Jake Loughlin Kicked off his 4th Season on Opening Day at JHMR

What’s the most amount of days you’ve ever ridden consecutively?

For many, five to ten days in a row is an impressive feat. For others, 11-20 days on-hill is a haul and takes plenty of dedication. Some mountain town locals notch 100 days a season, and earn a shiny new pin.

While all of these are admirable feats, they pale in comparison to Jake Louglin, 25. This Jackson Hole transplant hasn’t missed a day of riding at the resort since 2015.

Loughlin, aka @hottrash69, has ridden ever day JHMR has been open for the past three seasons and just kicked off his fourth consecutive year during the resort’s super deep opening weekend.

That puts him at a running total of over 407 days of snowboarding for the past three years and he’s primed to do it again during year four.

JHMR opened on Saturday, November 24th, with full-on powder conditions. A fresh dump of nearly 10 inches, along with all the hard work from the mountain ops team, allowed for ultra deep day-one turns.

Throughout opening day, snow blasted from the sky, and many spent the morning lapping Teton, Après Vous and Casper lifts, with the occasional T-to-B down to the base.

During one of these deep, hot laps, we found ourselves in the Sweetwater Gondola headed towards Casper Lift, when we met Mr. Hot Trash himself.

You know how it goes when you’re in the gondola, there’s plenty of bullshitting amongst friends new and old. Throughout this opening day banter, some pro skier guy made a sly remark about Hot Trash, and his impressive feat of never missing a day. Our ears perked up at this seemingly implausible claim. We listened as Jake demurely confirmed, and downplayed his remarkable dedication.

Upon unloading the box, we tagged along with Hot Trash and he took us to secret spots that only someone who has ridden over 407 days at the same resort would know.

We found pockets of pow all day, and gleefully smashed through the soft-stuff, and grinned ear-to-ear with gratitude the season is here.

After a full day of pillaging the plentiful pow, we peeled off to Casper Bar to grab a beer and learn more about Hot Trash and his lifestyle that allows him to ride so many days.

He was courteous, full of stoke, and refreshingly humble. He even let us know that he broke his leg on the last day of season last year, but didn’t let it hold him down.

Read on for more from Hot Trash, and shout out to Jackson Hole for having one of the deepest opening days in years.

It’s on!

Jake Loughlin
DOB: 5/6/93
Setup: 158 Burton Trick Pony / 164 Burton Custom X
Stance: Regular
Angles: 15 / -12
Years Snowboarding: 15
Occupation: Supervisor of Mountain Activities (Four Seasons)

Where are you from and when did you start snowboarding?
I’m from Franklin, Massachusetts. Little town 40 minutes outside of Boston. I started snowboarding at 10 or 11. Once my parents let me go out on my own, I switched from skiing to snowboarding.

When did you move to Jackson Hole and how long have you been at your current job?
I moved out to Jackson in November of 2015. Been working in the Four Seasons ski shop ever since. I got off the plane not knowing a single person or having a place to live. It seemed to have worked out okay (laughs).

Tell us about your job. What’s like day to day?
Pretty much a glorified ski shop. We do everything that a normal ski shop does, but it’s the Four Seasons, so customer service is super important. We have a good time for sure. We get three hour ski breaks everyday, which definitely keep me coming back year after year.

How did the challenge/commitment of riding every day come to be?
I didn’t really plan on doing it my first winter, it just kind of happened. I got into February and hadn’t missed a day, so I figured I would try to get every day if I could. The next two years was pretty easy. I never had a reason to not go ride. I love it. If I didn’t have to work, I’d probably go bell to bell most days.

What drives you to continue this incredible feat?
Love of the game, haha. I just love riding and trying to progress everyday I’m out there. If I decided not to go out, I’d just be cheating myself. You can’t progress sitting on the couch.

What has been the hardest part about riding this many days in a row?
Honestly, there’s nothing I would say is hard about it. I understand not everyone wants to get after it every single day, but it’s something that’s easy for me. Like I said, I love it.

Do you know anyone else who has ridden this many consecutive days?
I don’t personally know a lot of people that have done it, but there’s definitely some guys/girls that haven’t missed a day for a lot more seasons than me. [JHMR] posts a list every year with who has the most days, and there’s usually a handful of people that get every day.

You broke your leg on the last day of the year last season. Tell us how that went down, how you rehabbed, and now are back for opening day?
(Laughs), Yeah, I’ll start off by saying it was a very minor break. I chipped my fibula up by my knee. Definitely hurt but it could have been a lot worse. I smoked a tree in Tower 3 chute. I basically just lost my edge at the top and then wasn’t able to stop myself once I started sliding. My buddy Tom Petty (his actual name) said it looked like a was going down a waterslide until I hit the tree. Recovery was pretty easy, I just took it easy for a couple weeks until all the swelling went down. The scars from the tree make it look much worse than it really was. Good times. (Laughs)

What are you goals for this season?
I really just want to have as much fun as possible with all my friends. That’s what its all about for me.

Tell us about your IG name @Hottrash69. How did it come to be?
My friends and I were just coming up with ridiculous nicknames to have and I thought Hot Trash was hilarious, so I made it my Instagram name. It was more of a joke at first but it ended up sticking and that’s what everyone calls me. I get some pretty weird looks when someone introduces me as Hot Trash. It’s hilarious, I love it. I think my favorite variation of it is Hot T, just has a nice ring to it. I definitely try to embrace the lifestyle of Hot Trash, (laughs).

Since this season just started, what advice do you have for people to stay stoked and get as many days as you?
I’d say try to get out on the mountain as much as you can, and have fun with your friends. That’s probably the best way to keep the stoke high. At least that’s what works for me.

Favorite aspect of Jackson Hole?
Definitely the community. There are not many places you can go and feel as welcomed as you do in Jackson. This place is awesome. The mountain isn’t too bad either.

The post 407+ Days and Counting: Jake Loughlin Hasn’t Missed a Day at Jackson Hole Since 2015 appeared first on Snowboard Magazine.