Billy Nelson has been skiing for the past 40 years. In those 40 years he’s had seasons full of face shots, bluebird days, and telling people “It’s more like light graupel, not really a pow day”. Known for his signature “YEW!” scream while hotdogging down the lift line on pow days. Billy has been a figure at the resort since before high-speed lifts were commonplace. Never missing a chance to talk about the Straight Ski Era it’s not uncommon to hear locals utter “ah shit I got stuck on a lift with Billy… someone needs to tell him that 1997 isn’t the good ol’ days.”
It’s a hard life skiing over 100 days a year while keeping a part time position as a dishwasher. The canopy on his 1992 F-150 is starting to degrade, his knees are starting to fail, and his “YEWs” are sounding more like “yoos”. A sign of the times but maybe a welcomed change in the ski bum ecosystem. As legend has it, every time a ski bum yips a little grom gets their first PBR.
-publius
The Huck 