Jackson Hole Sets the Bar Even Higher with 2nd Annual Ski in Jeans Weekend
Cotton. Death Cloth, they call it. The forbidden layer for anyone serious about spending a day being active in winter temps. And yet, there’s something about skiing in denim that is such a deep part of mountain history that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has once again hosted their annual Ski in Jeans day, and once again smashed the world record for people skiing (and riding) in jeans.
In October 2023, the world record was established by The Remarkables in New Zealand at 102 people skiing in jeans. Rising to the challenge on December 9, 2023 Jackson Hole set an astonishing new bar with 3,114 skiers and riders turning out for the occasion. This year, they have done it again with a new world record set at 3,320 participants. To be clear, we are not talking about squirrelly amateurs who don’t know any better with boots on the wrong feet grinding out a pizza for dear life. These are the kinds of macho studs who rip the double black cliff line with a denim jacket and sunglasses… at night. Jumping into a manual transmission Pontiac firebird and burning rubber while wearing ski boots. The cliches are almost as thick as the fake (and some real) mustaches that turned out to show how tough, and how crazy, these rippers can get.
The 2nd annual celebration was an early season stoke infusion while the resort builds a base for its legendary terrain. Selling out more than a week in advance, nobody was bothered by conditions just above 10% open with 16 trails running off of 5 lifts. Ski in Jeans day is an absolute riot of activities on scant inches of base depth, and one that has become a declaration of the western spirit. $25 lift tickets for the day drew an enormous crowd from around the world to get a peek at one of the most widely renowned mountains on the planet. The life-long dedicated and the newly indoctrinated turn up to swap stories and gear up for the season ahead, while gazing up at the legendary steeps of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, hearts fluttering just imagining a chance at the rodeo that is Corbet’s Couloir.
During the season ahead, the snow totals will pile up and the layers will add on. Winter events ahead will generally involve more seasonally appropriate attire. Jovial stoke will morph into fierce competition with Kings and Queens of Corbett’s on the horizon. But under all those layers, looking like an 80’s hair metal music video, the cowboy in all of us is never far from letting loose.
