Maui Ski Bus Comes To Pebble Creek

Local skiers know how great Pebble Creek Ski Area is, but Thursday, a Guiness World Record-holding, Livestrong-donating ski bum from Maui, his girlfriend Caroline, and their two dogs learned it, too.

Steve Fischer, the man from Maui, is just a guy who loves to ski and is trying to hit 100 resorts in his big yellow bus.

“Aloha! Welcome to Maui Ski Bus,” Fischer said, popping out of his bus.

Both Fischer and the bus came to Idaho from Maui to accomplish his goal.

“I’m a frustrated ski bum living on a tropical island and I decided to combine the two and become a tropical ski bum for a season,” he said.

After starting on Nov. 20 in Southern California, hitting Colorado and Jackson Hole, Fischer found his way to Pebble Creek.

“Now that I’m here, it definitely gives me a good surprise,” he said.

But Fischer is the real surprise. He has got a Guiness World Record for board sailing straight from California to Hawaii with no supervision. His big yellow bus has sand from Hawaii glued to the floor for traction. His two dogs, Franklin and Gykaiya, come decked in leis and Hawaiian shirts. Fischer is also traveling for Livestrong and the Maui United Way.

“There is that spiritual side of being on the mountains and having that cool, cold crisp air,” he said.

Ski instructor Eric Ellis got to take Fischer on that journey.

“I took him out in the glades, let him ski some tree runs, got out of the fog a little bit, took him over the ridge — showed him our mountain. Showed him how good our mountain really is,” Ellis said.

As Fischer added Pebble Creek to the 47th spot on his custom jacket, he agreed: The mountain is really good.

“Actually, even though this is Idaho, this should have an Aloha sign on it, because everyone here has Aloha,” Fischer said.

You can follow Fischer’s travels at mauiskibus.com.