My (Snow) Groomer - Bandit Ferrante

Summary

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

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

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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.

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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…”

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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.”

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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…”

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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]

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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.

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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.”

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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.”

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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

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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.

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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.

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Transcript

[Bandit (Michael)]

Hey, y'.

[Tom Segura]

All.

[Wayfair Family Member]

As a growing family, my husband and I love game night, especially when it's Wayfair edition.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Let's do it. You gotta name as many Wayfair furniture and decor categories as you can. Ready? Go.

[Wayfair Family Member]

Sofas, bar stools, beds, ottomans, outdoor seating, bookshelves, kitchen tables, garden sheds, uh, mid century modern lamps.

[Tom Segura]

Time.

[Wayfair Family Member]

Nice.

[Bandit (Michael)]

You got nine out of a lot. Not too bad. Keep practicing by visiting Wayfair.com which you can shop every style for every home. Wayfair, every style, every home.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway this new year. Don't forget about the little ones in the family. Now through January 27th, shop in store and online. And save $10 when you buy two or more of your favorite baby care items. Shop for items like Happy Baby Formula, Pampers, Pure Diapers, Pampers Baby Wipes, Pampers, Swaddlers, Diapers, Pampers, Cruisers Diapers, and Similac Powder formulas. And save $10 when you buy two participating products. Offer ends January 27th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Tom Segura]

So you groom, like black diamonds all the time? I, I, I guess I always thought some of the steepest slopes weren't groomed. Pos show, posh show. Posh show for show. Happy New Year. Happy new year. 2026. I'm gonna go on record as saying this year sucks. Already sucks.

[Eddie]

Well, yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Don't like it. Oh, my goodness. Could 2026 get any suckier?

[Eddie]

I'm just looking forward to 2027.

[Tom Segura]

No, this one's gonna hurt. That's my favorite. When a big star goes down, a big celebrity dies early in January. And then they're like, oh, 2026 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 6th, and then on January 6th, this, this airs. But we're dead now.

[Eddie]

We're future tripping.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, man. Ed and I were in Tahoe. I watched Eddie on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine win over 2,100 quarters. And both of us looked at each other and were like, how much money is that?

[Eddie]

Like, do I own something now?

[Tom Segura]

We couldn't figure it out. We couldn't figure it out. But then when we did the math and we figured it out that it was well over $500, Eddie's wife perked right up. Megan was just like, whoa, there's my man.

[Eddie]

There we go on the slot machine over there.

[Tom Segura]

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 had some good wins too. I mean, it was just. I was sports betting. I was just knocking it out of the park with everything, couldn't lose. I had my father in law with me and there was this one game that I needed the over on. With two minutes left, the wrong team had the ball and they were up by a ton. So there was no need to score. Game was over. So I went and started 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, I'll buy that ticket off 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.

[Eddie]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Tom Segura]

Like, it doesn't. You're just telling me I won. So I'm like, yeah. He's like, 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're not a good storyteller.

[Eddie]

It's on you, Greg.

[Tom Segura]

It's on you. You gotta build it up a little bit. I don't know that we were in Tahoe, but pre Tahoe, we were in Montana.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

Okay, Now Montana, which I know 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. 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 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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Okay, good. Are the fans still calling it the show? Are there still fans of the show?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yes.

[Tom Segura]

No. But I knew as soon as I saw this truck, 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, and it said, slaughter all pedophiles.

[Eddie]

Wow.

[Tom Segura]

And I just couldn't have been happier. Pretty good flag to see just slaughter all pedophiles. I don't know. I mean, unless if that guy's. Maybe he was molested as a child. First of all, no one is pro pedophile.

[Eddie]

Right?

[Tom Segura]

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 automobile that says slaughter all pedophiles. I don't know what agenda that accomplishes other than making me laugh this giggles. I wanted to wave them down and go, I'm from California. Let's talk. Hey, hey, what do you.

[Eddie]

What's your beef?

[Tom Segura]

What's your stance on liberals? Yeah. So anyways, I just think that's a. I mean, I think it's good. I agree.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Maybe just a bumper sticker, but the.

[Eddie]

Big flag, that's a lot.

[Tom Segura]

And slaughter. Is that the right word?

[Eddie]

That's a good word.

[Tom Segura]

I mean, I don't care what you do to them. I don't know if I need to. I don't need to advertise it. Also, if you're driving a truck, trucks are kind of loud to begin with, and he had big tires and 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 a nice luxury sedan.

[Eddie]

Right.

[Tom Segura]

And then to constantly hear the flapping of your slaughter all pedophiles flag would be annoying.

[Eddie]

Also, does he do other things in that truck during the day, like pickles?

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Eddie]

He was part of something earlier.

[Tom Segura]

Is a slaughter all pedophiles flag similar to the American flag, where when it deteriorates, you need to replace it?

[Eddie]

Quite possibly.

[Tom Segura]

Does he have to keep it lit at night? That would be a concern of mine.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Can it touch the ground if, if.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Eddie]

What's the shape?

[Tom Segura]

A.

[Eddie]

I think there is a way to do a.

[Tom Segura]

You can't fold a flag into a.

[Eddie]

I can fold a cloth napkin into a and make it raise off the table. So yeah, I think you could do a flag too.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah. Speaking of mountain men and groomers, today's guest ticks both boxes. Enjoy. This episode is brought to 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 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 dot prizepix it's good to be right.

[Wayfair Family Member]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Albertsons and Safeway this new year. Don't forget about the little ones in the family. Now through January 27th, shop in store and online and save $10 when you buy two or more of your favorite baby care items. Shop for items like Happy Baby Formula, Pampers Pure Diapers, Pampers Baby Wipes, Pampers, Swaddler's Diapers, Pampers Cruisers Diapers, and Similac Powder formulas. And save $10 when you buy two participating products. Offer ends J January 27th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Tom Segura]

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 at night up on a ski mountain, dangling off the side of a double black diamond in a 20,000 pound snowcat so that privileged assholes can have fun until 4:00'. Clock. Please welcome for, from my home mountain in Lake Tahoe, ski groomer Bandit.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Thank you for having me.

[Tom Segura]

First of all, do you believe in ghosts?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No.

[Tom Segura]

Bandit, that's your nickname, right?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

What's your real name?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Real name is Michael.

[Tom Segura]

Does anybody call you Michael?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No. Most people don't know that. And you just told them all?

[Tom Segura]

Nah, don't just call him Bandit. Do you think the nickname Bandit would have stuck had you become an accountant?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, probably not. I mean, I guess there's still time. I'm not retired yet.

[Tom Segura]

You grew up in South Lake?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

What was life like as a child growing up in South Lake Tahoe?

[Bandit (Michael)]

So my, my parents worked at the resort, so it was kind of like my daycare.

[Tom Segura]

Heavenly.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Heavenly.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep. And you know, they'd drop me off and go about work and I just had my own little backyard.

[Tom Segura]

It's a beautiful backyard.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Great backyard.

[Tom Segura]

Do you ski and board?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I just ski.

[Tom Segura]

Just skied? Yeah. Now you. How much of your life was just I just want to ski. Is everything based around that still or.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, it was for a long time and that's how I ended up at the resorts. And then the more and more I got into operating snowcats, 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. I kind of switched more and now I kind of just ski like more leisurely.

[Tom Segura]

Do you prefer to ski out of bounds? Do you like to do your Own hiking or.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, No, I. 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. Just some easy groomers.

[Tom Segura]

I mean, preaching to the choir on that one. Eddie and I, we're not going anywhere. Are you a great skier?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I wouldn't consider myself a great skier, but at the same time, it feels like second nature to me. I don't know.

[Tom Segura]

You're not worried about any mountain that you're going down?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No. I don't even think about it.

[Tom Segura]

You're a good skier. How'd you lose your front tooth?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Skiing's dangerous.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Will you replace it?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I probably should. I was thinking gold. Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

I got a guy, his name's Gator.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Count me in.

[Tom Segura]

He does. He'll do anything. Is it a single? Oh, you got two.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Two? Yeah. Oh, man, it happens.

[Tom Segura]

What's the dental plan over there at Palisades?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Well, we have good dental, but this is cosmetic.

[Tom Segura]

What?

[Bandit (Michael)]

And it's not a dental emergency.

[Tom Segura]

That seems like an emergency.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

You'Re like a hockey player.

[Bandit (Michael)]

People call me Slap Shop.

[Tom Segura]

Bandit'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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And just thought it looked hard? Or how about, I knew you were gonna ask me about it, so I got it especially for you.

[Tom Segura]

Is that your newest tattoo?

[Bandit (Michael)]

That is actually my newest tattoo.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

My boss, I think, was concerned when I got it, but he just has to deal with my shit.

[Tom Segura]

Does it mean anything other than what it looks like it means?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I don't know. I thought it looked good.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's not like most tattoos.

[Tom Segura]

You're not throwing a W up or anything.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Like west side.

[Tom Segura]

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. Is it dangerous? I don't. I. I'm just guessing that it's dangerous, so.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 Palisades 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.

[Tom Segura]

How old are you?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I am 36.

[Tom Segura]

36. Now, have you noticed that as you're getting older that you're aware of danger more and more?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I'd say with everything except for snowcatting.

[Tom Segura]

Okay. But. All right. So you are. You're not fearless anymore.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, definitely not.

[Tom Segura]

Groomers report sounds so bad. Are you upset that the term groomer has been appropriated by pedophiles?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I don't know if they appropriated it. It is something that I definitely am. Would like to change because. 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.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, yeah. You brought a model. Show me what you got here. This. Look at this toy.

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's a little model Snowcat Piston. Bully sent for you guys.

[Tom Segura]

You giving this to me? Yeah. Guess who I'm giving it to.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Who are you giving it to?

[Tom Segura]

My son.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I'm sure he's going to love it.

[Tom Segura]

The winch can go back. It spins around forward or backwards.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. So that whole winch on the top actually spins around the machine.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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. It just gives you unlimited traction. So we'll 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.

[Tom Segura]

Trying to maintain, you guys can strip a hill.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Absolutely, you can strip. We do it all the time after, like, you consider, like, places that you know are gonna 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 them.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 Piston Bully has this cool system called Snowsat with lidar and so I can see how much snow is around me and 165ft in all directions. And so it shows me that on a screen in my cat, even in.

[Tom Segura]

The in dead of night, you. You have perfect vision.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. And so like on super gnarly storm days, I'm literally just looking at the blade in front of me in my snowsat screen, and it's telling me exactly where I am when I'm plowing the ridges. So 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.

[Tom Segura]

You listen to music or podcasts? What's your druthers in there?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I do podcasts. I listen to a lot of electronic music because, like I said, they have a subwoofers in the cast. That's nice. It's come a long way from when we started.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, man, you're having like your own little rave up there.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Absolutely. But then another thing, we actually talk to each other a bunch on the phone. Just like, how's it going over there?

[Tom Segura]

Just if you're driving up at night and you're in a Blizzard and you've got your screens, you're not, you're not a. Not looking out the window at all because that doesn't do anything for you. It's pitch black and it's a blizzard. But like if, 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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, the screen does not pick up the nine year olds.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, well, I haven't had an issue yet though.

[Tom Segura]

No, I know you have. I just can't imagine, like, I mean, there's help, there's help and you're like, nothing I can do, kid. And then you pat them down before.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 got to drive home after and like you kind of just.

[Tom Segura]

And you're still listening to rave music that whole time generally. Did you run over Jeremy Renner with your snowplow?

[Bandit (Michael)]

He had his own. He did that to himself.

[Tom Segura]

It was a piston bully, wasn't it?

[Bandit (Michael)]

It was an old piston bully machine that he owned, but it was very old with outdating parking brakes. And actually I was there for like a snowsat thing not too long ago and he came and visited the factory and he's looking into buying a new one. And I did ask, did you show him the new parking brakes?

[Tom Segura]

No. What kind of gas mileage do they get?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Depending on 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 then like one shift, I'll probably burn like 50 gallons.

[Tom Segura]

Can you get stuck in one?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Absolutely.

[Tom Segura]

Does it happen all the time?

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's operator air almost every time.

[Tom Segura]

Do you have to get yourself out or do you have to call for help?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Someone calls me usually and then I'm like, I'll be there in a bit. Sometimes I make them sit a little extra long, make them think about what they did then it depends on the situation.

[Tom Segura]

Are they just trying to move too much snow?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

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 four that. And you just like, oh, I hope this will hold.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 a 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 at the end of the year, we're open late. Like, you have to winch it every night. You have to move all that snow back uphill.

[Tom Segura]

And it's so windy up there at night. Is that terrifying?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

I mean, nobody ever just gets blown off in the dark.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I've definitely been blown over. Like, you don't want to be close to your tracks. 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.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

The wind will rip it right off.

[Tom Segura]

Because it can be blowing up to 100 miles an hour.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Oh, no problem. And then you're climbing up on that tower in the middle of the night and hooking up.

[Tom Segura]

You climb up on the tower. Just the metal rungs. Are you. You have gloves on? What are you doing?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Depends how lazy I am. I mean, I know I'm getting back in a nice fancy snow cap with a subwoofer and a heated seat. And so it's a. It's a timing thing. I usually regret not wearing them.

[Tom Segura]

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 do you 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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 cat pretty quick in the, in the base area.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Some people pick it up real quick, some people never pick it up.

[Tom Segura]

It's a complicated machine.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. There's a lot going on.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

So we have a groomer apprentice position and that's like pretty low. Like 23 an hour.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And then our groomer three 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 it Palisades.

[Tom Segura]

Uhhuh.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 cap manufacturer, Piston Bully. Like there's, there's this.

[Tom Segura]

Does Piston Bully give you a taste of the action here?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Paid? Yeah, no, they just give me this flannel.

[Tom Segura]

Oh man. They need game?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 and D and stuff like that.

[Tom Segura]

Do you build the jumps?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I used to.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I used to. That's how I got my start.

[Tom Segura]

You started on the mountain building the ramps in the parks? Yep. What does that entail?

[Bandit (Michael)]

So I started, you know, with, with a rake in hand and a dream at 18 years old.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

At Heavenly. When you have that job, you work with the snow cats and they, they push the snow and shape it and you kind of fine tune it and help them like move features and stuff.

[Tom Segura]

There are actual physical features underneath the jumps or.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, no, no.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Some resorts and places do that. It's called Dirt Work. And at Palisades, our half pipe is like that. So it's shaped like that underneath. But usually it's just snow.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

I mean, except for obviously the rails and stuff that you guys put on there.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, 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 of 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 will come from the other resorts when you're closing down and you kind of just start ramping it up. Yeah, it's planned.

[Tom Segura]

I got you. The thing that I find the most fascinating is that you guys have wenches on these piston bullies. These snow and you're hanging off of a mountain and you're high off of the ground to begin with. Do you just feel like you're straight up and down?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. So when we're on really steep things, like if I actually have to lean the seat back forward to the point where it's uncomfortable. If you're on flat ground, kind of.

[Tom Segura]

Like you're using a squatty potty on the toilet.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, but, 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 thing, my records 40.

[Tom Segura]

Go forward, down or depending on the.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Situation, depending what you're doing. I mean. Yeah. So sometimes forward, sometimes backward. There's a, there's a harness in the piston 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.

[Tom Segura]

The snow cats that groom the mountains. What time do you guys start?

[Bandit (Michael)]

So we run two shifts.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

So one shift comes in like three, four o'. Clock. They're usually there till midnight. And then whole another crew takes over till opening. You know, like midnight to 9 in the morning. But if it's like snowing super hard and we're trying to get like tracks and stuff open, they'll be There till like noon.

[Tom Segura]

How much does a piston bully cost?

[Bandit (Michael)]

So I mean there's a bunch of different models.

[Tom Segura]

Of course. I want to get all the bells and whistles. A beautiful one that you're hanging off a cliff on.

[Bandit (Michael)]

They're usually all around 500,000. Half a million depending where you get up or down.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, half a million dollars each. All the bells and whistles. How many does Palisades own? I'd say two dozen. A dozen?

[Bandit (Michael)]

30 to 40.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

But our primary fleet of like state of the art cats that we run every night is like 15 to 20.

[Tom Segura]

Any girls driving in these cats?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, we have two on staff this year.

[Tom Segura]

Two. Okay. Because it seems like it's a pretty male dominated workforce. Do you consider yourself like a truck driver or. No?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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, we're more of an operator. Well.

[Tom Segura]

You guys peeing and pooping on the mountain?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I try not to poop on the mountain. That's a bad day.

[Tom Segura]

I know.

[Bandit (Michael)]

It only, it only goes nine miles an hour.

[Tom Segura]

It's not the worst day.

[Bandit (Michael)]

You're not going to make it back.

[Tom Segura]

A pooping in the mountain is not the worst day. That's actually kind of pretty.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Don't eat the snow. I pee everywhere.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, okay, so you, I don't know, you get sleepy up there.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 4am to 2pm 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.

[Tom Segura]

I guess 4am to 2pm is not the craziest thing, but you have to go to bed, you have to be on schedule.

[Bandit (Michael)]

You just have to stay on your schedule. And if you don't, you're in trouble.

[Tom Segura]

Have you ever flipped a cat?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No. They're actually very hard to flip.

[Tom Segura]

Well, not if it's vertical.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No. I mean, no, you'd be surprised. They're very hard to flip.

[Tom Segura]

Has a winch ever snapped? Let's not say on a piston bully. But on any.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 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 gonna be cutting through this down to rocks here?

[Tom Segura]

Do you know where all the rocks are?

[Bandit (Michael)]

All of them? No. I find a new one with my blade every year.

[Tom Segura]

What's that cost to fix something?

[Bandit (Michael)]

The blade?

[Tom Segura]

Yeah.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Usually the blade's fine unless your face hits the windshield, and then it's more expensive. But the winch cable snapping is like. You can adjust how much tonnage you're putting on it.

[Tom Segura]

How many tons can your cat move?

[Bandit (Michael)]

You're talking the winch tonnage? No, just pushing snow.

[Tom Segura]

Pushing, pushing.

[Bandit (Michael)]

That's the metric we all want, but we don't know how to figure that one out.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, it happens. It's happened to me.

[Tom Segura]

You go for a ride backwards down a huge mountain.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. And so, I mean, it doesn't flip, though. It doesn't flip. Like, you start sliding, and then.

[Tom Segura]

Are you going 100 miles an hour?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, you go fast. I mean, I don't know what my land speed backwards record is, but were.

[Tom Segura]

You like, oh, this is it. I'm done?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 of 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.

[Tom Segura]

It's like a plane and a tailspin.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. And it's quick. It's over fast.

[Tom Segura]

I mean, I just. I stare at them every night. I. I'm so happy I'm talking to you because I. I just. I stare at you guys, you know, your little lights in your cabin. Wonder what the they're doing right now. Look at them. Just all day long, every day. What about the. You get along with the people that blow up stuff? The dynamite boys?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. The patrol?

[Tom Segura]

Yeah.

[Bandit (Michael)]

We have a good relationship. Okay. Yeah, they.

[Tom Segura]

They seem to, you know, be a little overly amped up, especially the guys that have the big cannon where they're.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Straight up just shooting the avalanches and stuff? Yeah, yeah. I mean, they think they're cool, but they can't get up to their job without me giving them a ride.

[Tom Segura]

Let them know, do you look at those Ice Road trucker and laughed yourself about how much more dangerous your job is?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 I have. 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.

[Tom Segura]

They get to masturbate constantly, which seems cool, I guess.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. You only need one hand for the wheel. Huh.

[Tom Segura]

Do you have a steering wheel? What's your mechanism in there?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 hand's 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.

[Tom Segura]

On the right, you hook your wench up illegally to trees and stuff like that all the time.

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's not manufacturer recommended, but we have plenty of trees we trust.

[Tom Segura]

Okay? Oh, you have trees that you trust?

[Bandit (Michael)]

You have to take into consideration the snow levels. It's a really deep year. You're hooking higher up on the tree, and so you don't want to snap that over.

[Tom Segura]

Ah, yeah, you got to think about that. You didn't think about that.

[Eddie]

No. Closer to the base.

[Tom Segura]

You got to get to the base. You ever find a body?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Never found a body.

[Tom Segura]

They always say every year in Tahoe they'll find three or four people, you know, deep in a snow well.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Tree wells are definitely tree wells. Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Every year they say they find somebody once everything thaws out.

[Bandit (Michael)]

You never been stuck in a tree well? Yes, it's terrible.

[Tom Segura]

But I've. But I've always gotten out.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I can tell.

[Tom Segura]

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 be upside down.

[Bandit (Michael)]

That's what I meant. You've never been stuck upside down.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, I've been upside down. But there was ways for me to get myself to a better position. Now 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 was like, oh, I gotta shit.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I've done the same.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I mean, usually we try and keep people in the same machines. That way, you know, you're. 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.

[Tom Segura]

You're not putting adult content up in there, though, are you?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I mean, we probably take it down. Okay.

[Tom Segura]

Is there a way to completely avoid avalanches on groomed runs?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

That's one of the reasons I'm never thrilled about going out of bounds or just hiking up. So I'm like, I don't want to deal with this.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, then you got it. You got to dig a pit and you got to check the snow conditions, take some avalanche courses, carry a beacon.

[Tom Segura]

I'm not doing any of that. 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. I know where I'm at in life.

[Bandit (Michael)]

On storm days we wear beacons at night in the machines.

[Tom Segura]

Should I be writing something on my kids helmets? Like call mom and their phone numbers? I think I should be doing that.

[Bandit (Michael)]

If it's a high avalanche day, it's not bad practice to have your kids wear beacons.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

I just need to go because I'm always like, should I slow down? And then if I slow down too much now I. 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 downslope if I'm going fast enough.

[Bandit (Michael)]

But a lot of it too is like, do you pop off the lip?

[Tom Segura]

I pop a little.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Well see, if you pop a lot, then you're gonna go further if you pop too much.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Well, you know what you should do?

[Tom Segura]

What?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Just make a friend hit it in front of you and you follow him and you see if he hit it or not.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, okay, okay.

[Tom Segura]

But don't. That's a fair question. Ye. I've done some flailing.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Absolutely.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, I've done some flailing.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

I've landed on my back. Just everything exploded. I shattered a snowboard in half on a jump before. That's not fun. Do you get frustrated with tourists or do you just kind of like know that's the necessary evil of living in a beautiful place?

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's both. I can do both. Right.

[Tom Segura]

Do you have a bumper sticker that says fuck your second home?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, I usually just pass. I'm Going real fast. They wouldn't be able to read it anyways.

[Tom Segura]

You know, I tell people they 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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, but see, I feel like maybe that's not the tourists that we all get frustrated with either.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Like, sometimes just the amount of tourists or the ones that aren't paying attention, like, you have an all overdrive vehicle, right?

[Tom Segura]

Yeah.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And you know how to drive in the snow. Sounds like you're not the problem.

[Tom Segura]

I live for it. And don't. 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. 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, it's fun.

[Eddie]

The only time we go to church. Use the parking lot. Yep.

[Tom Segura]

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 just 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 like, don't do it, dad. I'm like, we're gonna kill it. And I floored at this snowman right before I get to it, I realize, what if somebody put this around a pole? Here we go. Hey. My kids screamed. We went right through it. There was no pole. Oh, we flew through it. It was big, too. It was fun.

[Bandit (Michael)]

We have a couple people on staff that actively seek them out and try and run them over with the cats, because sometimes they'll be built, like, near the bottom lifts and stuff.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, it's fun.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, you got to. You got to enjoy life. You got to turn into a child occasionally. We'll be right back.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Tom Segura]

I'm here with Spinquest where you can play and win from the comfort of your own home with hundreds of slot games and all of the table games.

[Bandit (Michael)]

You love with real cash prizes. Right now, $30 coin packs are on sale for $10. For new users, it's [e-mail] that's S-P-I-N.

[Tom Segura]

Q U-E-T.com Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Tom Segura]

Teach me some good ski mountain slang that I might not know.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Ski mountain sling?

[Tom Segura]

Come on, come on, ban it.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I mean, you know. You know what a Jerry is, right?

[Tom Segura]

A Jerry?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

What's a Jerry?

[Bandit (Michael)]

A Jerry's gaper. You know what a gaper is?

[Tom Segura]

No, what's a gaper?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Gaper. You're not a gaper, are you?

[Tom Segura]

You very well could be talking to a gaper.

[Bandit (Michael)]

This is more of someone that's skiing, snowboarding around that doesn't know what they're doing. That's some slang.

[Tom Segura]

Now 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 6 inches the night before.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Choosy. Yeah, why not?

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Well, that's because you haven't seen my corduroy.

[Tom Segura]

He's got sweet corduroy. That's what they call it.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, the corduroy, like the fresh pass from a cat.

[Tom Segura]

Fresh pass from the cat.

[Bandit (Michael)]

The court.

[Tom Segura]

I got to check out his corduroy.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Guys, I'm learning there's a lot of snow. Cat terms that are, like, specific to that. When you have, like, a blade full of snow, we'll call that, like, a wad.

[Tom Segura]

A wad?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, Stacking wads.

[Tom Segura]

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 did. 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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I'm fine with it, yeah. I mean, some people that'll never get over it. I mean, if that's the hill you wanna die on, so be it. But I pull up, it's the same place. It's the same place with the same people.

[Tom Segura]

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 about, it's not my thing. Eddie does it. He's like, names all the. Oh, we're gonna go down Cat's Paw and then take a left on Fucks its name. I don't get it.

[Bandit (Michael)]

There's too many names. I mean, even the staff, like, we don't even get along on what the names are. The old timers call it something. Patrol 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.

[Tom Segura]

There's every.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I can't keep up.

[Tom Segura]

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 and 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, they were. She was just, just stuck and panicked for hours. That happens a lot.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

I know, yeah. Can you go out in any condition we have to every day?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, two shifts we have to. I mean there's certain conditions like we're waiting like they have avalanche mitigation systems called GAZ X that they'll use and they trigger those remotely. Have you seen those stacks coming out of the ground?

[Tom Segura]

Yeah.

[Bandit (Michael)]

So like with all the like knowledge and experience from all the staff there over all the years, they, they generally know like what's going to slide and when. And so we have what's called a restriction sheet. And so it's like X amount of snow and X amount of area. This area is now on restriction until the GAZX 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 claw 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.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah. Hey, you like that gondola they made to connect Alpine the base to base?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

You like the base to base?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Let's just say it made my job a little more interesting. Lots more to dig out up there.

[Tom Segura]

Are you digging out everything in between?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No. So at the top area where. Because it's got that unload at the top of kt.

[Tom Segura]

I didn't know about that unload until the first time I rode that area.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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 it's job security. I like it.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And it's also nice. Like, I'm too lazy to get in the car. I have to go over to Alpine. Fine.

[Tom Segura]

What's your favorite mountain besides one you work at to ride at?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Right. I really like Kirkwood. I grew up skiing Kirkwood a bunch.

[Tom Segura]

You did do it?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Everyone that's in the know goes to Kirkwood. But it's obviously, what, a full hour and a half from heavenly?

[Bandit (Michael)]

It's like 45 minutes from my house in Gardenville. Okay. Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

It's further south. It's where the cool people go. It's not really on Lake Tahoe. It's got much steeper terrain. Nothing.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Palisades. Palisades is the place for sure.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Like, if you want. You want the goods. The best terrain is Palisades.

[Tom Segura]

Okay. You're. You're. You know what you are right now?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

You're a shill. You're a shill of who you. Once I could.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Look, I'm just saying I could work at Kirkwood, and I drive half as far.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah. But Kirkwood doesn't have the same type of length of season.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Also, that. And that's a big factor.

[Tom Segura]

Right.

[Bandit (Michael)]

The reason I like a longer season is because I get a snow cap more. But it also changes the way I operate the machine and, like, have 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.

[Tom Segura]

Whenever I take the. Whatever the big gondola in the summertime up to the ice skating rink.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Oh, the tram.

[Tom Segura]

The tram. Whenever I take the tram. How that's built and the people that build that.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Hans Burkhardt stood in that base area, you know, long time ago and pointed up at the top of the steepest rock and said, put the first tower there. I don't know. I always wonder the same thing.

[Tom Segura]

It's just bonkers.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yes.

[Tom Segura]

And then I see families with little kids that climb up it.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

I'm just happy that my kids don't have, like, any drive.

[Bandit (Michael)]

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.

[Tom Segura]

I know that you can drive up, but the. The people that hike that mount, it's just. It's just baffling what we can do. You've. You got to see this tram.

[Bandit (Michael)]

How.

[Tom Segura]

Where they built. It's just so terrifying.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And when they put in a long time ago.

[Tom Segura]

I know. Maybe. Maybe it needs to be updated.

[Bandit (Michael)]

They service it.

[Tom Segura]

Okay.

[Bandit (Michael)]

California has a. You have to do, like, X percentage service on each lift. Like, mandated. Every year.

[Tom Segura]

Good.

[Bandit (Michael)]

We have a really big lift maintenance team. Good.

[Tom Segura]

Here. I got you some stuff from the show. 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 know what they are. They're a hoodie. You're gonna love that. Can you bring a blanket into your.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, Absolutely.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Bring a blanket in there. Lola, you're gonna be lovely. Get that off my desk.

[Eddie]

Oh, man.

[Tom Segura]

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. Do you like the Dolphins?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Not too big into sports.

[Tom Segura]

No. You'll love the Dolphins. Start cheering for them. There's one Dolphin sweatshirt at the bottom. I just can't. I never salute to the troops. You know, when they do that? Green. Yeah. You get this one. The weird camo. That's no good. I don't like it here. You'll love it.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Biggest Dolphins fan now. Thank you.

[Tom Segura]

Thank you. 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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, headphones are good because we actually talk to each other on the phone a bunch at night.

[Tom Segura]

Those are the best new headphones on the market.

[Bandit (Michael)]

What's this?

[Tom Segura]

Do you do any exercise?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Not enough.

[Tom Segura]

You don't need to anymore. Collagen peptides. Bub's Natural. Oh, man. I can't believe I'm giving away Bub's Natural. You're gonna love.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Should help. My job is to sit in a chair and stare out of a window, so maybe some exercise would be good.

[Tom Segura]

What do you enjoy doing for fun outside of being on the mountain?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I like driving cars. Driving cars is fun. The commute to work is fun. Sometimes I'll just take, you know, little rips.

[Tom Segura]

You go fast when you're driving to work there in the mountains.

[Bandit (Michael)]

The chp. Listen to this.

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, I'm not mean. Some of them do. It's not like they can't give you a ticket retroactively. Are you a good snow driver?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah. I mean, I made it two years ago during that crazy winter. I live in Gardnerville, actually. I work at Palisades.

[Tom Segura]

How long of a commute is that?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Like an hour and a half?

[Tom Segura]

Yeah, it Seems long.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Records 47 minutes.

[Tom Segura]

You're doing it every day? Both sides.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Six days a week.

[Tom Segura]

What do you think about chains? Did you ever have a car that required chains?

[Bandit (Michael)]

No.

[Tom Segura]

No. Neither. I won't do it either.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I've always had Subarus. Growing up.

[Tom Segura]

Same here.

[Bandit (Michael)]

I just got a Polestar. It works fine.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

I mean, I debated it once. I was. I was riding Kirkwood. I was real high up. I was like, this might be worth two broken legs. But I was. I was at Kirkwood, and there's a fire. A generator building is a long time ago. And I was stuck on the trailer for like an hour, 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.

[Tom Segura]

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?

[Bandit (Michael)]

Exactly. So those are called detachables. Okay. And so it has a grip system that mechanically is activated when it hits the turnstile and it detaches. And then a separate thing carries it around. I say things. I don't know. I'm snow tractor man. But it detaches.

[Tom Segura]

You're telling me right now.

[Bandit (Michael)]

And then the grip hooks back up before it takes off again.

[Tom Segura]

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.

[Bandit (Michael)]

No, it depends if I'm clocked in or not.

[Tom Segura]

Oh, you're supposed to if you work there.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

Ah, that's why I always hate it when an employee jumps on next to me.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yep.

[Tom Segura]

Now that. Now they're now banging. Meanwhile, I got my little kid there. I'm like, ah, let him hang.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Actually, I think there's a new don't let kid kids hang protocol that they're pushing on us this year. Yeah. Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

Well, my kid likes it. He likes to have it up.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Usually it's a discussion. Like you ask people, like, would you like this down?

[Tom Segura]

No, I always say I would not.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah, like, me either.

[Tom Segura]

Discussion over.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Yeah.

[Tom Segura]

All right, Bandit. I hope you have a safe season. Appreciate it. Being on the show.

[Bandit (Michael)]

That was awesome.

[Tom Segura]

Okay. PA Show. 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.

[Eddie]

Anna was real good to him.

[Tom Segura]

Why would he do that? It makes him talk different.

[Eddie]

It does.

[Tom Segura]

You can tell that he's. That his mouth hasn't adjusted to the teeth that are in it. Yeah. Let's do our plugs. Patreon. For those fans that just say, I feel guilty not giving you money, it's patreon.com tossshow. Is that right? And then tossshowstore.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 Carl a treat. He likes pussy. Speaking of pussy, my wife's cousin. Still looking for love.

[Eddie]

Still looking. We got some voicemails.

[Tom Segura]

Let's hear them.

[Voicemail Callers]

I'm a lift mechanic over in South Lake Tahoe, and I'm very interested in getting to know Panda. I'm five Five.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Caucasian. I think we'd get together well on vacation.

[Tom Segura]

No reason.

[Bandit (Michael)]

Gotta just find out. All right.

[Tom Segura]

Good to get to know you. I mean, I like them. Yep. I need a lift mechanic in our circle.

[Eddie]

Yeah. 5. 5.

[Tom Segura]

5, 5 is a huge deal breaker. She will not be interested in that.

[Eddie]

Like maybe tease it along a little bit.

[Tom Segura]

She's five eight.

[Eddie]

Five eight.

[Tom Segura]

She's five eight. She can't go out with somebody five' five. But he's in South Lake and he's a lift mechanic, so I'm sure he can raise himself up a few inches.

[Eddie]

Let's play the next one.

[Tom Segura]

What else you got?

[Voicemail Callers]

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 and 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 seen 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 Tosh0. I think I was getting along with just occurring 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 can help bring each other happiness. And I wish you the best either way. And I appreciate any of kind consideration.

[Tom Segura]

Okay. I don't like people when they're this sincere.

[Eddie]

Makes us feel uncomfortable.

[Tom Segura]

It's awkward. We're gonna have to tighten that up. He lives on the Strip. Does that mean what I think it means? Or does he 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 Teeth Raiders. I mean, yeah, he's all right. He's going to shows. He's seen us perform multiple times alone. I don't know.

[Eddie]

He needs somebody to share his off time with.

[Tom Segura]

I like a poker player too, though. 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. 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 a dodge. We're gonna find her, love. All right. I hated those options for Panda. But you know, at some point, I'm just going to give up and pick somebody, right?

[Eddie]

At some point, we're just choosing.

[Tom Segura]

Yep. See you next week.