Hear it again: Could this be the end of the ski bum?

There was a silver lining to the soggy, cold May we just endured.

It means local skiers can keep bombing down the mountain an extra couple weeks. Crystal Mountain has extended its season through June 12.

To celebrate the late ski season, we're turning back to a Soundside interview from earlier this year.

In her early 20s, author Heather Hansman spent her days working the lift, bartering with pizza, and hitting the slopes as much as possible.

She lived as a textbook "ski bum," a grifter addicted to the adrenaline of a perfect swish through fresh powder.

Fifteen years later, Hansman is revisiting the lifestyle that's come to define the image of American skiing. Can the ski bum survive in a corporatized, expensive pastime? And what forces threaten all of skiing, including the towns and people who depend on it?

Soundside host Libby Denkmann caught up with local author Heather Hansman about her new book, "Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow."