Ski Patrol & Liftie Hats

Ski patrollers are on the mountain long before the first chair loads. On a storm day at Taos, the rookie patroller profiled by Outside starts at 4:45 a.m., and avalanche control takes two to three hours before the lifts open. NonStopSnow calls patrollers the "guardian angels of the mountain" who "rise long before the rest of us are on a chairlift," and says hand charges are among the simplest avalanche-control methods. At Copper Mountain the patrol is about 60 paid patrollers and about 40 volunteers. The rookie's verdict: "by far the best days at the office are during storm cycles." The lift side has its own culture. A profile of Aspen's lifties describes the job as "pretty relaxed, you just hang out all day and stand in the snow," and a lift operations supervisor writes that lifties are "standing out in the elements, smiling, laughing, dancing, and wishing you well." These ski patrol and liftie hats are for the staff side of the mountain. SKI PATROL already sells on caps and a hat on TeePublic and eBay, while a search for LIFTIE turned up almost nothing but weightlifting merch. YOU FAIL I HAUL is a patrol phrase already printed on a hoodie. The explosives and you-fail-I-haul lines each get a second colorway. Every design is custom embroidered on an unstructured dad hat. Give one to the patroller or liftie behind your powder day.