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  1. #1
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    Mar 2007
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    When did "Bluebird Day" enter the skier's lexicon?

    I first heard the expression at the Tsaina Lodge in 1996. It was a new expression to me, but I frequently heard D. Coombs describe a glorious bright sunny day as a "bluebird day". His enthusiasm was infectious so I may be remembering it differently but that's where I first heard it.

    Etymology search was inconclusive. Anyone have earlier recollections of the phrase?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    38
    Merriam-Webster gives the first usage as 1860. So been around a while, to denote clear blue sky. Not sure when it distinctly became associated with skiing

    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...bluebird%20day

  3. #3
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    Mar 2005
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    Late eighties
    Jackson hole. First time I heard the bluebird was the word.
    So Coombs was around, but it wasn’t his invention

    High mountain high pressure days are insanely blue. But the bird thing is odd. Is it the song of the south seeking revenge on the north? Zipidee do dah etc.

  4. #4
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    Dec 2018
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    Bluebirds are almost universally recognized as a harbinger of happiness, hope, and renewal. Especially after a storm.

    I know it as a nautical term from my youth and it has long-standing references in seafaring folklore. A sailor with 10,000 sea miles would often get a bluebird tattoo. So it’s been around.

    I certainly would have used it in Colorado in the late 80’s for a cloudless day after a storm.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
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    11
    I first heard it when I was a kid at Bridger Bowl in the mid 1960's, probably '66ish. Blue sky, no wind, and great skiing! Have used it since to mean just that! In fact, my 2 sons and I were blessed with a "blue bird" day a few Saturdays ago while we spread my sister's and their aunt's ashes at BB. No "Big Lebowski" episode!!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
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    Babylon
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluespark View Post
    I first heard the expression at the Tsaina Lodge in 1996. It was a new expression to me, but I frequently heard D. Coombs describe a glorious bright sunny day as a "bluebird day". His enthusiasm was infectious so I may be remembering it differently but that's where I first heard it.

    Etymology search was inconclusive. Anyone have earlier recollections of the phrase?
    its been there since I started in the 80s
    Likely around 1946?


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    2,528
    When did 'this is a JONG-ass thread' enter the skier's lexicon?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    its been there since I started in the 80s
    Likely around 1946?

    Fuck. Where did you find that?

    Song of the south has been memory holed for a long time. Didn’t think I’d see it again. that song was awesome. Bluebird on his shoulder. And zippedee doo dah mutherfuckers.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    1,154
    I started skiing in '73 and remember hearing it.

  10. #10
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    Apr 2006
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    SF & the Ho
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    Pretty sure it predates ski culture here

  11. #11
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    Jan 2008
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    Big Sky/Moonlight Basin
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    I started skiing last month and I remember hearing it back then.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    "Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin

    "Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters

  12. #12
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    Jan 2008
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    Bluebird powder day--the only appropiate use in the context of skiing; fuck people who say it's a beautiful day on the chair when it hasn't snowed in weeks--as long as I've been skiing so at least 60 years.
    We were camped at 11K in the Sierra during a warm spell, not a cloud or any shade for a couple of days. A passing ranger described the weather as severely clear. I've adopted that one.

  13. #13
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    Jan 2008
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    truckee
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    Bluebird powder day--the only appropiate use in the context of skiing; fuck people who say it's a beautiful day on the chair when it hasn't snowed in weeks--as long as I've been skiing so at least 60 years.
    We were camped at 11K in the Sierra during a warm spell, not a cloud or any shade for a couple of days. A passing ranger described the weather as severely clear. I've adopted that one.

  14. #14
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    Jan 2008
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    you see a tie dye disc in there?
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    Quote Originally Posted by old goat View Post
    severely clear
    This is good…..

  15. #15
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    Sep 2001
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    Aka "clear as fk"

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluespark View Post
    I first heard the expression at the Tsaina Lodge in 1996. It was a new expression to me, but I frequently heard D. Coombs describe a glorious bright sunny day as a "bluebird day". His enthusiasm was infectious so I may be remembering it differently but that's where I first heard it.

    Etymology search was inconclusive. Anyone have earlier recollections of the phrase?
    Want to go camp + ride some 2 strokes in the desert soon?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by paulster2626 View Post
    When did 'this is a JONG-ass thread' enter the skier's lexicon?
    What about SATISFACTUAL

    Can we get that back in any lexicon?

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