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Nauseously bright colors, archaic rear entry boots, straight skis and fabulous one-piece jump suits. Welcome to ‘Gaper Day’, an annual winter holiday celebrated throughout North America ski resorts near the end of the winter season (or on April 1st) by the community of hardcore skiers and snowboarders.

Flickr.com (Marc Perron)

For those not familiar with skiing and snowboarding – the term “gaper” is a derogatory term used to define skiers or snowboarders who are usually found on beginner trails with either; one-piece jump suits, jeans, Starter jackets or any other old equipment that should have been left on the slopes in the 1980s. During “Gaper Day” festivities, you can expect a lot of partying and a bit of drinking with hardcore locals dressed in ridiculously funny gear.

“Gaper Day” is mostly celebrated in the western ski resorts due to a bigger winter sport scene, some serious hard-core powder hounds and the overall vibe of the resort. The eastern North American resorts, from my opinion, celebrate “Gaper Day” every weekend on the ski slopes due to many inexperienced skiers and snowboarders taking short day trips from New York City and Boston.

Throughout the years, these on-mountain parties have got a bit out of hand due to excessive drinking but don’t only the good parties ever get out of hand? The parties can usually be found in the parking lots of the resort, resort bars and of course on the mountain itself even though it’s illegal (if you’re caught) to be drinking on the slopes.

Flickr.com (Andre Charland)

Just like Halloween, you don’t want to have a lame costume so you need to put some time in to prepare an outfit. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for “Gaper Day” at your local mountain;

• The local thrift store (e.g., Salvation Army and Goodwill) is your friend. These stores have all sorts of crazy clothing or old ski and snowboard equipment for a real cheap price.
• Ask your parents to see if you can raid the basement or attic to find their own rear entry ski boots.
• Hit up your local department store for neon spray paint to add some color to really stick out from the crowd.

Have a gaperlicious time out on the slopes during “Gaper Day”!