It was 1980, I took a job at one of the lodges at Alta. The pay was room and board plus 50 bucks a month. Also a season pass. The work schedule allowed me to ski six days a week and I lived at the base by the lifts. Season start until a month after the lifts closed I skied. I was rated expert, expert, back country skier by then. I could find untracked powder seven days after the last storm. Tourists would pay me 50 bucks to guide them to the stuff. It was a dream full filled.
I used to work with Justin at Christy Sports in Dillon. He was (and I am sure still IS) a shredder! We were night skiing at Keystone one night and bombing down Frenchman. I thought I was cool because I got long air over a nice floater, but as I'm in the air, I look to my left and see Justin effortlessly pulling a heli at about 50 mph! All of a sudden, I wasn't quite so cool...LOL!
I was a bum...back when it was cool to be one. 1973/74. Jackson Hole....lived there 2 years at the base of the tram. Skied EVERY day. There is not a run on that mountain I did not ski . Jackson back then was very different than now. Much of the mountain never saw a groomer. VERY few folks even knew Jackson Hole existed. Teton Village had 5 lodges....that's it ! It was fun but man....we were POOR. Money for a ski pass and beer was about all we had. Man those were good times tho.
The best of times! Our owner and founder was a "ski bum" in Aspen and Steamboat in the 70's. He also competed professionally on the pro mogul tour before creating our awesome company. Ski Bums make the best people, period!
I got a ski instructor gig by lying and saying I could play drunk bass in the ski school band "Freebeer" the bands name was banned and we couldn't advertise that didn't stop us from carrying our equipment to gigs many yards through feet of snow. It always dumped when we played because we were not that good and didn't want money we wanted to play drunk on free beer.... and it snowed... puking drunken flakes the size of your mouth... gaging on face shots by day drinking for free while faking it drunk on every song every night... the thing of NDA's... that was three mountains ago and each mountain has the band I was in the last one in Mammoth... Almost Famous... Now I do high altitude wedding music. I won't get my pass pulled for teaching in the black with my wedding clients this time.
