Tosh Show - My (Snow) Groomer - Bandit Ferrante

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Daniel prepares to hit the slopes with ski mountain groomer Bandit Ferrante, who spends winter nights operating a 28,000 pound snowcat on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe. Join our Patreon for exclusive content: http://patreon.com/toshshow

So you groom, like, black diamonds all the time. I guess I always thought some of the steepest slopes weren't groomed. Tosh show. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. 2026. I'm going to go on record as saying this year sucks. Already.

Sucks. Well, yeah. Don't like it. Oh, my goodness. Could 2026 get any suckier? I'm just looking forward to 2027. No, this one's going to hurt. That's my favorite.

When a big star goes down, a big celebrity dies early in January. And then they're like, oh, 20206. Already in the tank. This one, this one got me. Here's the thing. one of us could be this person you imagine we recorded this before January 6 and then on January 6th this airs but we're dead

now we're future tripping oh man Ed and I were in Tahoe I watched Eddie on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine win over 2,100 quarters when both of us looked at each other and we're like how much money is that like do i own something now we couldn't figure it out we couldn't but then when we did the math and we figured it out that it was well over five hundred dollars eddie's wife perked right up making was just like whoa there's my man there we go on the slot machine over there she was so excited she'd been eyeing a new patagonia jacket or something i don't know

that was good that was a good one i uh had some good wins too i mean it was just i was a sports betting it out of the park with everything couldn't lose i had my father-in-law uh with me and there's this one game uh that i needed the over on with two minutes left the wrong team had the ball and uh they were up by a ton so there was no need to score game was over so i went and of doing some work in the garage well 15 minutes later my father-in-law comes down and he's like hey i'll give you uh i'll buy that ticket off of you i'm like what happened he's like you won and it was like a big bet it was a four-leg parlay it was like it was a good good amount and he tells me just all these random things that happened for me to win and then he then he's just mad at me for not

getting excited and I'm like well I didn't watch the game yeah it's funny like it doesn't you're just telling me I won so I'm like yeah he's like I've never I've never seen someone win that kind of money and have no reaction and I'm like I don't know what you want me to do you you're not a good storyteller it's on you it's on you you got you got to build it up a little bit I don't know that we uh we were in tau but but pre taho we were in montana yep okay now montana which i know they they love to be like stop coming here california folks and buying up all our land and enjoying our air i have no desire to do that nope every time i'm in montana i'm like oh i'm so glad I don't live here it's beautiful it's nice but but I'm like yeah I get it okay there's room

I was walking downtown Billings and this truck drove by and I just immediately knew that I'm like I'm gonna talk about this on the show are we still calling this the show yeah okay good are the fans still calling it the show yeah are there still fans of the show of the show yes um no but i knew as soon as i saw this truck and i was like i was like get your phone i couldn't get my phone and couldn't record quick enough i had gloves on anyway you get it it was a pickup truck and it had a huge flag in the back of the pickup truck uh and it said slaughter all pedophiles and i just couldn't have been happier the pretty good flag to see just uh slaughter all pedophiles I don't know. I mean, unless I, if that guy's, maybe he was molested as a child. First of all, no one is pro pedophile.

Right. So that's, let's take that off the table. But to drive around and be like, I need a huge flag waving off the back of my autumn movie that says slaughter all pedophiles. I don't know what agenda that accomplishes other than making me like, I need a huge flag waving off the back of my autumn movie that says slaughter all pedophiles. I don't know what agenda that accomplishes other than making me like, laugh. It's giggles. I wanted to wave them now and go, I'm from California. Let's talk. Hey, hey, what's your beef? What's your stance on liberals? Yeah.

So anyway, I just think that's a, I mean, I think it's good. I agree. Yeah. Maybe just a bumper sticker. That's a big flag. That's a lot. And slaughter. Is that the right word?

That's a good word. I mean, I don't care what you do to them. I don't know if I need to, I don't know, I need to. to advertise it. Also, if you're driving a truck, trucks are kind of loud to begin with, and he had big tires, they're knobby, so they're making some road noise.

I get that it's a function thing that he might need that truck to perform that way, but it's not enjoyable when you're sitting in the cabin. You can't compare that ride to, you know, a nice luxury sedan. Right. And then to constantly, hear the flapping of your slaughter all pedophiles flag would be annoying.

Also, where does he do other things in that truck during the day? Like pick up kids? Yeah, does he go to church on the weekends? And like, they're like, hey, you know, we agree that pedophiles are horrible, but your slaughter all pedophiles is making some awkward conversations with some of the kids and their parents. And they'd like you just to park a little further away if you could. The size was so

It was almost as if He had just left the parade route He was part of something earlier Is a slaughter all pedophiles flag Similar to the American flag Where when it deteriorates You need to replace it Why possibly

Does he have to keep it lit at night That would be a concern of mine And it touched the ground If you do slaughter a pedophile, does he take that flag and fold it in a strategic manner and hand it to the victim? Wonder what shape you would fold the flag into

to give to the victim. I have an idea. I just don't know that you could actually get a flag into that shape. What's the shape? A cock? I think there is a way to do a... You can't fold a flag into a cock. I can fold a cloth napkin into a cock and make it raise off the table so yeah i think he could do a flag too yeah speaking of mountain men and groomers today's guest ticks both boxes enjoy this episode is brought you by prize picks whether you're starting a new routine or making player picks for the first time trying something new can be hard but in life and on prize picks it always feels good to be right with high-pressure playoff

matchups every weekend and elite hoops action almost every night the action never stops and prize picks lets you take control. If my father-in-law were ever right about anything, Florida would have been in a bowl game, but he was wrong, and I was right that they had no chance of going 500 this year. I called at the beginning of September. Anyway, let's do the next best thing and pick less on every offensive projection you see for the Florida Gators basketball team against Tennessee this weekend. That's how you set a lineup. If I'm wrong, at least I get to see my father-in-law be happy, and if I'm right, I get paid. Download the prize picks app today and use code Tosh to get $50 in lineups after you play

your first $5 lineup. That's code Tosh to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize Picks, it's good to be right. My guest today is a groomer and not the kind that goes on Minecraft to prey on underage users. He's doing some real cowboy shit at night up on a skiing. Mountain dangling off the side of a double black diamond and a 20,000 pound snowcat so that privileged assholes can have fun until 4 o'clock. Please welcome from my home mountain in Lake Tahoe ski groom or bandit. Thank you for having me. First of all, do you believe in ghosts? No.

Banded. That's your nickname, right? Yep. What's your real name? Real name is Michael. Does anybody call you Michael? No, most people don't know that and you just told them all. Nah. Don't just call a Bandit! You think the nickname Bandit would have stuck had you become an accountant? Yeah, probably not. I mean, I guess there's still time. I'm not retired yet. You grew up in South Lake? Yep. What was life like as a child growing up in South Lake Tahoe? So my parents worked at the resort, so it was kind of like my daycare? Heavenly? Heavenly? Okay. Yep. And, you know, they dropped me off and go about work, and I just had my own little backyard. It's a beautiful backyard. Great backyard. Do you ski and board? I just ski.

Just ski. Yeah. Now, you, how much of your life was just, I just want to ski? Is everything based around that still or no? It was for a long time, and that's how ended up at the resorts. And then the more and more I got into operating snow cats, it kind of switched. It transitioned a lot to, like, becoming something I was super passionate for and, like, endless involvement. Like, you're always learning.

There's always more to be done. Like, as technology changes, like, you can adapt with it and, like, influence. the mountain in a better way. Mm-hmm. I kind of switched more, and now I kind of just ski, like, more leisurely. Do you prefer to ski out of bounds? Do you like to do your own hiking or no?

No, I'd say I'm in a smaller camp there. Like, most people like to do hiking and stay away from the crowds and stuff. I just, I don't know, there's a chairlift there. It's going to take me to the top. I'm good on that. Yeah. I mean, preaching to the choir on that one.

Eddie and I, we're not going anywhere. Are you a great skier? I wouldn't consider myself a great skier, but at the same time it feels like second nature to me. I don't know. You're not worried about any mountain that you're going down? No, but I don't even think about it. You're a good skier.

How'd you lose your front tooth? Skiing's dangerous. Yeah. Will you replace it? I probably should. I was thinking gold. I got a guy. His name's Gator.

Count me in. He does, he'll do anything. Is it a single? Oh, you got two? There's two, yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, it happens. What's the dental plan over there at Palisades?

We have good dental, but this is cosmetic. What? It's not a dental emergency. That seems like an emergency. You should be like a hockey player. People call me slap shop. Bannon's got all the nicknames. Are you somebody that parties?

I only ask that because you have ladies' hands choking you on your... By the way, when you were flipping through the book at the tattoo parlor, what made you stop on that page? I just thought it looked hard. Or how about it? I knew you were going to ask me about it, so I got to. especially for you. Is that your newest tattoo?

That is actually my newest tattoo. Okay. My question is, is this a job that says, you know what? Since you're bundled up all the time, we don't care that a woman is trying to strangle you. My boss, I think, was concerned when I got it, but he just has to deal with my shit. Does it mean anything other than what it looks like it means? I don't know. I thought it looked good.

Okay. That's most tattoos. You're not throwing a W up or anything like West Side. Right. It's none of that. It's just straight up like, listen, I'm into some kinky stuff. It's a dangerous line of work that you're at. Is it dangerous?

I don't, I'm just guessing that it's dangerous. So, I mean, obviously there's danger involved, but we mitigate that risk with professionalism and skill. So no one gets hurt. I don't think anyone's been hurt in our department in Palisides a long time. Yeah. I mean, there's, you know, situations to avoid and things that come up. But I'd say there's risk, but it's mitigated.

How old are you? I am 36. 36. Now, have you noticed that as you, you're getting older, that you're aware of, of danger more and more? I'd say with everything except for snow catting. Okay. But, all right.

So you are, you're not fearless anymore. No, definitely not. Groomers report sounds so bad. Are you upset that the term groomer has been appropriated by pedophiles? I don't know if they appropriated it. It is something that I definitely would like to change. Not just because of that. It also doesn't really encompass what,

we do because it seems like we just kind of, you know, go up and down the mountain and groom it out, but there's so much more to the job. I think slope maintenance would be much more apt of a term. Oh, yeah, you brought a model. Show me what you got here. This. Look at this toy. It's a little model Snowcat. Pist and Bulley sent for you guys. You given this to me? Yeah. Guess who I'm giving it to? Are you giving it to? My son is going to love it. The winch can go back. It spins around forward or backwards? Yeah, so that whole winch on the top actually spins around the machine. okay and the whole winch assembly is pulled from there and so like you can turn around while you're still hooked up and that will be swiveling around you but pointed in the same direction to whatever you're hooked up to and so you can winch yourself up backwards forwards you can also use it on a side hill like be sideways on a steep hill if you have to turn or like cut in somewhere and you can pull tension and actually feel it kind of level you out so you don't walk out of your tracks on a side hill and so we'll use winches not just on steep slopes it just gives you unlimited traction so we'll use use it to move like a lot of snow just like up on like high traffic areas even on like

what you'd consider a bunny slope and then another thing we'll do is we'll just use a protraction for backing up for we'll strip a whole hillside to repair like mountain run or something and so you're just using the winch to back back up to grab more snow to push downhill if it's not a run that you're trying to maintain you guys can strip a hill absolutely you can strip we do it all the time after like you consider like places that you know we're going to get filled in with the next storm but you know you need a bunch of snow on this run for it to survive to the end of the year. We've had like three winches hooked up

like side by side by side, each with their own doze lane just stripping and then cats pushing that out below. How many inches base do we need to be like, you can pretty much go anywhere you want on the mountain? You don't have any fears today of smashing into something that's going to kill you. Usually it kind of varies depending where you're going. Like two years ago, we could drive wherever we wanted.

And like we were grooming stuff I've never seen groomed. But, like, some areas are always going to be kind of stripped and wind-loaded. And so it kind of takes mountain knowledge to know, like, where you can go and win. But these actually, we have, Pist and Bulley has this cool system called Snow Sat with LIDAR. And so I can see how much snow is around me in 165 feet in all directions. And so it shows me that on a screen in my cat. Even in the dead of night, you have perfect vision. Yeah, and so, like, on super gnarly storm days, I'm literally just looking at the blade in front of me.

in my snow sat screen, and it's telling me exactly where I am when I'm plowing the ridges. I don't even need to see where I am. I can just look at that screen and plow the snow. And then also you'll use it to, like, patch areas. Like, I can see there's six inches here, but there's, you know, five feet over here. I'll take all this snow and put it over there. You listen to music or a podcast? What's your druthers in there?

I do podcasts. I listen to a lot of electronic music because, like I said, they have a sub-overers in the cast. That's nice. It's come a long way from when we started. Oh, man. You're having your own little rave up there. Absolutely. But then another thing, we actually talk to each other a bunch on the phone.

Just like, how's it going over there? If you're driving up at night and you're in a blizzard and you've got your screens, you're not looking out the window at all because that doesn't do anything for. It's pitch black and it's a blizzard. But like if there were, you know, some nine-year-old just stuck in the snow in front of you, would it show up on your screen at all? No, the screen does not pick up the nine-year-olds. Okay.

Yeah. Well, I haven't had an issue yet, though. No, I know you have. I just can't imagine. I mean, you're like, there's help. There's help. And you're like, I, nothing I can do, kid. And then you pat him down.

Before the technology like this, like, the method was when it was too windy where you literally couldn't see, you'd stop and wait for a little break in the wind and then move forward again. And but, I mean, now we don't need to do that anymore. But, I mean, there's always obstacles and stuff to be aware of. Like, if you're even a little off, like, storm nights like that will really take it out of you because it's just hyper focused on everything at all times. What's in front of you, what's behind you if you're backing up. and then you've got to drive home after and like you kind of just and you're still listening

to rave music that whole time generally or did you run over jeremy renner uh with your snowplow he had his own he did that to himself it was a piston bully wasn't it it was an old piston bully machine that he owned but it was very old with outdated parking breaks and actually i was there for uh like a snow sat thing not too long ago and he came and visited the factory and he's looking into buying a new And I did ask, did you show them the new parking brakes? Oh. What kind of gas mileage do they get? Depending what you're doing, like a winch will burn much more diesel

because you're putting the machine under like much more load consistently, trying to move snow uphill or just using the winch itself. And in like one shift, I'll probably burn like 50 gallons. Can you get stuck in one? Absolutely. Does it happen all the time? It's operator air almost every time. Do you have to get yourself out or do you have to call for help?

Someone calls me usually. Uh-huh. And then I'm like, I'll be there in a bit. Some doesn't make them sit a little extra long, make them think about what they did. It depends on the situation. Are they just trying to move too much snow? Too much snow, if the snow's too soft. The type of snow consistency is so drastic compared to, like, fresh powder, ice, or slush in the spring.

And, like, all that has to be considered with every task that you're doing. So you groom black diamonds all the time. I guess I always thought some of the steepest slopes weren't groomed. And you have something that you can hook to at the top of the mountain that's, like, placed for that and you're just like oh i hope this will hold i welded it so i hope it holds but some of the winch picks that's what we do in the summer is we install winch picks on like certain areas like we kind of operationally come to conclusion like it would be good to groom this even though it's steep you know to promote less traffic in this other area like it's it's all thought

of and so yeah we we groom a lot of steep runs every night and it's important to groom the steep runs every night with a winch because since it's steep a lot of people like just side slip the snow off of them. And if you want to keep it open to the end of the air, we're open late, like, you have to winch it every night. You have to move all that snow back up hell. And it's so windy up there at night. Is that terrifying? Yeah. I mean, nobody ever just gets blown off in the dark. It's definitely been blown over. Like, you don't want to be close to your tracks. And you definitely hold on with both hands when you're getting in and out. I'd say the biggest thing is don't open your door facing the wrong direction to get out to hook up. Okay. The wind will rip it right off.

Because it can be blown up to 100 miles an hour. Oh, no problem. And then you're climbing up on that tower in the middle of the night and hooking up. You climb up on the tower. Just the metal rungs. Are you, you have gloves on? What are you doing? Depends how lazy I am. I mean, I know I'm getting back in a nice fancy snow cap with a subwifor and a heated seat. And so it's a timing thing. I usually regret not wearing them. How long would it take me? Let's just say I have good work ethic and I want to get into this business. How long till I'm driving a piston bully up the side of a mountain. How long does that take from day one to I'm in the cockpit of my own piston bully? We try and hire a few, we call them never-evers. We try and hire a few never-evers every year.

And we have them do ride-alongs and some trainings and stuff first. But I mean, they're usually in a cap pretty quick in the base area. Okay. But the difference of that to like when you're actually a good operator that's aware of everything going on around you, like all the implements on your machine, the product you're leaving, the way your machine affects the surface is usually about like five years. Okay. Some people pick it up real quick. Some people never pick it up. It's a complicated machine? Yeah. There's a lot going on. What's the pay structure for this? First year in the piston bully, this is what I can expect to make if I'm going to be a full-time employee. So we have a groomer apprentice position and that's like pretty low, like 23 an hour.

Okay. And then our Groomer 3 position, which is like our more advanced operators that have been there a long time and know the mountain, know the machines. That goes up to 36, I believe, of Palisades. And then, you know, up from there. So, I mean, it can be a career. It can be something to look forward to. And then, I mean, you can work for the snow cat manufacturer Piston Bully. Like, there's options. Does Pist and Bulley give you a taste of the action here?

Paid? Yeah. No, no, they just give me this flannel. Oh, man, they need to do. Up your game. No, no, they're nice to me. I'm on their official operator team. So I was chosen to be one of, you know, I think it's 25 in North America.

They're growing that number. And I help them teach classes and I help them with R&D and stuff like that. Now, do you build the jumps? I used to. Okay. I used to. That's how I got my start. You started on the mountain building the ramps in the parks.

Yep. What does that entail? So I started, you know, with a rake in hand and a dream at 18 years old. Okay. And heavenly. When you have that job, you work with the snow cats and they push the snow and shape it. And you kind of fine tune it and help them, like, move features and stuff. There are actual physical features underneath the jumps or no?

No, no. Okay. Some resorts and places do that. It's called dirtwork. and at Palisage, our half pipe is like that. So it's shaped like that underneath. But usually it's just snow. Okay.

Yeah. I mean, except for obviously the rails and stuff that you guys put on there. Yep. Okay, so you're just shaping it. Do you ever shape a jump and know that I'm going to get some kids hurt on this one? That's usually what you're trying to avoid. I mean, sometimes you kind of want to cater it to, like, is it a three-day weekend? Do we have, like, bigger crowds and more beginner skiers and stuff like that?

and you kind of like cater your park build schedule to like when that happens and like later in the spring as time goes on like a lot of the locals that come from the other resorts when you're closing down and you kind of just start ramping it up yeah it's planned i got you the thing that i find the most fascinating is that you guys have wenches on these piston bullies yep these snow and you're hanging off of a mountain and you're high off of the ground to begin with what do you just feel like you're straight up and down yeah so when we're on really really steep things, like, I actually have to lean the seat back forward to the point where it's uncomfortable if you're on flat ground.

Kind of like you're using a squatty potty on the toilet. Yeah, but, I mean, when you're on the steeps, it doesn't feel like it feels like it's just holding you in place. And then, you know, the other direction, like, if you're on a super steep downslope hooked up, like I'm over 40 degrees. I think my record's 46. Do you go forward down or do you always go backwards down? Depending on the situation, depending what you're doing.

I mean, yeah, so sometimes forward, sometimes backward, there's a harness. In the Pist and Bullies, you put that harness on and press a button, it sucks you to your seat. And then you kind of just, instead of trying to hold yourself up with your feet all night, just lean forward. So it depends what you're doing? The snow cats that groom the mountains, what time do you guys start? So we run two shifts. Okay. So one shift comes in like three, four o'clock.

They're usually there till midnight. Mm-hmm. And then a whole other crew takes over till opening, you know, like midnight to nine in the morning. But if it's like snowing super hard and they're trying to get like tracks and stuff, stuff open, they'll be there till like noon. How much is a Pist and Bully cost? So, I mean, there's a bunch of different models. Of course.

I want to get all the bells and whistles, a beautiful one that you're hanging off a cliff on. They're usually all around $500,000. Half a million dollars. Depending way you get up or down, yeah. Half a million dollars each. All the bells and whistles. How many does Palisades own? I'd say two dozen, a dozen?

30 to 40. Okay. But our primary fleet of like state-of-the-art cast that we run every night is like 15. to 20. Any girls drive any of these cats? Yeah, we have two on staff this year. Two, okay. Because it seems like it's a pretty male-dominated workforce.

Do you consider yourself like a truck driver or no? No, not really, because you're not like... I mean, the Germans call it driver, but I feel like it's a weird translation. We're more of an operator. Well, you guys peeing and pooping on the mountain? I try not to poop on the mountain. That's a bad day. I know.

It only goes nine miles an hour. It's not the worst day. You're not going to make a back. A pooping in the mountain is not. the worst day. That's actually kind of pretty. Don't eat the snow. I pee everywhere. Yeah. Okay. So you get sleepy up there? If you stay on your schedule, you're usually good.

But like the graveyard guys, like sometimes they'll kind of switch their schedule. Like when I was on that shift, I would switch my schedule to hang out with friends or family on the weekend. And if you did that, like, it'll wreck you over time. I mean, my new schedule is going to be 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. So I'm going to come in and help out with graveyard and then ski and check the product in the morning and do admin work. I guess 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. is not the craziest thing, but you have to go to bed. You have to be on schedule. You just have to stay on your schedule. And if you don't, you're in trouble. Have you ever flipped a cat? No. They're actually very hard to flip. Well, not if it's vertical. No, I mean, no, you'd be surprised. They're very hard to flip. Has a wench ever snapped?

Let's not say on a piston bully, but on any. No, on any machine, your winch cable can snap, but it's almost always due to operator error in one sense or another. So you have to be cognizant of how much cable you have out and where it is. Like if you go, you hook up here and you, you know, make a couple turns, and then you're like, well, are there rocks in that area? And then also, is the snow very soft? Is my cable going to be cutting through this down to rocks here?

Do you know where all the rocks are? All of them? No, I find a new one with my blade every year. What's that cost to fix? Something? The blade? Yeah. Usually the blade's fine, unless your face hits the windshield, and then it's more expensive.

Uh-huh. But the winch cable snapping is, like, you can adjust how much tonnage you're putting on it. How many tons can your cat move? You're talking the winch tonnage? No, just pushing snow? Pushing, pushing. Oh, that's the metric we all want, but we don't know how to figure that one out. Okay, all right.

But if, in theory, if it snapped when you were at the top of it, what would happen? Wouldn't you just go falling? Yeah, it happens. It's happened to me. You go to a ride backwards. Down a huge mountain? Yeah. And so, I mean...

It doesn't flip, though? It doesn't flip. Like, you start sliding and then... Are you going 100 miles an hour? Yeah, you go fast. I mean, I don't know what my land speed backwards record is, but... Were you like, oh, this is it? I'm done?

No, I mean, you don't have time to think about that. You have to get the machine under control, depending, like, what's behind me. Is it a lift tower? something like that, and so, you know, you stick the corner your wing in, and then that'll help turn your machine, and then engage your tracks, and then you're searching for traction. And then since you're still moving quick, like, you kind of got to ride it out and steer with the blade on the front. It's like a plane and a tailspin.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's quick. It's over fast. I mean, I just, I stare at them every night. I'm so happy I'm talking to you because I just, I stare at you guys, you know, your little lights and your camera, I wonder what the fuck? they're doing right now. Look at them.

Just all day long, every day. What about the, do you get along with the people that blow up stuff, the dynamite boys? Yeah, the patrol. Yeah. We have a good relationship with them. Okay. Yeah. They seem to, you know, be a little overly amped up, especially the guys that have the big

cannon where they're straight up just shooting. The avalanches and stuff. Yeah. I mean, they think they're cool, but they can't get up to their job without me giving them a ride. Mm-hmm. Let them know. Do you look at those ice road trucker pussies and laughed yourself about how much more

dangerous your job is? I don't really think about, like, my job's more dangerous, so I'm cooler. I just think you're just sitting in a truck and driving. I don't know. I feel like there's so much more going on in my job that I don't know their job that well, but it just, it doesn't seem as fun. They get to masturbate constantly, which seems cool. I guess, yeah, you only need one hand for the wheel, huh? Do you have a steering wheel?

What's your mechanism in there? So your left hand is on two levers, and there's a neutral and a forward and a back. and so if it's neutral that track's not moving you move one that lever forward it's forward back to neutral and back and so each lever controls one track

and so your left hand drives and your right hands on the joystick and you have a couple things like you have a potentiometer or whatever that doesn't matter but most things are on your joystick and you have all the buttons control everything else on the joystick

moving the blade moving the tiller adjusting your winch tiller depth of cut everything else is off the joystick stick on the right. You hook your wench up illegally to trees and stuff like that all the time? It's not manufacturer recommended, but we have plenty of trees we trust. Okay. You, oh, you have trees that you trust. Yeah. You have to taking into consideration the snow levels. It's a really deep year you're hooking higher up on the tree. So you don't want to snap that over. Ah, yeah. You got to think

about that. You didn't think about that. No, closer to the base. You got to get to the base. You ever find a body? Never found a body. They always say every year in Tahoe, they'll find three or four people in the, you know, deep in a snow well. Tree wells are definitely dangerous. Every year they say they find somebody once everything staws out. You never been stuck in a tree well? Yes. It's terrible.

But I've always gotten out. I can tell. Right? I don't get people that won't survive. I'm like, what are you doing? You can't go like this. You don't want to be upside down. That's the thing.

You don't want to be upside down. That's what I meant. You never been stuck upside down? Yeah, I've been upside down, but I still, there was ways for me to get myself to a better position. The panic sets in. You get real hot. Then I get diarrhea.

That's a weird instinct, but it's happened. It's happened on the mountain. One time I hit my tailbone so hard on a box, and I immediately, like, oh, I got a shit. I've done the same, yeah. It's bad. There's nothing worse. Do you have photos and stuff in your own piston bully there? Do you get to hang stuff, or do you have to get into a different one every night?

I mean, usually we try and keep people in the same machines. That way, you know, you're only trading. it off with one guy at shift change but that way you know like you're more intimate with all the moving parts and stuff you're like I feel this vibration like maybe this is something I need to talk to the mechanics about or you know comes back out to winch cables too like I know we've been pulling real hard in these past couple hundred meters like maybe it's time to trim this and if you only have one other person you're keeping that dialogue up with then it's a better end result for the machine you're not putting an adult content up in there though are you I mean we probably take it down

Okay. Is there a way to completely avoid avalanches on groomed runs? With all the experience and knowledge from all the generations past that have worked there and things that they've seen and data that's been logged and recorded and then, I mean, even our staff, the grooming staff as well, we do a pretty good job to make sure that there's no danger for staff or anyone and like all the risk is mitigated. but there's always going to be avalanches on a hill like that just not during operation hours. That's one of the reasons I've never thrilled about going out of bounds

or just hiking up. I'm like, I don't want to deal with this. Well, yeah, then you've got to dig a pit and you've got to check the snow conditions, take some avalanche courses, carry a beacon. I'm not carrying a beacon. I'm not carrying a shovel. I'm not doing any of this stuff.

I'm a resort person. I get it. I know where I'm at in life. On storm days, we wear beacons at night in the machines. Should I be writing something on my kids' helmets, like call mom and their phone numbers? I think I should be doing that. If it's a high avalanche day, it's not bad practice to have your kids wear beacons. You ever hear about my, this is my invention that I want someone else to do?

I just want on some of the big jumps. I want one of those signs that shows how fast you're going, like when you're driving your car, this is your speed, so that you can tell us the speed that we should be going to hit this jump. Don't you think that would save a lot of people? I actually don't because so much more of it is, I mean, it does make sense and maybe it would be helpful for some. A range. I just need to go, because I'm always like, should I slow down? And then if I slow down too much, now I land on the top and that's just horrible. Because I'm not good enough to really be in the parks, but I am good enough to go over almost any jump and land on the down slope if I'm going fast enough. But a lot of it too is like, do you pop off the lip?

I pop a little. Well, if you pop a lot, then you're going to go further. If you pop too much. I get it, but you should be able to give me a healthy range of, like, this is how fast you should go to clear the gap. Well, you know what you should do? What? Just make a friend hit it in front of me, and you follow him, and you see if he hit it or not. I have a photo of me back when I was youngster. I went big. There was times I went big.

I'm upside down. I'm doing things. On purpose? Yeah. Okay. Okay, but I can, don't, that's a fair question. Yeah. I've done some flailing.

Absolutely. Oh, I've done some flailing. Yep. I've landed on my back, just everything exploded. I shattered a snowboard and half on a jump before. that's not fun do you get frustrated uh with tourists or do you just kind of like no that's the necessary evil of living in a beautiful place it's both i can do both right do you have a bumper sticker that says fuck your second home no i usually just pass them going real fast they wouldn't

be able to read it anyways you don't i tell people that get snobby with me i say first of all let's be clear my real estate portfolio is well past two then i say this is my first home and every other place is where i have to live because of work yeah but see i feel like maybe that's not the tourists that we all get frustrated with either. Oh, okay. Sometimes just the amount of tourists or the ones that aren't paying attention. Like, you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle, right? Yeah.

And you know how to drive in the snow? Sounds like you're not the problem. I live for it. Yeah. And don't think I'm not burning out spinning my car as much as I can whenever I get. God, I love it. I love some. I'm a Florida boy.

So you put me in snow. I just get excited. I slide everywhere. Even my driveway. I try to slide in sideways. Oh, that's fun. It's the only time we go to church. He's a parking lot.

Yep. One time I was in Palisades parking lot. I got a video of this. I got my two kids in the back. We were going to some fucking stupid disco tubing or something. It was a huge storm, and it was canceled. But they didn't send me an email to tell me it was canceled. So I didn't show up there at night, and I'm in the parking lot.

And there's a sign on the door that says, sorry, there's no disco tubing. But my wife forced me to go and bring the kids. Anyway, I got the two kids in the back of the Subaru. And there's a huge snowman in front of us in the parking lot. And I go, guys, I'm gonna kill the snowman. My kids are, don't do it, Dad. I'm like, we're gonna kill it. And I floored at this, this snowman.

Right before I get to it, I realize, what if somebody put this around a pole? Here we go! Hey, my kid screamed, we went right through it. There was no pole. Oh, we flew through it. it was big too it was fun we have a couple people on staff that actively seek them out and try to run them over with the cats because sometimes they'll be built like near the bottom lifts and

stuff oh it's fun yeah yeah you got to enjoy life you got to turn into a child occasionally we'll be right back teach me some good ski mountain slang that i might not know ski mountain slang come on come on ban it i mean you know you know You know what a Jerry is, right? A Jerry? What's a Jerry? A Jerry's a Gaper. You know what a Gaper is? No, what's a Gaper? Gaper.

Oh, geez. You're not a Gaper, are you? I may. You very well could be talking to a Gaper. This is more of someone that's skiing snowboarding around that doesn't know what they're doing. That's some slang. No, I'm definitely probably fall into the Gaper category. You want to know who I am as a rider now? I won't go unless there was at least six inches the night before. Cheusie.

Yeah. Why not? I just want to put on, I want to ride my little fish. I just want to ride powder, and I'm just like, you know, that's it. Well, that's because you haven't seen my corduroy. He's got sweet corduroy. Is that what they call it? Yeah, the corduroy, like the fresh pass from a cat.

The fresh pass from the cat. I got to check out his corduroy, guys. I'm learning. There's a lot of snow cat terms that are like specific to that. When you have like a bladeful snow, we'll call that like a wad. A wad? Yeah, a wad, yeah, stacking wads. Now, you work at Palisades, and we all know that it used to be called Squaw,

which was a derogatory term for an indigenous female. I don't know exactly, but I know that people, as a resident of Tahoe City, listening to people like, I'm never going to call it, oh, Palisades. I'm like, why, you idiot? But did it bother you, or were you fine with it when they changed the name? I'm fine with it. Yeah. I mean, some people that will never get over it, like, I mean,

If that's the hill you want to die on, so be it. But I pull up, it's the same place. It's the same place with the same people. Do you know all the names to the, all the stupid names to the runs? I've never been a person that learns the names. But yet when I hear skiers and riders talking, it's not my thing. Eddie does it. He's like, names all the, oh, we're going to go down cats paw and then take a left on fucks his name.

I don't get it. There's too many names. I mean, even the staff, like, We don't even get along in what the names are. The old timers call it something. The troll calls it something else. We try to with our grooming reports, we keep it consistent so the public knows where the machines have been

and what time and stuff. But no, too many names. And then, I mean, if you're somewhere like Palisades, like each, I feel like each rock and shoot has its own name. I can't keep up. Every single different path you take has a different name. My wife doesn't like Palisades, and I'm going to tell you why.

Two years ago, there was a huge dumping, and she went the day after, and there was an area that was eventually marked off to stop going, but all these snowboarders were going and getting stuck in, like, neck-deep powder. And they were all, and my wife gets claustrophobic. And I saw her on my phone. I was like, oh, here she is. And like an hour and a half later, she had moved maybe three feet.

I'm like, oh, this is going to be a bad report when she gets home from the house. I was back with the kids. But, yeah, she was just stuck and panicked for hours. That happens a lot. I mean, Palisades, usually the steeper it is, the more you can get away with it. But I'd say two years ago was an anomaly. I mean, it just didn't stop snowing. I know.

Yeah. Can you go out in any condition? We have to. Every day? Yeah, two shifts. We have to. I mean, there's certain conditions, like, we're waiting. Like, they have avalanche mitigation systems called GazEx that they'll use, and they

trigger those remotely. Have you seen those stacks coming out of the ground? Yeah. So, like, with all the, like, knowledge and experience from all the staff there over all the years. They generally know like what's going to slide and when. And so we have what's called a restriction. And so it's like X amount of snow and X amount of area. This area is now on restriction until the gas X is launched or patrol does avalanche mitigation work. And so we go out and base things around that. And we actually go out in areas where you kind of have to call your way

up a road just to get to the top. And no matter the weather, if your machine's not up there, also acting as like a form of avalanche mitigation to keep those roads open and kind of keep that snow pushed down, then you'll lose access to it. And if you completely lose access to those areas, then you have to wait for patrol to get there by other means, like usually a troop carrier around the other way

and then slowly like open it and like that's in the worst storms. So if we don't go out in every condition, then things won't open the next day. Yeah. You like that gondola they made to connect Alpine? The base to base? Yeah, you like the base to base? Let's just say it made my job a little more interesting, lots more to dig out up there.

Are you digging out everything in between? No, so at the top area, because it's got that unloaded at the top of KT. I know. I didn't know about that unloaded until the first time I rode it. That area during storms is already, it takes a lot of work. We have staff that has to be there around the clock every storm and like up on that ridge digging and it added a bunch of work for us and, hey, it's job security. I like it's job security. I like it's also nice, like, too lazy to get in the car.

I have to go over to Alpine, fine. What's your favorite mountain besides one you work at to ride at? I really like Kirkwood. I grew up skiing Kirkwood a bunch. You did do it. Yeah. Everyone that's in the know goes to Kirkwood, but it's obviously, what, a full hour and a half from Heavenly? It's like 45 minutes from my house in Gardnerville.

Okay. Yeah. It's further south. It's where the cool people go. It's not really on Lake Tahoe. It's got much steeper terrain. Not than Palisades. Palisades is the place, for sure.

Okay. Like, if you want the goods, the best terrain, it's Palisades. You know what you are right now. Yeah. You're a shill. You're a shill of who you want. I'm just saying I could work at Kirkwood and I'd drive half as far. Yeah, but Kirkwood doesn't have the same type of length of season.

Also that, and that's a big factor. Right. The reason I like a longer season is because I get a snow cat more, but it also changes the way I operate the machine and, like, my staff as well. And so we're not just grooming the runs. We actively are rebuilding and pushing and thinking about the long. season. And so, like, the amount of projects that we do at Palisades with the machines every night is, I'd say, pretty varied from a lot of resorts where they're kind of just, you know,

grooming the runs and maybe the ramps and calling it. Like, we actively do massive projects to keep that place open through the end of May. Whenever I take the, uh, whatever, the big gondola in the summertime up to the ice skating rink. Oh, the tram. The tram. Whenever I do the tram, how that's built and the people that build that. Yeah. I mean, I don't, I don't know, Hans Burkart stood in that base area, you know, long time ago, pointed up at the top of the steepest rock and said, put the first tower there? I don't know.

I was one of the same thing. It's just bonkers. And then I see families with little kids that climb up it. I'm just happy that my kids don't have, like, any drive. Also, I'm sure I could put in a word. You could drive a truck up if you want in the summer. I'll get you on.

I know that you can drive up, but the people that hike that mount, it's just baffling what we can do. You've got to see this tram, where they build it's just so terrifying and went they put in it in a long time ago i know yeah maybe maybe it needs to be updated they service it okay california has uh you have to do like x percentage service on each lift like mandated every year good we have a really big lift maintenance team good here i got you some stuff from the show um this i don't i don't know what this is

oh these are some new headphones that this company set us raycon i don't i don't need them but i think you're gonna love them. These are something, Ridge. They're, they're doing something with keys. You get that. Superpower. I don't, I don't, I don't know what they are. They're a hoodie. You're gonna love that. Can you bring a blanket into your, uh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, bring a blanket in it. Lola, you're gonna be loving. Get that off my desk. Oh, man, we got some good stuff here. And just some other stuff that we found sweatshirts and things. There's a toss show beanie. Look at that. There's some randoms. Oh, man. like the dolphins? Not too big into sports.

No, you'll love the dolphins. Start cheering for them. There's one dolphin sweatsh at the bottom. I just can't. I never like that salute to the troops, you know, when they do that green. Yeah, you get this one. Weird cammo. That's no good. I don't like it. Here, you'll love it. Biggest dolphins fan now.

Thank you. Thank you. Cheers for the dolphin. Hey, we'll take any fan we can get. Put all of that on the floor. I hope you brought a big bag to travel home in. No, headphones are good because we actually talk to each other on the phone a bunch at night. Those are the best new headphones in the market. What's this?

Do you do any exercise? Not enough. You don't need to anymore. Collagen peptides? Bubbs natural? Oh, man, I can't believe I'm giving away bubs natural. You're going to love it. It should help.

My job is to sit in a chair and stare out of a window, so maybe some exercise would be good. What do you enjoy doing for fun outside of being on the mountain? I like driving cars. Driving cars is fun. And the commute to work is fun. Sometimes I'll just take, you know, little rips. You go fast when you're driving to work there in the mountains.

Is CHP listen to this? Yeah. I mean, some of them do. It's not like, I can't give you a ticket retroactively. Are you a good snow driver? Yeah, I mean, I made it two years ago during that crazy winter. I live in Gardnerville, actually, and work in Palisades. How long a commute is that?

Like an hour and a half? Yeah, it seems long. Records 47 minutes. You're doing it every day, both sides. Six days a week. What do you think about chains? Did you ever have a car that required, chains?

No. No. Neither, I won't do it either. I've always had Subaru's growing up. Same here. I just got a pole star. It works fine. I loved my Subaru.

Always good in the mountains. You ever been stuck on a chairlift that at what point would you be like, I'm jumping off? I mean, I debated it once. I was riding Kirkwood. I was real high up. I was like, this might be worth two broken legs. But I was at Kirkwood and there was a fire generator building.

It was a long time ago. And I was stuck on the chairlift for like an hour and 45 minutes. And they had to roll these generator trucks to each lift to get them going, which at Palisades, we have backup generators for each lift. So if the power goes down, they'll turn up that. Each lift has their own. They can run them all at the same time. How does the chairlift go down, go around the big wheel, but it can slow down and stop,

and the gaps don't change? Is it unhooking from the wire? Exactly. So those are called detachables. Okay. And so it has a grip system that mechanically is activated when it hits the turnstile. Uh-huh. And it detaches, and then a separate thing carries it around.

I say things, I don't know. I'm snow tractor, man. No, but you're telling me right now. And then the grip hooks back up before it takes off. Okay, so it's not bolted in. Because I've always been like, how is this able to slow down but still go around the wheel? Do you put the safety, the arm thing down on a chairlift or no? It depends if I'm clocked in or not.

Oh, you're supposed to if you work there. Yep. Ah. That's why I always hate it when an employee jumps on next to me. Yep. Now I'm banging. Meanwhile, I got my little kid there. I'm like, ah, let him hang. Actually, I think there's a new Don't Let Kids Hang Protocol that they're pushing on us this year. Yeah. Well, my kid likes it. He likes to have it up.

Usually it's a discussion. Like, you ask people, like, would you like this down? I always say I would not. Yeah, I would like me either. Discussion over. Yeah. All right, Bandit. I hope you have a safe season. Appreciate it. Yeah. That's been on the show. That was awesome. Okay.

I want to thank Bandit for being on the show Carl You like Bandit, don't you? You know he's missing two front teeth? I wonder what he got for Christmas. You know who got two front teeth for Christmas at Tom Brady Anytime he's calling a game And I just see those horse veneers

I'm just going like, whoa. And it was real good to him. Why would he do that? It makes them talk different You can tell that his mouth hasn't adjusted to the teeth that are in it Let's do our plugs Patreon For those fans that just say

I feel guilty not giving you money It's a patreon.com slash toss show Is that right? Yeah Huh And then toss show store. dot com get yourself some merch get yourself a mug my first farewell tour tickets on sale now to all shows

will we be adding shows probably but get them while they're hot come to my show say hi to us bring karl a treat he likes pussy speaking of pussy my wife's cousin Still looking for love. Still looking. We got some voicemails. Let's hear him. I'm a lift mechanic over in South Lake Tahoe, and I'm very interested in getting a little panda.

I'm 5'5, Caucasian. I think we'd get together well on a vacation. No reason. Got to just find out. All right. Here they get you to know you. I mean, I like them. I need a lift mechanic.

in our circle. Yeah, 5-5. 5-5 is a huge deal-breaker. She will not be interested in that. But maybe tease it along a little bit. She's 5-8. 5-8. She can't go out with somebody 5-5-5. But he's in South Lake and he's a lift mechanic.

So I'm sure he can raise himself up a few inches. Let's play the next one. What does he got? Hey there, Panda and Daniel. I'm a 43-year-old Caucasian male 5-11, 180 pounds with an athletic bill No kids, never married

Pretty liberal, but I'm not a pussy I'm originally from South Louisiana But I live on the strip in Las Vegas currently I deal and play poker for a living I also work at Allegiant Stadium for the Raiders I've lived the Bachelor alive Since my last major relationship But I'm more than willing to settle down

With the right person And from what I've heard And seeing about Panda, I feel that I'd be pretty fortunate to get to know her at an involved level. And Daniel, well, I've been a fan since the debut of Josh Point O. I think I was getting along would just occur naturally. I went to the last couple shows that you and Eddie did at the Cosmo and had a great time, albeit I was by myself, perhaps maybe next time Panda can accompany me. In any case, Panda, I truly believe we could help bring each other happiness,

and I wish you the best either way, and I appreciate any consideration. Okay. I don't like people when they're this sincere. Makes us feel uncomfortable. It's awkward. We're going to have to tighten that up. He lives on the strip.

Does that mean what I think it means? Or do you think he actually lives in a nice high-rise? I'm hoping he just lives in a nice high-rise as a professional poker player. He also works at Allegiant Field, home to Tom Brady's team. Heath Sraiders. I mean, yeah, he's all right. He's going to shows. He's seen us perform multiple times alone.

I don't know. He needs somebody to share his off time with. I like a poker player too, though. It's kind of cool. It is cool. It's depressing because he'll definitely piss through all of her money at some point. I just, you know, it's fun about being married to a poker player. I would just like to, I would like to just watch the argument where it's like,

you don't understand, it was a two-outer. Yeah. We, we can't, we can't go anywhere this year. It was a jack of clubs. That's all I had to dodge. Uh, we're going to find her love. All right. I hated those options for Panda, but, uh, you know, at some point I'm just going to

to give up and pick somebody right at some point we're just choosing yep see next week