{"id":5451,"date":"2025-06-12T05:05:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T03:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/?p=5451"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:34:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T15:34:38","slug":"fraenz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/fraenz\/","title":{"rendered":"Ski-Lift Operator ‘Fr\u00e4nz’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fr\u00e4nz looked like everyone else. But he wasn\u2019t. I felt it the moment I saw him. Thus, I approached him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Skiing was our family ritual. Something my parents and I shared like a seasonal rhythm. Back then, snow fell like a promise. We chased it every weekend. Holidays were just longer versions of the same story.<\/p>\n

Bundled up in thick jackets, with weathered, furrowed faces, bushy beards, and usually a crooked cigar clamped between their lips\u2014they stood there, stoic. The ski-lift operators. They shared not only a look but an ethos: silent, unsmiling, operating with the robotic precision of men long since resigned to routine. A \u201cGr\u00fcezi\u201d might elicit a grunt\u2014on a particularly social day.<\/p>\n

Except for one. Same beard. Same coat. But he had a spark. A smile that melted even the iciest skier.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t make sense of it. Same job. Same cold. Same endless crowd.<\/p>\n

Later I saw him again in the village. I was a kid. Curious. \u201cWhy do you seem so happy doing this job?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

He laughed. \u201cI\u2019m Fr\u00e4nz. I herd cattle in summer, high up on the alps. It\u2019s rough and you go days without a voice. Here, I drink coffee with my colleagues in the morning, and there\u2019s usually a beer after work. I\u2019m part of something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also a mechanic. I like fixing things, keeping the lift running. Tighten a bolt here, solving small disruptions – Tightening a bolt here, fixing a small glitch there\u2014I genuinely enjoy it.<\/p>\n

As long as the system runs, no one interferes. I ensure the lift opens on time and check the piste at day\u2019s end. The rest is my domain. My responsibility\u2014my discretion.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ll let you in on a secret: I hand each guest the bar a little differently. Gently for an older lady, with a bit more flair for two sporty lads. I always offer a joke, a quip, or at least a warm word. I want everyone to start their ride with a smile. Over the years, guests have returned\u2014even from abroad\u2014bringing delicacies from home. What more could one wish for?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took me over three decades to truly comprehend what Fr\u00e4nz had gifted me that day.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll share more in the next blog.<\/p>\n

Warm regards,
Ralph Hubacher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fr\u00e4nz looked like everyone else. But he wasn\u2019t. I felt it the moment I saw him. Thus, I approached him. Skiing was our family ritual. Something my parents and I shared like a seasonal rhythm. Back then, snow fell like a promise. We chased it every weekend. Holidays were just longer versions of the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unkategorisiert"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5451"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5453,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5451\/revisions\/5453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandhub.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}