Maui Ski Bus begins trek in Mammoth

I get a call from Red (of Red’s Hot Dog fame) on Wednesday morning. He says I gotta come down and check out this bright yellow bus parked in the Footloose Sports lot. It says “Maui Ski Bus,” and the guy in the bus, Steve Fisher, 51, of Maui, claims he’s going to ski 100 resorts in the western U.S. and Canada during the upcoming 2011-2012 season.

When I get to Footloose, Fisher, a bright-eyed, energetic man, about 5’7” tall with curly brown/gray hair, is sitting in a chair in the boot department being fitted by Footloose’s Travis Thompson.

A native of Michigan, Fisher moved to Maui in 1983 and never left.

How did he get to Maui? He spent three years working as a welder in a nuclear power plant.

He really wanted to get out.

Fisher says his background is marketing, and in Maui, he says he’s been in the time-share business.

He was also in the adventure business.

In fact, his current proposed  adventure is tame compared to what he did in 1997. Then, he custom-designed and built a windsurfer (featuring a coffin-like sleep cabin underneath the board) and set a Guinness record windsurfing from Marina Del Rey to Maui in 47 days.

2,400 nautical miles.

No support boat.

No backup boat.

*You can read about the adventure at www.toursmaui.com.

Fisher aptly describes himself as crazy in a very focused way. So once he committed to his latest adventure, there was no turning back. He lined up local sponsors such as Maui Magazine, and a national sponsor in Fischer Skis.

He also lined up a travel partner in Carolyn Flaherty. He met her Christmas Day last year. When he told her about his plan – “I’ve been a ski bum living on a tropical island, so now I’ll be tropical ski bum” – she said it sounded like fun. So here she is.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area generously offered two free one-day ski tickets to get them started on Tuesday.

They will then head to Tahoe for Thanksgiving.

The plan is to coordinate the trip so they can be in Aspen for X Games and in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival.

You can follow the Maui Ski Bus adventure at www.mauiskibus.com.