Jackson Hole 2008 - Day 7 (Rock Springs)

Today we went OB--out of bounds--to get some untracked powder. Someday I want to try to describe the special feeling of skiing deep powder, but for now, if you haven't done it yourself, you'll just have to believe me that it is really fun.

Mimi used her special pass to get up the gondola before it opens for the general public and made two runs down the Bowl before we Sterns hooked up with her. We did far right of the bowl and then left the ski resort via the high gate.

Here Mimi is holding the gate for the rest of us to ski through. Then we checked that all the avalanche beacons were transmitting correctly, and snugged our packs with probes and shovels. Even though we planned a very conservative and safe tour, we had to be prepared for the worst.

We are all ready to go. Behind us is the ski area, Rendezvous Bowl to be specific.
Once through the gate, there is a short traverse through the trees to get to the first slope. The mountains are beautiful and the snow fields beckon.

Here we are contemplating the first powder run. We went one at a time to reduce the risk of bringing down snow on top of the skier below. The snow was light and deep, over the knees.
Mimi let me go first and I skied a decent line. At the bottom I tried to get some photos of the rest of the group, but the better the skiing is, the less time you have for getting good photos.


Nick was skiing without poles, but that didn't keep him from going big.


Powder pig smile.


Julie got this picture of Mimi checking out the lay of the land and keeping an eye on her charges. Mimi was our guide extraordanaire, doing route finding, sharing safety tips, and going last to pick up the pieces if necessary.


Nick watching his Mom making turns. When we were all down, we looked back up and admired our lines snaking down the mountain next to each other.


Julie enjoying the pow.

We had so much fun on our first run that we decided to do it again. This required 4 lifts to get us back up to the top of the mountain (Gondola, Thunder, Sublette, East Ridge). Sometimes skiing the trails between the lifts is what it's all about, but today it was just what we had to do to get to the main event, Rock Springs Canyon.

On our second OB tour, Mimi, Michael, and Phillip hiked up Paranoia Ridge to get 10 to 15 turns through a slash in the trees. Michael went first and laid perfect tracks. I did my best to follow his line, but he is skiing better than me this year. It was still my best run of the day. The north facing slope in the shadows of trees made for light, deep snow that bubbled up to my waist and on a couple of turns flew up to my chin and down the neck of my jacket. Bottomless snow; felt like I was floating down the mountain. Ahhh!

Julie and Nick didn't want to hike so they missed the best run of the day. Next we hit the same slopes we did a couple of hours before, but the sun had warmed the snow and made it heavier. Still fun but not the joy of light, untracked powder.

At the bottom, we skied through the trees and found more light stuff. The turns were very tight, but it was a shallow slope and the powder made it easy. After the long traverse back to the base of the ski area it was time for lunch. Nick fell asleep at the table, testament to the tiring nature of the tour. Julie also called it a day and took a nap. Greg, however, was up for another run. (Greg and Harry were worn out too; they hiked the Head Wall and skied down the Crags while we were in Rock Springs Canyon.)

Greg skis fast (actually rides his snowboard fast) and I have trouble keeping up with him. Maybe he is just in a hurry to get back to the lift so he can call in to work and check on the many design projects his architecture firm is responsible for.

Jackson Hole 2008 - Day 6 (All Day Dump)

Nick gearing up for another day of deep. Another 4 or more inches fell during the night and it continued to storm all day. Still snowing as I type this after a day of excellent runs.


That's Michael waiting for the rest of us to get our boots on. The patio off the Teton Club's ski locker is a ground level in the summer. In the winter they have to build snow stairs so you can climb to the top of the snow pack.


Julie's still recovering from her cold and moving a little slow, but there was no way she was going to miss these great conditions.


Mimi and Frank have a locker pass that allows them to catch an early gondola so they get first tracks. The hoi polloi have to wait in line for the gondola to open at 9 AM, and there was a long line today. Accidentally, we got in the singles line a few minutes before 9 and didn't have to wait long before we were heading up the mountain. Bonus #1: Chatting with Hollee Armstrong (proprietress of the spa at the Teton Club and wife of Sick Rick Armstrong, extreme skiing legend) in the line. Bonus #2: They put all four of us from the singles line of into the same gondola so we got the short wait in line and the companionship during the ride up.

We caught up with Mimi and Frank at Sublette Chair. They already had a run down Rendezvous Bowl and we headed up for another. Then a great shot through the trees in Bivouac Woods with Mimi. Followed by an awesomely deep run down Expert Chutes. Three awesome runs in the first couple of hours. Our final run before lunch was North Hobacks, a looong powder run. We hugged the trees and had some insane fun. Lost Greg for most of the run, but unlike yesterday we didn't send Frank out to find him. Didn't work yesterday and didn't want to diminish today's run. Just like yesterday, we all hooked up at Union Pass Traverse so no problemo.



Here's a shot of Julie near the bottom of Rendezvous Bowl. Even sick and run down, she skis better than most. We had another yummy lunch at our condo thanks to Chef Al's split pea soup and super sandwiches--BreadMan bread fortified with Mimi's granola, topped with condiments like sun dried tomatoes, olive tapenade, hummus, artichoke hearts, and cranberry sauce. Oh yeah, some meat, cheese, and lettuce too.

After lunch Mimi went grocery shopping; Julie and Nick took naps; and Frank went to do some work around the house. Michael, Phillip, Greg and his friend Harry went back for more snow.


In the gondie, Greg took a call from a customer (Greg's and architect) and let the caller believe he was in the office, rather than out shredding the slopes.

Unlike yesterday, the afternoon runs were as good as the morning, maybe better. We had fun in the Study Plots and Bivouac Woods. The ride up Sublette was cold, with the wind and snow howling. The ride up East Ridge was more of the same, and then Rendezvous Bowl was white out conditions. I couldn't tell which way was down until I got to the black doingers marking the steepest route down. Using them as slalom poles enabled me to enjoy the run down. At the bottom I asked Michael about doing another lap, but he said no way, too cold. Then Greg slid up on his board and said it was the best run of the day. After a long wait, Harry showed up on his board and said never again; he couldn't tell up from down in the whiteout and basically fell his way down the bowl.

After another ride up Sublette, Greg talked Harry into another go at the Bowl. Michael was too cold so we headed down the Hobacks. This time we stayed in the trees between North Hoback and Cheyenne Gully; the snow was deep and the fun was off the charts. Michael is skiing great and led me on the best route through the trees. After learning from him, I zipped past him to get first tracks and he followed, complaining that the second skier didn't have as much good snow.

The day ended with a run down Dick's Ditch behind a couple of snowboarders throwing 360's off the rocks. Then some time in the hot tubs and dinner at Mimi's. A near perfect day.

Jackson Hole 2008 - Day 5 (Cowboy Powder)

We got some real snow today (13 inches). It started snowing heavily around 6 AM and kept up till dinner time. My first ride up the gondie (gondy?, gondi?) I heard Jeff Zell (extreme skier turned guide, and brother of Julie Zell, champion boarder turned restauranteer) tell his clients that the best skiing would be "cowboy powder"--fresh snow over groomers. So I took his advice and skied Gros Ventre and a couple of Lower Tramlines. I got three runs from the gondola in untracked snow before the rest of the gang moseyed out around 10:30.

The kids waiting at the gondola for the adults to get their acts together. That's a snow flake in front of Nick's nose, not a tissue to stop the nosebleeds he often suffers in the high altitude dry air of Wyoming. After skiing a few runs with us, the under-15 set went their own way for the rest of the day. We saw them at lunch and again at dinner.


Cousin Greg, the renegade boarder, joined the gang today. His flight from NYC was delayed 24 hours by the snowstorm in the east. Bubba, Paul, Chris and Eric left Jackson for Boston today but got held up in Chicago for two days due to the storms. Skiers' delight is travelers' woe. Greg, aka Eggy, had a couple of tumbling falls which we promptly named "egg-beaters".

We went into the Teton Club for a late lunch, from which some of the crowd never recovered. Julie and Frank (see below) extended lunch naps into all-afternoon affairs, but Nick recovered and spent the last couple of hours skiing Casper Bowl with his cousins. Julie is still recovering from her cold and I suspect Frank is suffering from hosting-induced fatigue.

After lunch, Greg and Michael showed off all the cool things they could do with the iPhone and iTouch. Frank and Michael also held a forum on internet lingo. Topics debated included the pronunciation of "pwned" and the proper use of "teh".

Jackson Hole 2008 - Day 4

We got some snow today, with more forecast for tonight.
Julie got new custom footbeds and ski boot liners.
Unfortunately, she also got Nick's cold and spent the day in bed instead of on the slopes.


While it was cloudy and snowing on the top of the mountain, at the base it was sunny and warmer. This band was rocking the line at the gondola.


Eric borrowed one of Mimi's backpacks yesterday to carry his skis up the Headwall. He felt so cool with the pack that he wanted to wear it again today, even though it only held some snacks and water.


Bubba and Paul head back to Boston tomorrow. Bubba left her hat and goggles in the restroom and had to wear Frank's neckie on her head to keep warm. Sort of looks like a fuzzy, black toque.

Speaking of interesting ski wear, take a look at this outfit.

Jackson Hole 2008 - Days 1, 2, and 3

Day 1 - Waiting for the gondola to open. Had some fun in Cheyenne Bowl and multiple runs down Broken Goggles. Rode the double up to ski Rendezvous Bowl. This is the second year with no tram. Can't wait for the new and improved tram next year.

Day 2 - Excellent base of snow, but no new snow. So not much to report. Skied Ten Sleep and Expert Chutes. Also Alta Three and Bird in Hand. Met up with Bubba's neighbors from Carlisle and skied a few runs with them. The 16 y.o. followed our kids up and over Roller Coaster Rock, but had too much speed and flew off the top of the rock and fell about 10 feet flat on his back. No injury, but broke his rental ski in half. His Dad was PO'ed until he found he paid the extra $1 per day for insurance and wouldn't have to pay $500 for broken skis. Matt, the younger brother (13 y.o.) continued to ski with us and was psyched to ski so many double diamonds. He told his friend Chris, "You're family never stops. They ski everything."

Above are a couple of shots of paragliders taking off from Gros Ventre, right below where the gondola unloads. The pilots earn some money by strapping a paying guest rider in front of them and running down the hill to fill the sail and glide down to the valley.

Day 3 – Still no new snow. But after two blue bird, sunny days, there were some clouds today and a dusting is forecast for tonight. Boston and NYC got dumped on, but nothing here.

We hiked up the Headwall today. Nick was sick and didn't ski yesterday, so today he skied with his cousins M&M, while we climbed. The entry where we took off our skis and put them on our packs was tricky, as you can tell by Chris struggling up the first section in front of Frank (below).

Then it's just a long climb up the boot track to the top. The photo above is looking back at Chris and Frank. The photo below is looking up at Michael and the rock marking the top of the climb.

Chris, Frank, and Mimi approach the top of the climb.

Mimi crests the top of the climb.

Phillip on top.

The whole gang posing at the top of the Headwall climb, with Corbett's Couloir and Ten Sleep in the background. From left to right: Michael, Julie, Phillip, Bubba, Eric, Frank, Mimi, Chris.

Mimi and Bubba enter Casper Bowl, the prize after the hike.

Michael found the best snow by entering the chute from the skier's right (above). Below he makes a turn and enters the steepest section of the chute.

Below, Chris catches some air off a cat track. It looks like he's jumping for joy at surviving his first experience skiing out of bounds.

I also took the following videos, but the picture quality leaves something to be desired.


Mimi demonstrates that just getting to the start of the climb was difficult.



Michael drops into the chute in Casper Bowl. But first... Bubba falls into the chute.

Garfield Trail hike & ski with George and Rob

It took almost two months, but here are the photos from our hike.
I finally found a way to move photos from my phone to my computer.
The resolution is disappointing, but here they are.

from email sent Mon, Jan 14, 2008 at 10:51 PM

I am going to meet Rob at the NH Liquor Store on I-93 North near exit 11 in Hooksett, NH between 7 and 7:15 AM. I will leave the Mini there and go the rest of the way in Rob's dark green, old Chevy Tahoe 4WD. We will meet George at the Cannon Mtn ski area base lodge between 8:30 and 8:45.

We are hiking up the Garfield Trail to Mt Garfield peak and then skiing back down.
Plan is to leave the trailhead by 9:00 AM. Assuming it takes 4 hours up and we then ski down, 2 hours max, we'll be done at 3:00 PM. If we hike and walk down, we should be down by 4:00. It gets dark about 4:30 or 5:00 so we absolutely want to be out by then So I should be home between 7 and 7:30 PM.

The trailhead is off Gale River Loop Rd.
Directions and map - Take I-93 North past Cannon, then Rte 3 North until a small picnic area 0.3 miles south of its intersection with Trudeau Road. This intersection, often called 5 Corners, has signs for Trudeau Rd. Avoiding the right fork, follow the Gale river Loop Rd south for 1.2 miles then swing left and cross a bridge for the parking lot on the Right.

Extreme Backcountry Sledding

For Nick's 13th birthday, we went to the Mt Cardigan Reservation for some extreme backcountry sledding.

The sun was shining and the trails were covered with 8 to 12 inches of new snow. Life was good. Nick and his friend Mikey made good time in their snowshoes on the flat trails at the base of the mountain.

A couple of hours later, we were breaking trail on the steeper sections and the boys began to tire. Mikey said, "This isn't at all what I expected. I thought we would be walking up the mountain. This is HIKING!"

Near the top of the Firescrew Mountain, the Manning trail goes past a couple of huge boulders and you have to be careful not to slip and fall 20 feet. So Nick decides that it would be fun to slide down these rocks on our butts. Despite my reservations, he was right. It's scary sitting at the top of the drop, and on the way down you free fall for a few feet, but the snow cascades down in front of you acting like a brake and making for a soft landing.



Nick in the starting gate.



Wheee!




Mikey's turn.



Woo Hoo!



Rejuvenated from our play in the snow, we pushed on up the trail. At the Ledges the trail comes out of the woods and opens up to some excellent views and large snow fields. We made two or three runs on our sleds and got some serious speed. We were amazed that we would sled down for a seemingly short time and then it would take us 5 or 10 minutes to hike back up, gasping for breath.

Then after eating our lunch at the Ledges, the real fun began. We rode our sleds back down the narrow, twisty, tree lined hiking trail we spent all day climbing up. By now, enough snowshoers had climbed up the trail that their track was packed down and resembled a bobsled run. This was extreme sledding and required deft steering and quick reflexes to avoid going off the trail and hitting a tree.

We went so fast and had so much fun that we don't have any photos from the steep sections. The only sledding photos are from the much flatter trail at the base of the mountain



Nick on his Swiss Bob sled. The Swiss Bob is easy to carry and worked great on steep and packed trails, but it doesn't have enough float for powder, and is so short that our backpacks dragged in the snow acting like a brake.



Mikey on his surfboard. Although more awkward to carry, the surfboard offered lots of options for sledding. In addition to the belly flop, Mikey could ride sitting or on his knees.

After six hours of hiking and sledding, the boys barely had enough energy to make it back to the lodge. Only the promise of hot chocolate and dry clothes got them back on their feet to walk the last 15 minutes back to trailhead.

The AMC Lodge was hosting a group Scottish musicians and dancers. I enjoyed listening to their music while I relaxed by the fire. But the boys were in a hurry to leave, so we loaded our gear in the car and headed into Bristol for dinner. Mikey confided that he had to get out of there because the music was making him sick. In fact, he did look ill so we gave him a plastic bag so he would be less likely to christen the back seat of our new car.

It began snowing as we finished our hike, so by the time we left the lodge there was a layer of new snow making the dirt road very slippery. We couldn't make it up the hill, the wheels just spinning until the car came to a halt near the top. I suggested spending the night at the lodge and hoping the road was cleared by the next morning, but Mikey said he'd rather walk home (120 miles). Fortunately, on our fourth attempt, we crested the hill and coasted down the other side. Of course, the downhill was equally slippery and even locking the brakes didn't slow our descent. Good thing we were the only car on this narrow road.




In Bristol, we ate at The Mill which serves excellent soups and veggie sandwiches. After a couple a couple games of chess, Mikey felt better and ate a artichoke sandwich. Then the band started to set up on stage and we beat a hasty retreat in case bongos make Mikey sick too.

It was still snowing pretty hard and the traffic on I-93 was crawling along between 10 mph and 30 mph. The boys promptly fell asleep and after half an hour, I was able to speed up to 50 mph and we eventually got home, safe and sound.



Below is a rare photo of the trip leader, driver, photographer, and journalist.