Once a week at my old job, the bakery across the street brought us bags of free bagels. We called it Bagel Day. I worked in an office filled with cubicles and sexual harassment seminars, so Bagel Day was the highlight of my work-week.

Last week, I tried to explain the joys of Bagel Day to Rich Rucker, a member of Sugar Mountain’s ski patrol. But he didn’t seem to get it. Rucker skis for a living, so he has a drastically different notion of what a good day at work entails. Rucker is one of those lucky ones who actually gets paid to do what he loves.

8AM

“Being the first one on the mountain on a beautiful day-This is my favorite part of the job,” Rucker says as we reach the top of Sugar. Rucker’s been with Sugar’s patrol for almost 20 years.

It’s 8am and the sun is just reaching the slopes. Before any guests can hit the slopes, the ski patrolmen inspect and mark obstacles on the slopes, which means the patrol gets to ski the mountain before any guests are allowed on the lift.

12:30PM

An 11-year-old kid breaks his wrist after lunch. Two members of the patrol are at the scene of the accident within a couple of minutes. They set his wrist in a makeshift splint and gingerly maneuver the kid into a sled. Inevitably, other skiers stare as the injured boy is taken slowly down the hill.

Sugar’s Ski Patrol has seen everything from heart attacks to frostbite, and the patrol spends most of their day trying to prevent these accidents from happening. They scope the mountain, essentially trying to predict where trouble might occur. Sugar Ski Patrol Director Dean Lyons calls this “the eye.”

“The eye is the most important part of the job,” Lyons explains. “You have to always be watching and scanning the slopes. Unfortunately, I can’t turn it off. I haven’t skied for fun since I took over as director in 1987.”

That’s the unforeseen danger of doing what you love: You risk ruining your passion for the thing. I imagine the last thing porn stars want to do during their free time is have sex. I ask Lyons whether he ever dreams about a warm desk job in an office building and he’s quick to say no.

Tommy Taylor, a skier who’s been with Sugar’s patrol for 13 years agrees. “Even if I had to choose between being a porn star or being on Ski Patrol, I’d choose Ski Patrol.”

4:30PM

The slopes close for grooming, and the members of ski patrol are the last people down the mountain. These last runs are the ones they cherish most. Rich Rucker pauses at the top of the mountain before his descent. “Ski patrol’s a major commitment,” he says. “But it’s the best job a guy like me could ask for.”

-Graham Averill