At 39 years of age, Jacob Day has experienced more than most men do in an entire lifetime. Over the past 20 years, he has worked in the Coast Guard, operated ski lifts, built boats and airplanes, started his own mobile mechanic business, and now works as a hydrographer, mapping the ocean floor and laying cables on large survey vessels. His recent work as a hydrographer has taken him to the Indian Ocean where he was tasked with searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight (MH370). Jacob is quiet, modest, and due to an uncanny ability to never stay in one place for long, has traveled the world over. With the nickname The Swiss Army Knife of the Sea, how could we not be intrigued by this individual?
After recently completing jobs in Italy, Greece, New York City, and San Clemente Island, Jacob was ready for his own brand of adventure. Upon returning to his home base in Encinitas, California, Jacob immediately packed up his DIY custom converted Mercedes Sprinter Van (equipped with a bed, a full kitchen, and a wood-burning stove) and hit the road. He drove through the night to Wyoming to witness the solar eclipse and to ski the fresh powder of Jackson Hole...
JW: Hey man, how was Wyoming?
Jacob: Really good. Got about 12 days of skiing in, built my own pair of skis at a pretty legendary shop.
JW: Ha! Of course you did. So you weren’t just skiing, huh?
Jacob: A friend of a friend hooked me up with Igneous skis and I was helping them build a ski press that would allow them to make a couple of different sizes of the same ski design. In return, they showed me how to build my own custom pair.
JW: Whoa, that’s awesome. Take me through a typical leisure day in Wyoming.
Jacob: We would meet at The Bagel Shop around 7am, inhale some breakfast and then decide whether it was a workday or a ski day. If there was any new snow from the night before, we would ski.
JW: Which resort were you at?
Jacob: No resorts, my friend. I was lucky enough to have the guidance of a few Jackson Hole back-country legends. We would either “Skin Out” or “Boot Back.”
JW: What’s that?
Jacob: When you “Skin Out” you have special attachments on your skis, which allow you to only move forward and you kind of shimmy your way up the hill. When you “Boot Back,” everybody follows the deep snow tracks of the first guy.
JW: So you were basically just walking up the hill?
Jacob: Pretty much.
JW: Got it. How was the skiing?
Jacob: Deep powder, gladed trails, gorgeous sunrises, just totally sublime.
JW: Sounds amazing. So what’s in store for 2018?
Jacob: I have a job that will take me to West Africa and then to Cape Verde, a small island off the coast of Senegal.
JW: Very cool. We’ll have to check back in with you after that and hear all about it! Thanks for the inside scoop on the Jackson Hole ski scene.
Jacob: Anytime, buddy. Cheers.
