Jackson Hole 2007 - Saturday, 2/24/07

The Best Tour Ever!

Today we toured Yellowstone and it was the perfect ending for a great week visiting Mimi, Frank, Melissa, and Michelle. We had so many great experiences that Alexa said it the best tour of her life. Then she amended herself to say she thought it was the best tour anyone in the world ever had. On the drive back from Yellowstone, I wondered how I could summarize our day for this email. But during dinner at the Sundog Deli and Cafe, Mimi suggested we each describe something we liked about the tour and this provided the organization I needed for this note.

Michelle said her favorite thing was being with Scott. Scott Carsley is the owner of Yellowstone Alpen Guides, and our driver and guide for the day. Scott towed Michelle sliding over the packed snow in her hiking boots. During our ski trip, Michelle returned the favor by alternating between helping break trail and by skiing so close behind Scott that her ski tips were under his boot heels, behavior only tolerated "because she's so cute." Scott also told excellent stories about the history of Yellowstone. One was about Jim Bridger, an early explorer, known for his tall tales. When he described the geysers and thermal basins of Yellowstone, he wasn't believed. It wasn't until an expedition that included a photographer and an artist (Moran and Jackson) brought back visual proof of the wonders, that Congress established Yellowstone as the world's first national park. Another fun thing, was using Scott's thermometers to measure the temperature of the various pools and geysers.

Mimi liked the wolf and the eagles building a nest. We dragged Scott out of bed for an early 7am start, but were rewarded within minutes of entering the park by seeing a wolf near an elk carcass by the side of the road. We stopped and had plenty of time to observe the wolf close up as he (she?) walked up the snow bank to the road, stopped to stare at us for awhile, then trotted down the road in front of us. The typical wolf sighting is hundreds of yards away and involves sighting scopes or binoculars, but we got to see this one close up with our bare eyes. Wow! Then a few minutes later we stopped to look at an eagles nest high up in a tree next to the road. Using binoculars we watched one bald eagle keep watch from a perch next to the nest, while the second bald eagle arranged sticks forming the nest.

Melissa got a kick out of a raven we saw stealing food from a snowmobile. The snowmobiles were parked near a geyser and the raven used its head to open the leather flap on the back of the snowmobile so it could pull out a bag of chips and other goodies. Ravens are very smart and have become so adept at stealing from tourists that there are signs posted warning that while going after your food, the ravens also carry away things like hats and cameras.

Nick (nature boy) liked all the wildlife. He especially liked the wolf (we all did) and the raven. He also enjoyed Scott's story about Jim Bridger spotting an elk and taking careful aim and shooting at it but missing. So he reloaded and tried again, again with no success. He finally realized that he was actually shooting at the reflection of the elk in a wall of obsidian and the elk was actually behind him. No wonder people didn't believe him when he described the wonders of Yellowstone.

Frank enjoyed his nap during the movie about geysers at the Old Faithful Visitors Center. He also really liked the two or three hours we spent cross country skiing past geysers, thermal pools, and little steam spouts (called thermules or something like that). We really got to explore a part of the park that almost no one sees during the winter. We saw geyser eggs, little round rocks that are spewed up from the geysers and form rings around the spouts, with the larger "eggs" closer to the spout and the tiny little geyser eggs further out. We saw pools surrounded by various colored rings; each color due to different bacteria that thrive in a different water temperature. We sat in the snow on a hillside overlooking one such pool and ate our lunches. The ski trip was certainly one of the highlights of the tour. Frank also liked Scott's recounting of the history of Chief Joseph leading the Nez Perce Indians through Yellowstone on their way to safety in Canada, only to be caught a few miles from the border and being put on a reservation.

Michael especially enjoyed seeing the Great Fountain Geyser erupt. We cross country skied past several thermal pools and little geysers. Just before lunch, we passed the Great Fountain and Scott told us that it only erupted every 12 hours or so. From the height of the water, he guessed it would probably be a couple of hours before it erupted again. In the summer, people come and sit for hours to see this geyser erupt, but we needed to push on if we were going to finish skiing and still have time to see Old Faithful. Resigned to missing the Great Fountain erupt, we skied on. Later, skiing back to the Bombadier, we passed the Great Fountain again and just as we approached, it started to erupt. So we stood and watched for 15 or 20 minutes as water shot 100 feet into the air. Our ski tracks were the only ones visible this far from the maintained winter roads, so it's possible we were the first ones to see the Great Fountain Geyser this winter.

Alexa liked the "Three Amigos" -- three bison that we spotted by the side of the road. While we stopped to watch them they climbed up onto the road and walked past us just a few feet from our Bombardier. We saw hundreds of bison during our tour, usually in large herds, but every time we saw three together we were sure it was the Three Amigos following us through Yellowstone. Alexa also enjoyed the Fountain Geyser (and here). This was a geyser we watched while walking around a boardwalk. Like the Great Fountain Geyser, it doesn't erupt very often. But it started erupting just as we walked up to it. We stood on the boardwalk, only a few feet, from the geyser and watched it repeatedly shoot many thousands of gallons of water high into the air. The spectacle went on for many minutes and was flanked by smaller geysers named " Twig" and " Jet". Twig was so cute I wanted to take it home and install it in my garden.

Julie thought the whole day was so special that she couldn't single out anything as her favorite experience.

Phillip agreed with Julie--there were so many special experiences--but one thing stood out as emblematic of this awesome day. Near the end of the tour Alexa saw a bald eagle perched in a dead tree. Scott pulled over so we could all get a good look at it. As I stood up and poked my head out the roof opening, the eagle flew right over my head giving me an uplifting view of its brilliantly white tail and head. It circled a few times before soaring out of sight. The beauty, the mystery, the power, the perfect timing of the moment seemed to sum up our day in Yellowstone, and I felt my spirit soar like the eagle. This was a day none of us would forget.

Tomorrow we fly back to Boston, with memories to keep us until next year's Wyoming adventures.

JHole photos -Saturday

Jackson Hole 2007 - Friday, 2/23/07

The forecast was for 10" of snow overnight, so we got up early and were the first in line for the gondola. Even though there was only an inch of snow at the base, we hoped that the upper mountain was dumped on. But it was just "dust on crust" -- an inch or so of new snow over crunchy snow that melted the day before and then refroze overnight. We went to the top of the mountain still hoping for a pile of snow, but it was just really cold and windy, and the skiing wasn't so good. So the little ones split off to do their own thing and Julie, Alexa, and I skied back to the Teton Club to put on warmer clothes. The ride back up was much more comfortable and Julie and Alexa discovered some fun runs that had decent snow (Ten Sleep to Expert Chutes, and Broken Goggles to Study Plots).

We all met back at the suite for lunch with Mimi and Frank a bit before one. Then we changed clothes and headed out to West Yellowstone for our Saturday adventure. The 3+ hour drive itself was an adventure. It was snowing as we drove over Teton Pass and the road was covered with snow. Fortunately it was open; out here the roads can be closed due to snow. They lower a big arm (like you see at railroad crossings) with a "road closed" sign and flashing lights. Most of the trip was over roads covered in snow or ice. At one point we had to slow for a car turning right and our cars just skidded along over the ice. Thank God for anti-lock braking! We also saw an SUV that slid off the road into the ditch. Later a snow plow passed us going the other way and threw up such a cloud of snow that we couldn't see anything at all for about 5 seconds: unnerving!

In spite of the road conditions, the drive was safe and uneventful. Frank set a safe course and I just followed behind enjoying all the sights. In Idaho we saw field after field with irrigation systems. We speculated on what the crops could be until we saw the Spud Drive-In Movie Theater with a giant potato out front. We also saw people kite skiing in a big field. We arrived in West Yellowstone in time for the kids to join Mimi and Frank for a half hour of skiing at the Nordic Center before we ate Mimi's split pea soup and then bedded down for the night in a cabin at the Hibernation Station, anticipating a great adventure the next day.

(I only took the photo of us first in line today, so I'm attaching two movie clips from yesterday: Nick attempting a 360 and wiping out, then Michael doing a shrub launch and wiping out.)

JHole photos - Friday

Jackson Hole 2007 - Thursday, 2/22/07

Today was our first ski day without new snow. After the great powder skiing yesterday, my legs were tired today and I spent most of the day in the back seat letting my skis run away with me. In the morning we hiked up Pepi's Bench to the Headwall and skied down another short chute into Casper Bowl. Fortunately, the Sublette chair was running enabling us to start higher on the mountain, so the hike was not as steep or as long as Tuesday's. Nick went first and totally ripped his way down the short, steep chute. He also took away much of the snow, exposing lots of rocks. Michael went next and got intimidated by the rocks and ended up sort of side slipping down the chute. That set the tone for the rest of us and I also looked the total loser in the chute. Fortunately, the terrain opened up and we all had a great run down into Casper Bowl. I think Frank caught most of us on video.

At the bottom of the bowl we had three videographers set up to catch the action as the kids tried to do helicopters off the cat track. Nick went first and almost made it around, but ended up doing a 270 and crashing in an explosion of powder. Tonight he has a headache, probably lingering aftereffects of his failed jump. Michael looked good in the runup, but aborted at the last minute and just did a straight jump. Charlotte went next, but again came up 90 degrees short of a 360 and made a crater to match Nick's. The next movie action was lower down the mountain near Casper lift. Nick took the jump over the little evergreen bush and through the stand of aspen twigs. He landed back on his skis but pulled off a great recovery. Michael got big air over the bush, but landed on the uphill part of the dip and had a big wipeout, all caught on tape. I'm much smarter this year than in the past, and didn't try any of these jumps.

A bit before noon, we said goodbye to the kids and Mimi, Frank, Julie, and I left Jackson Hole Resort through a gate at the base of Rendezvous Bowl for a little back country adventure. We hiked up the short, steep Paranoia Ridge and skied over to the much longer (but thankfully, not too steep) hike up to Four Pines. Even with no coat, hat, or gloves the sweat was pouring off me. At the top we enjoyed the spectacular views of Rock Springs Canyon and the Buttress, then we put our skis back on and got a couple of decent powder runs, and a bit of sun crusted snow that tried to grab our skis and send us cartwheeling.

The forecast is for lots of snow tonight, so tomorrow could be another powder day. Hope my legs recover.

JHole photos - Thursday

JHole photos - Wednesday

Jackson Hole 2007 - Wednesday, 2/21/07

We were in line 50 minutes before the lifts opened this morning because it snowed all night and we wanted to be among the first to get to Rendevous Bowl. This is the third straight day that we have skied freshies in the morning. But today it just kept snowing all day. The wind was howling and the snow was flying at the top of the mountain, but the skiing was great. According to the locals, this was the best ski day of the year at Jackson Hole.

We started with some laps down Rendevous Bowl with the snow about knee deep, then back up the new East Ridge chair and do it again. The kids were freezing in the blizzard so they had hot cocoa in Corbet's Cabin while we skied. When we all came back out, they wanted to ski on their own, so they took off with JH friends Gus, Charlotte, and Henry to play in the trees and jumps in Casper Bowl and Moran Woods. The adults (and Alexa) wanted to ski faster and in the wide open powder runs. We had three super runs through Ten Sleep and down Cirque; it was pretty close to bottomless with the snow boiling up to the waist on the turns. After early lunches the last two days, we just couldn't bear to go in today and skied until almost 2 o'clock. The last run was down the Hobacks and we again found some deep and untracked powder.

Lunch at the Teton Club was excellent. We made our own Sodbusters, like the ones we've enjoyed for so many years at the Rocky Mountain Oyster. I baked pita breads, Julie roasted chicken breasts and sliced up tomatoes and lettuce, and Mimi made an excellent Penzey's vinagrette sauce that we drizzled over the piled up goodies. Then you just fold the bread over like a taco and eat it up. Yum!

After an awesome day of skiing, we went into the town of Jackson for some shopping. The kids again went off on their own and bought some fetishes. Julie and Mimi hit the grocery store for supplies for our Yellowstone trip, while Frank and I went to Teton Mountaineering for new AT equipment: Boots for me to go with the AT skis and skins Frank gave me; and new AT bindings mounted on his awesome new Bro skis that replaced the Inspired's that are now in my ski locker. We all met at the Koshu Wine Bar for an excellent dinner, which was the perfect end to a perfect ski day.

The attached photos show Julie hiking the last few steps up the Headwall yesterday and me and the boys riding up the chair today in a blizzard. Tomorrow is supposed to be another powder day.

Jackson Hole 2007 - Tuesday, 2/20/07

Last night there was no snow down at the base of the mountain so we sort of moseyed out to the gondola just before it opened at 9:00 AM. Imagine our surprise when we stepped off at the top into 6 inches of new snow. Needless to say we had some fantastic runs: Tower 3 Chute and Paintbrush were especially great.

After tacos at the Teton Club, Frank and Mimi led us on the 20 minute hike up the Headwall. (We had to go the longer, steeper route from the gondola because Sublette Chair was closed all day due to an "e-brake" failure.) But the run down into Casper Bowl was superb, a long, evenly steep pitch with only a couple of tracks marring its pristine blanket of snow.

We met up with the three youngest (Nick, Melissa, and Michelle) intending for a couple runs together, but they were having so much fun without the grownups that they took off after a short time with us and we didn't see them again until the lifts closed.

Tonight we had a Mardi Gras party at the Teton Club with gumbo, beads, and Cajun music to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Friends from Winchester (Trevor and Zach) joined us in the Great Room to rehash the great skiing and have a couple of drinks. Then we retuned to our suite with Frank and Mimi and the girls to watch The Big One: The Story of TGR's 10 Years in Jackson Hole. Awesome skiing, and we have even been near some of the lines they skied.

JHole photos - Tuesday

Jackson Hole 2007 - Monday, 2/19/07

Our week in Jackson Hole is off to a good start. We got 5 inches of snow last night and our first runs of the year were through silky powder.

Just before lunch Frank and I were standing on the far side of the cat track at the bottom of the Hobacks watching the rest of the crew ski down next to the trees. Suddenly two mooses (a cow and her calf) burst out of the woods and ran down the mountain directly towards me and Frank. If they ran across the cat track they would have crushed us, but instead they turned left when they got to the traverse and ran down the trail. Whew!

After lunch we were skiing down Laramie Bowl, when Mimi pointed out a little white ermine on the giant rock that divides the trail. This was a much less nerve wracking encounter with nature.

Tonight we are going to Mimi and Frank's house for Chinese hot pot (huoguo ) to celebrate the Chinese New Year.