Well-dressed in Jackson usually means jeans and a collared shirt: Cowboy Casual. But once a year the town really pulls out all the stops.
On April 1, some skiers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort donned head-to-toe business attire. Others transformed into a disco ball, a banana and a 6-foot-tall teddy bear.
All were on a mission to shred and strut, because in Jackson, like many mountain towns, the first day of the month isn’t just for fools. It’s also for so-called Gapers.
A quick search on the internet shows the etymology to be an acronym for Guaranteed Accident Prone on Every Run, while most other sources point to the gap between goggles and helmet — when the two don’t fit quite right.
Jacksonite Jake Ford leaned into the latter.
“I’m wearing bubble wrap because it makes me safer,” Ford said in jest. “If I fall, I’m good to go. I can try new stuff. I can send it.”
One group of friends dressed up as Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas, a Vail Resorts employee, Jesus and Ironman.
Beyond the flair, some skiers are into the rather risque — traditions like the robes-only first tram lap or dozens lining up and dropping trou for “noon moon” under the Tram.
“Seeing everyone in the costumes and mooning the tram was a lot of fun,” Mason Morris, of Pinedale said.
Morris drove an hour and a half from Pinedale where he said “everyone called out of work” for the festivities. He now plans to make it an annual tradition.
Then there’s hanging out at the mid-day Casper Lodge “beach” or skiing off jumps at Thunder Bumps, before live music at the tram dock to wrap up the day.
It’s safe to say that the celebration has come a long way since it started in the ‘80s as a “ski in jeans” day.
For some, Gaper Day is all about poking fun at the novices on the slopes.
For others, it’s a good excuse for an all-mountain party, even if on a weekday, before the season ends April 13.
“Gaper Day” has long been a local’s favorite pastime, though no one, not even resort spokespeople, seem to know who is responsible for coming up with it.
“A quick Google search shows it possibly starting in Whistler and spreading across North America,” said JHMR spokesperson Eric Seymour in an email. “I don’t know this one, the origins.”
According to Ford whoever started Gaper Day must have been “somebody with the best style ever, best style clothes-wise, best style ski-wise.”
