In recent years, snowboarding has seen a surf-style revival—a hearkening to its surfing heritage. That style celebrates a slow-motion, meditative carve and surf-inspired snowboards designed to float stealthily above powder. Now the two worlds seem more in touch than ever before.

It’s no wonder, then, that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has added professional surfer Ian Walsh to its ambassador team. Walsh, after all, is a self-proclaimed “surfer who loves snowboarding.” In fact, it was the time he spent riding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with professional Jackson snowboarder Mark Carter that opened his eyes to the area’s jagged peaks (he imagined Wyoming as “flat—just a bunch of cattle everywhere”) and the all-consuming forces of sliding down snow.

“I learned how to snowboard at JHMR and I haven’t missed a winter trip since, even at the cost of a few swells,” Walsh told Snowboard Magazine. “The change of scenery compared to what I grew up with in Hawaii, and all the details of learning in an entirely new environment in the mountains is what draws me back.”

Walsh said he realizes “it is pretty unique for a surfer to be part of a snowboard and freeride ski team.” But his athleticism and passion for Jackson Hole transcend water in all its forms. “There isn’t anywhere I have traveled that I have felt more at home with the other athletes, the locals, and everyone that works at the resort. Jackson Hole is a special place and I look forward to coming back every single year.”