UVMSSC heads to Jackson Hole '23

4,139 feet of vertical elevation, 30 inches of fresh powder, 20 UVM students, 6 days, one hell of a good time.

I currently sit on a plane back to home in Denver as I take in the mountain scenery below and reflect on the past week in Jackson Hole. With all the Wyoming adventures both on an off the mountain, there are two things that inhabit my thoughts: gratitude and excitement.

Being from Colorado, I’ve had some incredible ski experiences, and UVM SSC’s Jackson trip was no exception. I drove up last Friday with my family and skied Saturday and Sunday with them before meeting with UVM Sunday afternoon. 

The trip started strong with a Target run and night in the hot tub on Sunday. I awoke early Monday morning, downed two cups of coffee, and hit the slopes with a few friends. There hadn’t been much new snow, but luckily I’m friends with a local who was able to show us the secret powder stashes. We enjoyed a full day of skiing before heading to Mangy Moose bar at the base of the resort for an aprés party hosted by Outside Life. I enjoyed some delicious free chicken wings, and brought ourselves onto the dance floor, still wearing ski boots. We finished Monday evening with a hot tub session, which was packed full of college kids.

Tuesday brought a few inches of fresh snow, and I was lucky to ski with a group of Jackson locals, which kicked my ass. The Headwall hike went by in less than ten minutes, causing complete exhaustion and simultaneously extreme excitement; it was totally worth it. After skiing until close, we went back to the hotel where we enjoyed free catered Barbecue, and another crowded night in the hot tub.

Wednesday reported 6 inches of fresh snow, but it felt like over a foot and a half. We started the day with several laps down Saratoga bowl, which was loaded with fresh snow. After taking a stellar group photo under the tram, we skied until close, fully taking advantage of the Western powder day. 

Wednesday was Karaoke night at Virginian Saloon. I sang “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift, and some other people in the group sang the Vermont classic, “Stick Season,” by Noah Kahan. Of course, we sounded incredible, surely making names for ourselves in the Jackson music scene.

Thursday once again brought over a foot of new snow and we started the day with a tram lap. As I was getting off the tram, I noticed a group of professional looking boarders behind me. One of them was being asked for a photo, so I turned to someone else, and asked “is that guy famous or something?” Turns out, it was world famous DJ Steve Aoki. We ended up talking to Steve for over ten minutes about skiing and music. As a musician myself, I was really stoked to see other producers on the mountain, and I talked to him for a while about production, and he listened to my music. He then invited us to ski with him, but they were going backcountry out of bounds, and we didn’t have the proper equipment, so unfortunately we had to turn down his offer. Though it would have been super cool, avalanche conditions are really dangerous right now and no celebrity is worth that risk.

After our bizarre and cool encounter with Steve, we went powder chasing; we hiked the headwall several times, as it had received over 2 feet of snow since it was opened last, making it the deepest snow on the mountain, and for some SSC members, the best snow of their lives. We then skied till close, and returned to the hotel in preparation for Thursday night’s wild festivities: bar crawl and disco night. We spent a while at Silver Dollar bar, where a live band played as people danced. We then went to disco night at Stagecoach bar, which was a total blast.

Friday came too soon, as it was time to leave the hole and go home. After packing up my room, I sat outside the lodge waiting for the shuttle to the airport which wasn’t supposed to come till an hour and a half later. I ended up hanging out with a bunch of Boston University kids, and we Rattlin’ Bogged before realizing they were about to miss their flight and there were no Ubers or Lyfts available. We found a business card for “Mountain Mike,” who owned a taxi service and called him up. About 15 minutes later, a giant black car pulled up, and this was the start of my wildest taxi service encounter. We got in the car, and Mike immediately starts telling us about how he’s got wanted posters all over New York City because he drove through the city causing total chaos to everyone on the road. So, of course, he moved to Jackson and opened a taxi service. Luckily, we made it to the airport alive and on time thanks to Mountain Mike.

And that brings me to now. I sit on a United Airlines flight to Denver, where I will ski one last day in Colorado and pack up my stuff before going back to Vermont in a couple days. This trip has made unforgettable memories, and unbreakable bonds, and I could not be more happy with the way I finished this winter break.

Keagan Lafferty