It was a Saturday, January 8th, 2022. 6 inches of fresh snow had fallen overnight and it was shaping up to be a great ski day. Along with my friend Alex Blackwelder, my cousin Jeb Stuart, and his girlfriend Steph Petter, we scooped up Rad at the Mushroom Dungeon on Pearl and all piled into Alex's truck. Rad came equipped with a few snacks dangling from his pockets. We took off for Teton Village, excitement bubbling inside the truck with anticipation of skiing powder. I thought to myself - today is going to be a great day! I cherished the days that I got to ski with Rad and this was one of those special days. We were suited and booted and ready to rip by about 10:30am and it was full throttle from the get go. Rad was keeping stats on his smart watch and we were determined to put in the work that day. Only stopping for a water break here and there, it was one of the fullest, bell-to-bell ski days I have ever recorded. We finished with a couple Gondi laps around 3:45pm. I'll never forget that last Gondi run when my legs were so tired and sore that I started to cramp up a little bit. We were both spent, yet fulfilled. We decided to rendezvous at the Mushroom Dungeon later on to enjoy a nice, home cooked meal, washing it down with a few well earned frosty beers. After dinner, Rad, Alex, and I played our first take on "improv night." We all three wrote down a few random scenarios and put them in a hat. Then, each of us had to pick one from the hat and just start improvising, without telling the other two what exactly we were doing. I now understand how hard it is to keep a straight face and not "break character." Granted, we were not in a Hollywood setting and the pressure wasn't on; we were just being silly and making each other crack. Each scene attempted did not pick up much steam because we all three ended up rolling on the floor, sides cramping from laughter. I left the Mushroom Dungeon that night in high spirits thinking to myself, what a special day! Those laughs will live with me forever.
