“They’re all fun trips,” says Nickerson of his life on the road.
The Price is Right
And it fit right into Nickerson’s outlook on life. “That was a fun trip,” he
says, pauses, and continues, “They’re all fun trips. The more you ski,
the more people you meet, the more opportunities you get.”
And the fashion tabloid? Really? Outside of an occasional funky hat,
this guy has the style sense of most New Hampshire kids, function be-
ing way more important than fashion.
Well, the Gumball experience is laced with high-end parties. Ever ac-
commodating, Nickerson wound up accompanying a young Norwegian
woman to a couple of those gatherings.
“She was a really nice girl called Rachel,” Nickerson says. Turns out to
be Rachel Nordtomme, the girlfriend of Norwegian Olympic triple med-
alist Petter Northug, a track star in her own right and well known for her
style. As such, the tabloids were quick to photograph her. Nickerson
was a bit surprised to find himself included in some of the photos.
“I was coming home, flying home and the lady in front of me had the
‘See and Hear,’ which is like the tabloid in Norway,” he explains. “I don’t
know a lick of Norwegian, but I asked her if I could see it after she was
done, and right away I see this photo. Now I want to know what it says.
‘Oh, it’s very nice,’ says this woman. ‘Yes, but WHAT does it say?’”
Seems it was pretty nice, something about the handsome Warner. Just
one of those things that seemed to happen to him last season.
This season, well, who knows? He was not nominated to the team
— didn’t make the criteria that slides with increasing age. “It’s a little
painful when you see some other names that did make it,” Nickerson
admits as he pilots the 86’er through a narrow channel toward our
lunch stop. Kids line up along the beach to get a closer look at this
unique craft. “I love it when the little kids wave,” he says, waving back
and turning the music up a notch.
“You have got to recognize you live your own life,” says Nickerson.
“Whatever they do, they do. Whatever I do, I do. I’m not going to stop
skiing because the ski team cut me, that’s for sure.” He laughs. “I would
have stopped years ago.”
If ever there was a natural fit
for an skier and a product to en-
dorse it just might be Nickerson
and BidOnSkiHomes.com.
He’s spent plenty of time trek-
king about the world’s great ski
areas — and usually without
knowing exactly how he’s getting
from point A to point B, where
he’s staying or what anything is
going to cost him. It takes a ton of
planning to be that spontaneous.
He’s also stayed in some five-
star spots and surfed a few
couches, seizing opportunity.
A couple of years ago, he met
entrepreneur Ed Tranter, who
runs website-based home shar-
ing at some key resort areas, and
the two hit it off. (The sites allow
homeowners to entertain bids for
rentals from prospective renters
with no third-party fees.)
This past summer the pair
crossed paths again outside of
Boston, and Nickerson mentioned
how difficult it can be to locate
lodging for some of the ski camps
he’s put together. The two de-
cided to create BidOnSkiHomes.
com, which allows homeowners
to set a price and renters to bid
on the property. Says Nickerson,
“It’s easy to use, fun and, most
importantly, it’s cheap!”
SkiRacing.com OCTOBER 31, 2011 | 31
