The Art of the Goggle Tan

Now that the warm ski days have begun so has the sunburn season. We're bombarded by advertisements on the slopes (at least here at Snowbird) about applying and reapplying sunscreen all season, but it's really noticeable once the sun begins shining and we all crowd the patios and decks to enjoy a good beer and get some well-needed vitamin D. It's goggle tan season, baby.

A good goggle tan is a mark of pride among ski bums (more so with guys than girls). As a skier, I'll admit that a guy with a good goggle tan definitely has an added attraction. There is an art to getting a good one though. Too dark and you look ridiculous, too light and you don't look nearly hardcore enough, let that beanie slide up too much and you get a gaper tan, have a large helmet and you get weird pale sideburn-like things, etc. Then there's the double standard of girls vs. guys with goggle tans: a girl with a strong goggle tan looks like she has a 5 o'clock shadow which is far from attractive. I know; I was that girl last year.

Ignore the person behind me. Just bask in the glory of the tan.

Now, it is more than likely I'll get melanoma just in that region of my face, especially since I've got a new tan from skication, but I was so incredibly proud of that tan last year since it showed how much I was on snow. I had a great convo in a bar with a couple of guys about skiing because they saw the tan and asked if I skied. It's a mark of the brotherhood (and sisterhood if you want to be uber feminist about it which I don't so shut your mouth) of skiers which is why I think we're all proud of the tan. Just do it safely; use some sunscreen, especially if you're pale like me. It's an art, but you don't need to Van Gogh yourself to get a sweet tan. 

I'll be looking for your raccoon faces out there on the slopes with me. Enjoy spring!