Winding Down...

The past week or so we have been working on the perfect ending to our adventure. The end of the year events have started, with a few more still to come.

This past Saturday was the JH Mountain Festival, the biggest part of which was an outdoor concert below the tram terminal by Ozomatli. It was really cool to be at a concert in a snowstorm at night, especially since the music was pretty good. The atmosphere was great and everyone was there having a great time, even after a long day of work.

Talk about a sweet venue.

Last Sunday, was the JH Lift Ops Employee party. It was a great time for all of the crew to get together and have fun. A lot of us have gotten close throughout the season, and I don't think many people are looking forward to saying goodbye. The good news is a lot of people will be working at the resort again next year, so most of us wont just be disappearing. I know a lot of friendships were made this year that will probably last a lifetime.

Wednesday was Gaper Fools' Day, a local holiday at the slopes that takes place on April Fools. Instead of playing jokes on people, locals dress up as gapers and plague the mountain pretending to not know how to ski or how to use a chair lift. Often times the gaper imitaters will mock old/beginner ski styles and maybe even have one too many to drink while partipating in an action sport. For those of you that are confused, a gaper is pretty much somone who doesn't know what they are doing... someone who is just staring at their surroundings and not paying attention... someone who is making a mess of themselves and causing trouble for others on the slopes. Fundamentally, you could say they are someone who is out of their element when on the mountain. I think this holiday is the local way of expressing the frustration that builds up all season long from having to deal with all the gaper tourists. Anyways, it turned out to be a fun day, and a lot of the 'costumes' were great, check them out:

I decided to join in on the ridiculousness.

One of the best things about the end of the season has surprisingly turned out to be the snow! Everyone seemed to think we wouldnt be getting any more about two weeks into march, but man were they wrong! The past week we have gotten about 15% of the entire seasons snowfall, over 6 feet of snow!! It seems like everynight we wake up to at least 6 inches of new snow, often times as much as 15-20. Because of this, some of the best skiing and boarding I have had all season has been in this past week. If you ask me the perfect ending to my first season in Jackson Hole. :D Here are some pictures of Laura and I enjoying all the powder:

You can sort of see my jacket in there somewhere :P

Laura and I will be heading home for Kentucky in four days. Tomorrow is our last day of work as Jackson Hole Lift Operators. Sunday is the last day of the ski season for the public, which thankfully we don't have to work on! Monday morning we will enjoy employee ski day, where the resort will be open only to us. Monday afternoon, we will be packing up all of our stuff and then leave Jackson sometime on Tuesday. Its crazy how quickly this season has come and gone...but it has definitely been one of the greatest times of my life. I can't wait to enjoy the rest of the weekend, and then head back home to see my family and the place that I once called home.