Inevitable as seasons are, the skiing has finally come to an end. And even though the slopes are still buried with snow, mountain operations have to call it whether we like it or not. This day is taken particularly serious here in Whistler, and the ‘gapers’ come out in droves, taking over the hill and creating a scene of mass hysteria.
Wearing ridiculous costumes and riding a wide variety of shred devices the crews mobbed through the park, did ridiculous moves off cliffs, rapelled into lines, shredded moguls, and skimmed the pond. Oh, and everyone was a little bit totally drunk. It was one of the funnest days on the mountain all year.
Though the pond skim wasn’t large by any means, it was easily the most exciting part of the day. A small impromptu jump was set up and people were just sending themselves every which way into the icy soup. Bearing witness at close range, I had my camera out and ready to capture some of the unusual actions that these ‘gapers’ were throwing down.
As the crowd diminished, we wound up on the Longhorn patio for the last apres ski of the season. While consuming dozens of beers, we witnessed a small crew of lads approach the bottom still strapped into their retro skis. They kept their skis on right up to the door, which meant they would have traveled well over a kilometer on the dirt. And finally, the last person came off the mountain. Local shredder James McSkimming who was crowned the Crud2Mud champion only a day earlier, made his final descent in bare feet, wearing only a climbing harness and a towel. I suppose its safe to say he pretty much won gaper day as well. Props.
Here’s a fat set of photos to enjoy.
What a day.
– Mason Mashon