Scot Ranney of Bellingham calls himself a "piano-playing computer-geek ski bum."

Passion: Ranney has several interesting ways to spend his time - such as playing the piano and, to pay the bills, programming software for the Web - but his first choice is styling down a snowy mountain slope.

He's self-employed, a definite perk when someone is figuring out where to live, and to ski.

"One time I decided to move to Aspen because I wanted to walk to the lifts with my skis on my shoulder; a few weeks later I was there doing exactly that," Ranney says. "I moved to Bellingham for similar reasons; it's a nice place to hang out and Mount Baker is a great place for skiing."

Mountain music: It's not unusual for Ranney to mix music with his skiing.

"I bring my band, Chico's Paradise, to Baker several times during the season, and I often sit down in my ski boots around lunchtime and play the baby grand at White Salmon lodge," he says. "It's a pretty good day when you get to mark up fresh powder and then play music after lunch."

Early inspiration: Ranney's mother bought Scot and his brother ski lift tickets when they were young, but their lives changed after they saw their first Warren Miller movie, "Ski Time."

"That's when we realized there was more to skiing than sliding our tails around on the groomers ... there was powder and air to be had," Ranney says. "After that, we ate, drank and slept skiing, even going so far as to make summertime ski-conditioning courses in our backyard."

Deeper rewards: Ranney, 44, says he has now put aside the "extreme" aspects of skiing

"The attraction of skiing at this point in my life is more than an adrenalin rush," he says. "I don't jump off big cliffs anymore, because one time I did that in Aspen and landed on rocks. It was good air, but a harsh landing, and I was on crutches from mid-December basically for the remainder of the ski season.

"So, the attraction of skiing is simple - skiing is fun, skiing forces out the everyday worries or concerns that life tries to mush into my face, and the community of riders at Baker can't be beat.

"It's full of locals, people you know from Bellingham to Glacier, people who know you, too. There's a camaraderie there, especially for the ones who hike in early to get first tracks on powder days, and Baker has a lot of powder days."

The payoff? "Does feeling good count?" Ranney asks. "How about getting windburn on a really frozen snowy day? Flying down a mountain with a roostertail of snow flying everywhere, with nothing to do but let gravity have its way. The payoff for me is that I'm doing something I enjoy to the max, and I'm doing it to the max.

"It's about having fun and doing something I'm good at for as long as I can. Kind of like music that way."