Story

Description

The boys visit Aspen with their families for a "free ski vacation." The only catch is that the parents have to sit through a 30-minute sales pitch for timeshares. Not a bad deal in theory. But the pitch goes on and on and on. Even when the parents try to forcefully leave, they keep finding themselves lured back into the pitch.

Meanwhile, the boys are on the slopes taking their first ski lesson. Stan is approached by an obnoxious professional skier named Tad, who challenges Stan to a ski race. Tad easily wins, but won't let the matter drop. In a nod to 80's movies where some average guy is challenged by some jerk who is great at something, Tad pressures Stan for a rematch -- which Stan accepts, on one condition: if Stan wins, Tad's father won't close the local youth center.

Again, as in those 80's movies, where Average Guy trains like crazy and beats the jerk, Stan gets a ski coach, and with the help of a rock music montage, he manages to become a good skier in time for the race. Stan wins the race, but only because a teen girl who befriends him flashes her breasts at Tad, causing him to freeze in place helplessly.

Even after winning, the boys are sick of Aspen and skiing. Suddenly their parents turn up and tell them they've bought a timeshare, and that they'll have to visit the town for two weeks every year until the end of time.

What I Learned Today

"Skiing sucks!"

Memorable Quotes

• "I'm starting to think this whole town smells like doo-doo." Butters
• "Butters, I hate you with every inch of my body." Cartman
• "Well, our son is a perfect void filler." Stephen Stotch
• "You ski out of your league, you're gonna have a bad time." Thumper the Ski Instructor
• "Stan Marsh? Stan DARSH is more like it!" Tad McKowski
• "Oh Darsh, you're even dumber than I thought." Tad McKowski
• "This time, you're not just gonna lose, you're gonna die." Tad McKowski

Characters

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Eric Cartman

Butters Stotch

Randy Marsh

Sharon Marsh

Gerald Broflovski

Sheila Broflovski

Ike Broflovski

Linda Stotch

Stephen Stotch

Mechanic

Character Debuts

Phil and Josh, the two Timeshare Salesmen that will not quit with their sales pitch. We also meet Thumper, the boys' ski instructor, and Tad, a rich, obnoxious skier that challenges Stan every chance he gets.

Thumper the Ski Instructor

Tad McKowski

Dorky Girl

Heather

Phil and Josh Timeshare Salesmen

Locations

Aspen

Aspen Heaven

Aspen Youth Center

Bunny Slope

K-13

Original Songs

Tad performs his squeaky, electric guitar rendition of "Stan Darsh" at the Rec Center. Also, the 80s synth-powered anthem "Montage" plays over the montage of Stan getting better at skiing.

Behind The Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

Matt was familiar with timesharing because his parents took advantage of "free" vacation weekends in exchange for listening to a sales pitch. Unlike the South Park folks, however, they never bought anything.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

Stan's battle with the obnoxious skier is an homage to the many campy movies of the 80s which pitted the "normal" guy against the "talented jerk" guy. More specifically, however, this episode parodies the John Cusack movie Better Off Dead.

The "Montage" song (which helps Stan learn to ski quickly) was revamped and used in the movie Team America: World Police.

The chic shops that line the streets of Aspen -- Prahda, Kucci, Tiffany's Aspen, Bernie's - are all parodies of famous upscale shops (Prada, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., and Barneys New York).

An instrumental version of the 80s classic "Take On Me" by A-Ha plays over the "South Park in Aspen" opening montage. It also plays over the credits, with a musical accompaniment by Mr. Slave (who is yet to be introduced).

Butters dances to a club mix of "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats in the youth center. This song can also be heard in Season 19 Episode 2 "Where My Country Gone?".

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

When Butters falls asleep, Cartman gives him a "Hitler" by sticking a finger up his own butt, then using the results to draw a Hitler moustache on Butters' upper lip. He also does the old "warm water trick," where he puts Butters hand in warm water while he's sleeping, and then pees on him.

Butters is wearing a Chinpoko Mon t-shirt that says "Gotta Catch 'em." This is a reference to the Season 3 episode "Chinpoko Mon" which parodied the Pokemon craze. He can be seen wearing it again in "Fun With Veal" .

While discussing the treacherous K-13 mountain, the Old Gas Station Worker (originally introduced in "Butters Very Own Episode") makes another appearance. As usual, he's sharing the spooky, haunted folklore of the area.

Stan's skiing nemesis is defeated when the teen girl who befriends Stan flashes him, freezing him in his tracks. At the end of the episode, we see why this was so effective: instead of breasts, she has two hideous monsters on her chest -- monsters based on the mutants from the film Total Recall.

During the scene of the boys eating their breakfast, a Visitor is on Kyle's chair. Also when they are learning to ski, behind the instructor is a skiing Visitor.

Season 6

e1 Freak Strike

e2 Jared Has Aides

e3 Asspen

e4 The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer

e5 Fun with Veal

e6 Professor Chaos (episode)

e7 The Simpsons Already Did It

e8 Red Hot Catholic Love

e9 Free Hat

e10 Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society

e11 Child Abduction is Not Funny

e12 A Ladder to Heaven

e13 The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers

e14 The Death Camp of Tolerance

e15 The Biggest Douche in the Universe

e16 My Future Self 'n' Me

e17 Red Sleigh Down