What should the punishment be for lobbing F-bombs at resort staff? How about almost taking a swing at another skier? What if you’re simply known as “an irritant” at your local hill? Stowe local Georges Dionne is either allegedly, or admittedly guilty of all of these acts and has subsequently been banned from Stowe as well as all Vail Resorts. Period. Dionne recently told the Vermont alt-weekly Seven Days about his shredding conundrum.
Passhole or Persecuted? Snowboarder Decries LIfetime Ban From Stowe Mountain – Seven Days https://t.co/ku5ByYtVdF
— Billy Corgan Fan News (@billycorgannews) January 16, 2019
Dionne is a New Hampshire native that relocated to Stowe after discovering his love for snowboarding. He then became a rep for Never Summer boards and worked part-time as an instructor at Stowe (*where he was described as rubbing some people the wrong way).
After chucking obscenities at a liftie for the speed in which a supposed high-speed quad was moving up the mountain, Vail Resorts decided to ban Dionne from all its resorts. He described the setback from the slow lift and his feelings of personally being slighted saying:
‘Can you tell me why this lift is moving so fucking slow?”
He also explained to Seven Days that he was upset about the ride time being 15 minutes when it could have been 7. According to Seven Days, after riding four to five runs at Stowe one November day this season, resort officials told the man he’d already been banned from Stowe. After leaving, Dionne was told by the local Sheriff’s office that if he trespassed on Stowe again, he’d be arrested. Dionne has since been notified that he’s currently banned at all Vail Resorts.
Punishment Fit The Crime?
On the one hand, the judgement handed down seems suuuuper harsh. Vail owns 13 resorts across the globe. Non-Vail resort staff interviewed by Seven Days were in near unanimous agreement about never before encountering such a stiff penalty.
On the other hand, Dionne seems to take no responsibility for his actions. On Facebook, he’s particularly defiant about the ban. Comments run from snide:
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To hurt:
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What he never does is apologize or suggest he was wrong to verbally assault a low-paid seasonal worker who’s likely just in it for the turns.
Read the full story from Seven Days Vermont here, and let us know how you feel about Dionne’s punishment.
