Life takes interesting turns. Especially when it’s somewhere you least expect. I had been preparing for an untimely layoff, with thoughts of South America travel on my mind. Casually combing the internet for job leads, I stumbled on something of interest. In Jackson. Not just Jackson. But the Village. It seemed too good to be true, especially in this challenging economy.

As I was getting ready to punch my ticket to the Latin Wonderland, a call came in. Was it destiny? I hadn’t quite considered Jackson for a move as I knew most ski towns were in a hiring freeze. In the blink of an eye, one minute I see the Seattle skyline disappear across Lake Washington, and the next minute I’m standing in front of the new, big red and bad tram. Surreal to say the least.

I’ve done the ski town rodeo moving from Vail to Park City, only to graduate with a 5 year degree from the AltaBird school of powder terrain management. But this time has a different feel. Seattle and the Cascades were home, where I successfully mixed city with mountain lifestyle. I knew the snow, the lines, and characters from Alpental to Baker, Stevens to Crystal, and every which way between. In Jackson, I’m the new guy, starting fresh. But my net streches far. As I walked into the Coach, an old friend peers up from behind the bar and says with a hearty laugh, “So… I heard rumors.” I glanced back with a confident smile, “yep, they’re.” And thus starts my adventure back in ski town, once again.