TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Skiers, snowboarders, and beer enthusiasts alike gathered in front of the Mangy Moose Saloon yesterday to partake in the 13th annual Gelande Quaffing World Championship.
Out of 16 teams, a new team this year named Kahuna took home the gold. This was followed by Moose in second, Hostel X in third, and TVS taking fourth.
Gelande Quaffing is a tradition that was created by a group of legendary skiers called the Jackson Hole Air Force in 1986 as mentioned in the classic ski documentary “Swift. Silent. Deep.” Members of the group were waiting for the lifts to open at the once named Bear Claw Cafe. While waiting, the bartender slid a full beer to a J.H. Air Force member at the end of the bar. Low and behold the beer flew off the bar, was caught, and promptly chugged. Gelande Quaffing was born.
“When Pepi Steigler used to jump, they’d say, ‘gelandespring,’…quaffing is when you slam your beer…, so we called it ‘gelande quaffing,” Howard Henderson explained in the documentary, “Swift. Silent. Deep.”
In head to head competition, quaffers compete sliding, catching, and then pounding mugs of beer back and forth on a 10 ft bar. Points are scored for a number of successful slides, catches, quaffs, and stunts performed.
The first Quaffing World Championship was held in 2008 at the same location it was born in Teton Village. Today, participants catch foamy mugs of beer from all around including places like Whistler, BC, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and California.
