The internet really brings out the weirdness is people, and I appreciate that as long as it isn’t harmful to others.

Such is the case with this particular internet troll who keeps messing with legendary ski trail map artist James Niehues on Twitter… 😂

Here’s some context.

Niehues regularly tweets out blank trail maps that he’s illustrated and asks his followers to guess the resort they belong to. The game is actually pretty fun, and I’ve learned a lot about somewhat obscure resorts scattered across the country in playing along. Most people attempt to guess, and quite a few get it right, but this one guy always, and I mean always, trolls Niehues with the same answer.

@MountainRatMatt replies to every single one of Niehues’ tweets by claiming the map shows Big Bear Mountain Resort in California. I have no idea why he does it, but I’ve literally seen this guy comment on Niehues’ tweets for years now, and I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.

MountainRatMatt is committed to his game, and I kind of respect him for it. I used to think it was pretty annoying, but I’m actually starting to appreciate his creatively stupid ways to explain how each map is in fact Big Bear and not the actual resort shown.

I like to think MountainRatMatt works some boring ass desk job and gets through the sluggish hours spent in his cubicle by trolling a 75-year-old legendary ski trail map maker with a harmless joke. That or he’s a stellar marketing employee for Big Bear, and has developed a clever scheme to target people using unconventional channels.

Say what you want about men, but we can stay committed to a bit for eternity if it means we get some level of enjoyment out of it.

I’ve embedded some examples of MountainRatMatt’s work, and I encourage you to scroll down through James Niehues’ #namethatniehues tweets to see them all. I’m telling you, this guy doesn’t miss a beat. 🤣

Gotta love the internet weirdos, and MountainRatMatt is certainly one of them. I hope he continues his endless pursuit to claim every trail map ever created is of Big Bear. It makes my day.

UPDATE: I’ve been messaging with MountainRatMatt since I posted the article earlier this morning. He provided a little explanation for why he started commenting on every one of James Niehues’ Tweets. The story just keeps getting better folks.

Here’s what he said: “I dug up the original tweet that started it all but the author deleted it  It was years ago but if I recall they actually thought the resort was @BigBearMtResort but it was so ridiculously wrong that it gave me the idea and yeah, I’ve stuck to it. James Niehues actually personally mailed me a map of big bear too so he’s good with the whole thing too.”

Love that Niehues has acknowledged the trolling and is totally cool with it. The legendary trail map artist seems even cooler than I already thought he was!

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