Alright, so everyone prides themselves on their unique style on the hill. Let’s face it, our beloved sport has, whether you like it or not, become an image based industry. Everyone has their choice of outerwear colors, their preference in goggles, they spend hours making sure their board/skis are perfectly stickered to rep their favorite branding, or they shun it all and go for an “I don’t really care what you think” vibe.  In the two years I spent in Mammoth and Tahoe, I met amazing people – people from all over the world, each with their own unique style. There are way too many styles out there to cover in just one blog post, but I wanted to take a minute to touch on the most common types of mountain resort townies I’ve encountered here out west.

1.) The Rock & Rollers. These kids can usually be found sessioning the lift towers and kinked rails in the park (or on the streets if, say, their pass has been punched too many times and they’re too hungover to try and poach). For those who aren’t familiar, “sessioning” is hitting a feature, then hiking back to the top of the run-in for another hit until you stomp it. The rockers can be identified by their skin tight pants, form fitting hoodie, wayfarer sunglasses and snapback cap. Quote: “Sick nosepress, brah. Toss me another PBR.”

Likes:

Tight-fitting outerwear (Black or earth tones only)

Fast, loud, guitar heavy music

Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniels

Jibbing

Dislikes:

Colors

Skiers that dress like thugs

Skiers

Smiling

Rap music in the park

Skiers

Decaf

Families in the park

Alarm Clocks

Clouds

Skiers

2.) The Hip-Hoppers / New Schoolers. Also typically found in the park/pipe, hitting the biggest features and taking what are known as “hot laps” (super fast runs through the park on a single chairlift). You can recognize them by their huge pants and t-shirts or hoodies that fall somewhere between the lower thigh and just past the knees in length. These townies love face masks, massive goggles, bright colors, big headphones and monosyllabic words. Quote: “Steeze, bro. Steeeeeeezzze!”

Likes:

Hip Hop / Techno you’ve never heard of

Massive jumps

Huge pants and short poles

40s

Energy drinks

Dislikes:

Snowboarders that dress like Sid Vicious

Incorrectly groomed takeoffs

Lifties

Guitars

Skinny jeans

3.) The Mountaineers. From what I’ve gathered of these elusive mountain people, they generally despise the resorts. They live near them, but almost never purchase a pass or ski them. Instead, they opt to take their “sleds” (snowmobiles to the layperson) to launch points and ski or ride that way. They can also be found hiking or ice climbing to untracked terrain for their daily adrenaline fix. At the end of the day you can typically find them back in town, in a dark, quiet pub telling stories of their last narrow escape with death. Characterized by their grizzly beards, worn out flannel and a love for all things gear related (as is understandable, their lives depend on it), they are the most gnarly of mountain folk. Quote: “I EARN my turns.”

Likes:

Snowmobiles

“The good ol’ days”

Climbing ropes

Straight bourbon

Avalanche beacons

Guinness

Dislikes:

Anyone else on this list that isn’t them

Park rats

Showers

Teenagers

Dry Seasons

Seasonal employees who call themselves “locals”

4.) The Thrift Store Shredder. Image means nothing to these individuals, and, in my humble opinion, that commands respect. They are out there for the love of the mountains and not a single thing else. Their outerwear is probably the same stuff your grandfather donated to Goodwill back in ’87, but these riders live and die by the term “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They work as little as they can, eat and drink for as cheap as possible and ski/ride EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. The few friends I had that fell into this category all were living with/married to/best buds with someone in the food or drink industry to enable their occasional eating and drinking habit. Night jobs only – days must be open to shred. The term “minimalist” would even be generous in describing these peeps. Quote: “First chair to last call”.

Likes:

Hand-me-downs

End of season shopping at the local secondhand store

Costco (specifically the one in Carson City)

$1 beer night / pocketing their own flask

Microwavable food

Free stuff at local contests

Dislikes:

Designer anything

Technology

Getting their electricity shut off in the middle of winter

Laundry

Ski patrol

Beginners

Private property

5.) The Neo-Hippie. A love for telemarking, dreadlocks, Prana clothing and Phish live recordings pretty much sums up these guys. They grab a soy chai and some granola at the local vegan hippy organic coffee mart, and hop in their Prius to go make some graceful descents. In the summer you can find them teaching yoga to tourists, rock climbing or leading visions quests. They’re generally the most easy going of the aforementioned. In fact, if you get a chance to ride the chair with one, chances are they’ll offer you a story, a funny cigarette, or some trail mix out of love for their fellow enthusiast. Quote: “Free your heel, it will free your mind.”

Likes:

Soy

Hybrid/electric vehicles

Anything made out of hemp

Nature

Peace

That new vegan restaurant in town

Kombucha

Dislikes:

Red states

High-emission vehicles

Bluetooth earpieces on chairlifts

Cities

So this by no means covers everyone, but it’s pretty much a dead ringer for the types of people I’ve met that live on the west coast. I’d love to hear about the other types of people that I may have missed in this post, the people that hang out in your ski towns. Feel free to post your favorites in the comments section!