Reminiscing Denys Liboz

Today, skiing was stormy, just like when I used to ski with Denys, whether it was in the Swiss Alps, Aspen, Park City or Lake Tahoe. I don't remember skiing with him under “blue-bird” skies. So this morning I went, taking advantage of ten new inches of powder and thinking that I would dedicate all of my turns to this man whom I considered to be my friend. He liked to ski fast in that type of snow, when the visibility wasn't not quite clear and where the risk was looming from every corner. That was him; always looking to pushing the envelope a bit farther.

You see, Denys was striving on difficulties. Getting ahead for first time immigrants like him wasn't easy and I know what I'm talking about. If you'd come to America as an adult, you'd drag a thick accent that is almost impossible to lose and that identifies you as someone who can only reach a certain height. For French folks like us, it seems okay to be a hair stylist or a chef, but doing something else stretches the paradigm that most American have about us.

Yet, against all odds, Denys built an enviable career for himself as a sporting goods sales representative. To get there, he simply had to work much harder, call on his clients more, train their personnel better, in one simple word, make himself indispensable, so his book of business could grow and be sustained. All that without the stereotypical B.S. that too often is associated with people from French extraction. Like when he skied on a powder day, and in spite of an uncertain visibility, Denys saw an opening, an opportunity and zeroed-in on it, with all his might and all his heart. Always the full measure, never half-way.

Denys had a single-track mind and was naturally driven. So today, as I skied on his behalf, I could feel his spirit and hear his voice telling me: “Go for it!”
Denys, I sincerely hope that wherever your spirit is today, there will be white slopes, wide open meadows and plenty of blank space for you to go on and explore...