Smug after you take two Fridays in a row away from the office to ski? Amateur. Here's a look at the big leagues, pal.

Name Jim Brooks

Hometown Orange County, Calif.

Streak Skied six continents in 12 days

Payoff 190,000 fewer frequent flyer miles



Name Tom Szwedko

Hometown Leadville, Colo.

Streak Has skied the backcountry every month for 25 years, bagging up to 300 days annually, from the Alps to the Appalachians

Payoff Well-versed in avalanche safety, topo maps and GPS use



Name Arnie Wilson

Hometown London, England

Streak Skied 365 straight days across 13 countries in 1994

Payoff Landed in the Guinness Book of World Records

Name Paul Schipper

Hometown Carrabassett Valley, Maine

Streak Has skied every day Sugarloaf, Maine, has been open since 1980 season

Payoff His own parking space at Sugarloaf that reads "The Ironman of Skiing"

Name Charles Eldridge

Hometown Seattle, Wash.

Streak Approaching his 100th-straight month of skiing

Payoff Maintaining a website he founded (turns-all-year.com) for obsessive-compulsives like himself

NOVEMBER 2004