The Gelande Quaffing, Jackson Hole’s infamous contest of both hand-eye coordination and liver strength, has finally infiltrated the Ketchum scene. Founded in 1986 in Jackson’s Bear Claw Café, the game pits two teams of four against one another as they send mugs of beer sliding down tables to be caught in mid-air and then “quaffed” (or drunk heartily).
A beer is either quaffed by grabbing the mug for a single point or by grabbing the handle for two points. Quaffers must perform tricky moves as the rounds progress, with the introduction of 360s grabs in the second round and under-the-leg grabs in the third. The finals allow quaffers to freestyle their catch, making it more exciting and challenging as the four rounds of beer chugging set in on the players.
This year’s event, which marks the first annual Sawtooth Regional Championship, was sponsored by The Cellar Pub, MTNApproach and Smith Sport Optics, offering the winner a spot at next year’s finals in Jackson Hole. The event was held in Ketchum Town Square, and all proceeds went to benefit the Sawtooth Avalanche Center.
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Local businesses participated with their own teams, picking themes like Power Rangers, the Lee Gilman Construction Monkeys, and the eventual winners, Full Frontal Nerdity (Idaho Bioscience)—a team that has both brains and livers made of steel.
“It’s the best thing to happen in Ketchum,” said Rick Lethbridge, cosponsor of the event and co-owner of The Cellar Pub. It’s nothing short of a mystery that the Gelande hadn’t picked up sooner in Ketchum—by 4:20pm on Friday, April 18th, Town Square was filled with spectators eager to watch the show. The sun was shining, the beer was flowing and the town was filled with good cheer as closing weekend kicked off with some sliding beers and 360s.
