Tosh Show — “My (Snow) Groomer – Bandit Ferrante”

Host: Daniel Tosh
Guest: Bandit (Michael Ferrante), Lake Tahoe Ski Groomer
Date: January 6, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, comedian Daniel Tosh dives deep into the world of snow grooming with guest Bandit (real name: Michael), a lead snowcat operator at Palisades in Lake Tahoe. The conversation blends Daniel’s characteristically irreverent humor with Bandit’s inside perspective on life working atop the mountains—running heavy machinery through the night to keep the ski slopes perfect for guests.

The episode unpacks the nuances of snowcat operations (including harrowing stories of steep slopes and high winds), the subculture of mountain workers, mountain slang, and the wild ways that passion and danger intersect on the ski slopes. There are also candid asides about tattoos, dental emergencies, and the peculiarities of life in mountain towns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter: Tahoe Tales and Slot Machine Wins

• Daniel opens with jokes about the new year being terrible already, highlighting celebrity deaths and the general malaise of early January.
  • [01:31] Daniel: “Don’t like it. Oh, my goodness. Could 2026 get any suckier?”
• The crew recounts a recent trip to Tahoe and Montana: slot machine wins, sports betting drama, and the realization that sometimes big wins don’t elicit big reactions.
  • [02:51] Daniel: “I was just knocking it out of the park with everything, couldn’t lose…”
• Amusing anecdote about seeing an aggressive anti-pedophile flag on a Montana truck, and riffing on its purpose, effectiveness, and risk of awkwardness at church or around kids.
  • [05:42] Daniel: “A huge flag in the back of the pickup truck, and it said, ‘slaughter all pedophiles.’ And I just couldn’t have been happier…”

2. Meet Bandit: The Ski Groomer (11:19)

Quick Facts

• Real Name: Michael, goes by “Bandit” (nickname origin never revealed).
• Grew up in South Lake Tahoe, parents worked at the resort—resort was his childhood “daycare.”
• Transitioned from passionate skier to snowcat operator as career progressed.

“Bandit” on Nicknames

• [11:52] Daniel: “Do you think the nickname Bandit would have stuck had you become an accountant?”
  Bandit: “Yeah, probably not. I mean, I guess there’s still time…”

Life on Mountain

• Grew up at Heavenly, learned the mountain lifestyle from the ground up.
• Now more invested in snowcat operation and mountain maintenance than in pushing boundaries as a skier.

Skiing Credentials

• Considers himself a competent but unremarkable skier (“second nature”), not worried about any run.
• Lost two front teeth skiing; jokes about cosmetic dental coverage and gold replacements.
  • [13:32] Daniel: “How’d you lose your front tooth?”
    Bandit: “Skiing’s dangerous.”

3. Snowcat Operation: The Art and Danger of Grooming

Life in the Snowcat

• Started with park features—building jumps/ramps—now leads a team maintaining runs using state-of-the-art machines.
• Passion for the evolving technology, particularly lidar-based Snowsat, which maps snowfall depth in real-time to optimize grooming even in whiteout conditions.
  • [18:13] Daniel: “In dead of night, you have perfect vision.”
    Bandit: “Yeah… It’s telling me exactly where I am when I’m plowing the ridges…”

Dangers and Mitigation

• Groomers are at risk (blizzard whiteouts, high winds, extremely steep runs), but skill and modern equipment mitigate it.
• Bandit explains steep slope grooming: how winches anchor the cats, why base snow depth matters, and how getting “stuck” or sliding backward happens.
  • [29:29] Daniel: “If it snapped when you were at the top… what would happen?”
    Bandit: “Yeah, it happens. It’s happened to me.”

Pay and Progression

• Entry-level (Groomer Apprentice): ~$23/hour.
• Advanced Operators: Up to $36/hour and above.
• Career path exists, including opportunities to train others and work with manufacturers like Piston Bully.
  • [23:26] Daniel: “This is what I can expect to make…”
    Bandit: “Groomer apprentice position… like 23 an hour… groomer three… up to 36, I believe at Palisades…”

4. Mountain Subculture, Jargon, and Humor

Slang & Social Dynamics

• Mountain slang: “Jerry” and “gaper” = inexperienced skiers; “corduroy” = fresh groomed snow pattern; “wad” = pile of snow moved by blade.
  • [40:47] Bandit: “Jerry’s gaper… that’s someone that’s skiing, snowboarding around that doesn’t know what they’re doing…”
• Tourist frustrations: locals balance irritation and acceptance; Bandit jokes about “speeding” past them, explaining, “I usually just pass. I’m going real fast. They wouldn’t be able to read it anyways.” [36:28]

Tattoos & Partying

• Daniel riffs on Bandit’s tattoos (choking hands): “Is this a job that says… we don’t care that a woman is trying to strangle you?”
  Bandit: “My boss, I think, was concerned when I got it, but he just has to deal with my shit.” [14:34]

5. Behind the Scenes: Machines, Mishaps, and Features

Machine Specs

• Top-shelf Piston Bully snowcat: ~$500,000 each, Palisades has 30-40 but only 15-20 “state of the art” for daily operations.
• Fuel burn: up to 50 gallons/shift (winch operations use much more).
  • [26:48] Bandit: “They’re usually all around $500,000… 30 to 40 [at Palisades]…”

Danger and Mishaps

• Getting stuck mostly operator error.
• “Never flipped a cat”: machines are “very hard to flip,” but winch cables can snap and cause a harrowing backwards slide.
• Unspoken camaraderie with avalanche patrol (“dynamite boys”); Bandit gives them rides to their lines.
  • [30:31] Bandit: “They think they’re cool, but they can’t get up to their job without me giving them a ride.”

Gross-Outs and Humor

• Peeing on the mountain is normal; pooping is to be avoided if possible due to slow speeds.
  • [27:28] Daniel: “You guys peeing and pooping on the mountain?”
    Bandit: “I try not to poop on the mountain. That’s a bad day…”

Weather & Hours

• Two shifts: ~3-4pm to midnight, and midnight to 9am (sometimes til noon in storms).
• Storm days require flexibility; graveyard shift can be grueling (schedule disruptions “wreck you over time”).
• Avalanches can’t be entirely eliminated, but groomed runs are closely monitored and mitigated.

Avalanche and Technical Talk

• Beacons sometimes worn on severe storm days, even by operators inside snowcats.
• Daniel proposes, half-seriously, that jumps should have “speed readouts”—Bandit explains why that wouldn’t be reliable.

6. Tahoe & Local Culture

• Bandit, born in South Lake, now commutes 1.5 hours (sometimes as quick as 47 min!) from Gardnerville.

• Discusses the new Alpine-Palisades gondola, its extra workload, but also job security and convenience.

• Ski area name change (Squaw → Palisades): Bandit is totally fine with it, doesn’t get the outrage, sees it as “the same place with the same people.”

  • [42:10] Bandit: “If that’s the hill you want to die on, so be it. But I pull up, it’s the same place with the same people.”

• Favorite non-work mountain: Kirkwood.

  • “Kirkwood doesn’t have the same type of length of season… that’s a big factor… the reason I like a longer season is because I get a snow cat more.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On dangerous flags:
  [05:42] Daniel: “A huge flag in the back of the pickup truck, and it said, ‘slaughter all pedophiles.’ And I just couldn’t have been happier. Pretty good flag to see... I don’t know what agenda that accomplishes other than making me laugh.”
• On snowcat tech:
  [18:16] Bandit: “On super gnarly storm days, I’m literally just looking at the blade in front of me and my Snowsat screen... Even in the dead of night, you have perfect vision.”
• On workplace slang:
  [41:44] Bandit: “When you have, like, a blade full of snow, we’ll call that, like, a wad. Stacking wads.”
• On tourist frustration:
  [36:28] Bandit: “No, I usually just pass. I’m going real fast. They wouldn’t be able to read it anyways.”
• On chairlifts and safety bars:
  [51:24] Daniel: “Do you put the safety—the arm thing down—on a chairlift or…”
  [51:26] Bandit: “No, it depends if I’m clocked in or not…”
• On flipping a snowcat:
  [28:17] Daniel: “Have you ever flipped a cat?”
  [28:17] Bandit: “No. They’re actually very hard to flip.”
• On avalanche risk:
  [33:59] Bandit: “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.”
• On surviving tree wells:
  [32:25] Daniel: “Every year they say they find somebody once everything thaws out.”
  [32:28] Bandit: “You never been stuck in a tree well? Yes, it’s terrible.”

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 11:19 – Introduction of Bandit; real name, nickname, and upbringing
• 13:32–14:01 – Losing teeth and tattoo talk
• 15:00–18:47 – Snowcat technology, risks, and “Snowsat” system
• 20:23–23:44 – Operator errors, pay structure, and career path
• 26:40–27:03 – Piston Bully fleet size and women in the field
• 30:30–30:46 – Relationship with ski patrol “dynamite boys”
• 33:59–34:56 – Avalanche mitigation and operator safety
• 40:39–41:48 – Mountain slang: “Jerry”, “gaper”, “corduroy”, “wads”
• 42:10–42:20 – Palisades/Squaw name change
• 45:07–45:37 – New Alpine-Palisades gondola and job impact
• 51:24–51:48 – Chairlift safety bar etiquette

Tone & Style

Playful, sardonic, and irreverent—Daniel meshes genuine curiosity and technical interest with quick jabs, blue humor, and relentless riffing on Bandit’s lifestyle, mountain culture, and the peculiarities of mountain operations. Bandit answers with a laid-back, sometimes self-deprecating candor, revealing both his pride and the everyday challenges of working in one of the region’s most unique jobs.

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a unique window into the demanding, quirky, and sometimes hazardous world of ski resort grooming through the eyes of a true Tahoe local. It’s a blend of laughs, technical insights, and “only in the mountains” stories, all delivered with Tosh’s trademark irreverence and Bandit’s grounded expertise. Whether you’re a skier, a mountain-town resident, or just a fan of odd jobs, this episode offers something unexpected—and hilarious.