Very charming and poetic. A different world, indeed.
Wonder what happened to Ott? And to Sigi?
Here's the rest of the story (my version):
Ott emigrates to the US where becomes the owner of a wonderful ski mountain in Vermont, where he strives to combine an old world feel with a family ski environment (could this have been Stratton, many years ago, when they still had Austrian instructors and oompah bands? I actually remember when it was like that!). He marries a beautiful American woman from Texas who does not ski. They are happy for a few years, but her interest in Brahmin bull riding eventually drives them apart, and they end up divorced.
Sigi continues her skiing, and eventually ends up on the Austrian Olympic team, even winning the gold in the women's downhill. Devoted to her skiing and extremely independent, she does not marry -- though she has many offers and many lovers. Eventually, she comes to the US where she works as a ski instructor, first at one mountain, then another. She is still very beautiful.
One day, while skiing in Vermont, she gets on a lift, and who does she meet, but Ott. They reminisce about hot chocolate, Swiss cheese, cows with wreaths, and long ago snowball fights. By the time they get to the top of the mountain, sparks are flying. They take a run together, but as before her skiing is far superior than his. She leaves him in the dust.
Finally, he catches up with her at the bottom. He says, "Sigi, I have dreamed about you for years! Stay here and head up my women's clinic! I have two terrific instructors, Terry and Crystel, but they are wild and untamed. When they get together with Lola and Lil, all they do is laugh. We must do something!"
She hesitates, but finally agrees to stay on, and begins a women's clinic at the mountain. But all is not happy. Sigi is extremely disciplined, and runs her clinic with an iron fist. There is a strict no laughter policy. Lola and Lil find this unbearable; they move on to Okemo. Terry and Crystel eventually follow.
Sigi and Ott remain good friends, but they do not marry. She soon meets a man from Texas (oddly enough, a Brahmin bull rider), quits skiing, and becomes an award winning rodeo rider. Ott eventually sells out to Intrawest, which turns Stratton into a massive housing development. He moves to Stowe, where he opens a hot chocolate bar and eventually marries a 20-something liftie with pink hair.
The end
