Ultimate Ski Bum

Ultimate Ski Bum

Who: Rainer Hertrich, 45, ski slope groomer and telemark skier: “I’m just a kid with 45 years of experience.”

What: Listed in Guinness Book of World Records for longest skiing streak. On July 27, he reached the milestone of 1,000 consecutive days, and at the end of November the streak was still going and he had no intention of ending it.

Where: German born, now based at Copper Mountain, Colo.; visits 26 ski areas in North and South America. Twice he preserved his streak by hiking up for predawn runs in Oregon, then flying to Santiago, Chile, and hitting the slopes at Valle Nevado by 10 a.m. the following day.

How: No wife, no kids and a lifestyle 180 degrees from opulent.

Average day: 33,000 vertical feet.

Total accumulated: 37 million feet vertical feet since November 2003.

Biggest single day: 115,500 vertical feet (37 runs) at Keystone.

Skis worn out: 7 pairs.

White spots on face: 20 – “They’re either skin cancer or remnants from years of frostbite.”

Nearly quit: About 25 times. “I either felt like (poop), I knew the snow would suck, or it was cold as hell.”