I arrived I was told about "the metal edge"
or in my case... the absence of the metal edge
I was as dumb about the metal edge as snowboard innovators Burton and Sims

this rant is supposed to be about Summit County Complex... not snowboarding
so I will try to avoid any long winded rants about heading to "the pass" to do some early season snowboarding in the trees
riding this diminutive snowboard with no metal edge through double black diamonds shoots in the trees
it was madness... it was insane... it was near suicide
maybe it was the thin air...
looking back
it would be like trying to race downhill on a Mary Poppin's bike
I was lucky not to break my neck

my ignorance about the gear was matched by my inability to afford real gear
I had to try and figure things out on the cheap
no actual snowboard boots... it was Sorels... and not even with Ski Boot Liners
kissing up to all the "ski reps" who claimed to have a "hook up" or "a pro deal" for me
at the parties and bars these cheese balls always made empty promises that they never filled

a snowboard without a metal edge is pretty bad
then to ride a regular snowboard without snowboard boots?
well... that would be like riding your mountain bike with toe clips and sneakers rather than SPDs

again... off point

recently I heard this song...
Colorado Girls
Colorado Girls on YOUTUBE
www.youtube.com

it is a spoof of the Katy Perry California Gurls song
California Gurls on YOUTUBE
www.youtube.com

sorry... lost focus watching these videos.... even watched a Minnesota Gurls videos!

okay... let me spit this out...
Summit County Complex... not to be confused with the Summit County Split
The Summit County Split is a massive crack in a person's lip caused by an excess of chapped lips and no moisturizer... but these are different times... I bet people use sun screen more now than when I was on the mountain

okay... back to things in "thumb it county"
the once hitch hiking capital of Colorado

Summit County Complex was in short a term used to describe the attitude that women would get because of the BOY TO GIRL RATIO in the mountain towns
I am not sure of the actual numbers... but in the bars it was like 33 TO 1
a ratio that favored the girls... 33 boys to each girl

this ratio threw things a little out of whack

Summit County Complex was an attitude that women got... where they thought they were more attractive than they actually where... or at least they behaved like they were more attractive than they were
because... with no other women to compete with... they were it... they were the deal
there were boys lined up to talk to any women.... any women

if a boy were to piss of their girlfriend... she could just turn around and there was another boy right there

people would say that in Summit County boys do not have girlfriends... they just get their turn

well... there were a good number of women who were maybe "7s" in their hometown
then here in ski towns of Colorado... they bundled up... they wore a big sweater... and they preyed upon the desperation created by the boy to girl ratio

in short without being too mean... that is Summit County Complex

not sure if they still consider that
because the dynamic of things may have changed
not sure who is living in these towns and who is working the various "Mc Jobs"
but when I was out there... there was a limited amount of housing... a limited amount of jobs... and a limited amount of women

sure... the snow was great and that is why we were there
and once housing and job was found... things were pretty okay
but we still complained about the women situation
which of course is a different situation than here in DC
here in DC... well... there is a whole different attitude... and it is attitude
but being old and married I am not so concerned what was once called in a City Paper article "the bitch hunt"