total outfit fail

Some people, the lucky ones, have a quiver of skis, enabling them to pick and choose what they want to ride depending on the conditions.  I seem to be acquiring a quiver of ski outerwear.  In theory, this should enable me to put together just the right layering ensemble for any weather.  The problem is that I can only work with the information I've got.  On the Friday after Thanksgiving, for example, I checked Alta's current conditions/mountain report, which told me that the 5:00 a.m. mid-mountain temperature was 18F, that the day's forecasted highs would be in the low 20s, that it would be a little breezy and be partly cloudy.  Given that information, I put on a lightweight base layer, a thin fleece and a part-down jacket, plus mid-weight long johns and my winter-weight ski pants.

When we got up to Alta, it was completely socked in, snowing lightly, 14F at the base and 4F and windy at the summit.  I was way under-dressed and ended up being cold all day - I don't think I got that cold once last year.  Even by early afternoon, it had only warmed up to 20F at the base and 9F (and still windy) at the summit, and although the snow flurries died down, the sun never broke through, at least before we left at 2:30 p.m.  At the very least I should have had my heavy long johns and UnderArmor base layer.  H has suggested that since I stress about what to wear so much I should keep a ski outfit journal, tracking the day's conditions, what I wore and if it was the right gear.  I'm going to do that this year and then maybe NEXT year, I can refer back to it and determine the correct layering for any kind of weather.

Looks good.  Just not nearly warm enough.

Despite my outfit woes (and for the record, H was cold too and said he should have worn an insulating layer), it was a pretty good day for early season.  I thought the snow had been vastly improved since last weekend - six inches goes a long way, apparently - although for some reason a whole bunch of little rocks started appearing at the top of Collins, making it hazardous to our ski bases.  It didn't get crowded until 10:30 a.m., and even so the parking lot never completely filled so the high traffic areas didn't start to get skied off until after 2 p.m.

There's not really any snow in the forecast for the next couple of days.  I guess we'll see how the conditions hold up.  And if I can manage to correctly dress for whatever the weather.

five years

Today, Friday, October 3, 2014, marks the fifth anniversary of our arrival in Salt Lake City.  We left Maine on September 30, 2009, and never looked back; our transplantation from east to west has been such a good thing for us (despite our families wishing we were just a little closer).  We have loved the skiing (obviously), the access to the outdoors, the weather, the dearth of mosquitoes and blackflies, watching the Tour of Utah grow, having folks come visit us so we can share our Utah with them.  In celebration of our fifth move-iversary, here are some specific highlights from the past five years.

Year 1: October 2009-September 2010.  In our first year, everything was new!  We learned that Alta was our favorite ski mountain; A was zookeeper for a day; our friends P and C visited, plus T, plus H's folks, plus A's folks, plus we got the first installment of annual ski guests just a month after moving into our new house; we climbed Timpanogos and Timpanogos Cave; we saw the races on the bizarrely beautiful Bonneville Salt Flats; we got up close to mountain goats at Ben Lomond.

Year 2: October 2010-September 2011.  We had lots of visitors in our second year: H's folks; my best girls; P; R; and the ski guests.  We got an incredible 723.5 inches of snow to ski on!  And after skiing ended, we got MTBs.  We watched some impressive speed skating. We went to St. George, the Ashley National Forest and began our Moab tradition.

Year 3: October 2011-September 2012.  By our third year, we were beginning to settle in.  The ski guests came back; H's parents came back; and H's brother and his family came out to see what all the fuss was about.  We had a great hike up Timpanogos with all those mountain goats, plus some other good hikes, including along the Mormon Pioneer Trail.  We went camping in the Uintas in June and then again in September with B, and went back to Moab.

Year 4: October 2012-September 2013.  The return of the ski guests.  The return of P.  A went to MTB camp (Trek Dirt Series).  H's folks went to Moab with us.  We went to Lake Powell with A's family.  We camped at Capitol Reef National Park (well, just outside), went to Jackson, Wyoming, for our anniversary, and went back to Moab.  We had a great hike up Honeycomb Canyon (at Solitude) and down Silver Fork Canyon.

Year 5: October 2013-September 2014.  This last year, well, it was another good one.  H got first chair of Alta's season.  We had two rounds of ski guests: my brother and C.  We finally got into East Castle!  Once the skiing ended, we did some fantastic hiking: some particular favorites were Bowman Fork, Storm Mountain/Ferguson Canyon and the Brighton Ridge Loop.  We went to Sun Valley, Idaho.  And our Moab trip was, as usual, fantastic.

And now we start our sixth year in Utah (where does the time go?) and there's still so much we want to do.  Thank you for following along with us thus far and stay tuned right here for the continuing adventures.

jackson, wyoming - last day

On our last (half) day in Jackson, we went back to the Bunnery for breakfast (hey, why mess with a good thing?) for a breakfast burrito and Quiche Lorraine.  After packing up our room, we drove to the south edge of town to the adorable little locals' ski area, Snow King Mountain. Built in the 1930s, Snow King has a vertical rise of 1,571 feet, three chairs (only one of which goes to the top) and very steep trails - the majority of the trails seem to be expert level.

Love the retro sign

We bought lift tickets and rode the chair to the top, for spectacular views of all of Jackson Hole: the town, the other ski area, the Teton Range, the valley stretching northwards.  We opted to walk down so we could check out the trails which were very busy on this Tuesday, with hikers, trail runners, dog walkers and horseback riders taking advantage of the morning sunshine.  Snow King has a very laid back, old school charm and those trails look like they could be fun, given enough snow.

H atop Snow King Mountain

Our time in Jackson almost at an end, we swung by the Snake River Brewery again for some beer - a couple of pints drunk at the bar and a couple of six-packs tucked in the cooler - then walked to a deli to pick up road sandwiches.  We ate said sandwiches on a turnout overlooking the Snake River, sitting in the truck since the rain was pouring down.  And then, sated and happy with our long Wyoming weekend, headed south for home.

View of Jackson from the top of Snow King

jackson, wyoming - day 3

Despite our best intentions, Monday ended up being more of a cultural/history kind of day and less of a hiking through the woods kind of day, in large part because the weather couldn't decide whether it wanted to rain or not.  It was still a good day, starting with breakfast at ... the Bunnery: huevos rancheros for H and the house O.S.M. oatmeal (oats, sunflower seeds and millet) with dried cranberries for me.

Bunnery breakfast

Our first stop was at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, located on the road up to Grand Teton National Park across from the Elk Refuge.  The museum is perched like a castle on the hillside, with lovely area-specific landscaping and an outdoors sculpture garden.  Inside, there are more than 550 artists represented by over 5,000 artworks, including a huge collection by Carl Rungius.  It's a lovely little museum - made extra entertaining by the crazy lady who was muttering to herself about how the painting placement offended her - and we spent over an hour and a half there.

Bison sculpture overlooking elk refuge

Next we drove out along the eastern portion of the GTNP, Antelope Flats, to Mormon Row where twenty-seven Mormon homesteaders settled in the 1890s.  Several of the structures are still standing, including the most photographed barn on the planet, as well as a pink stucco house and a lovely little log cabin with a front porch.  We continued in a loop around Antelope Flats, having to pause for a few moments until a young bison decided to move off the road and back to the large herd where he belonged.

The Moulton Barn

As rain sprinkled us, we did a scenic drive up to Signal Mountain, which gave us a view of the other side of the valley, then continued north, intending to do a short hike along the Snake River.  The rain kept up, however, so we kept driving north, just crossing over into Yellowstone National Park to a picnic area near the south gate where we had a couple of beers and watched a huge thunderstorm move through.  We even got hailed on for 30 seconds or so but the storm was moving quickly east and didn't last long.

Right before the thunder, lightning and hail

Since all the really good stuff in Yellowstone was over an hour and a half away, we headed south back to Jackson.  After we got cleaned up, we got a dinner recommendation from the front desk and walked to Thai Me Up for dinner.  Thai Me Up has been around since 2000 and is a nano-brewery in addition to being a funky Thai restaurant.  We sat out on the porch and although the service wasn't stellar, the beer and food was.  They had about six of their own beers on tap (mostly IPAs) and the ones we had (I don't remember their names but they were brewed with Yakima hops) were very good.  We shared an order of spring rolls; H had pad kee mow, a/k/a drunken noodle, with chicken; and I had kang kwio wan, a/k/a green curry, with chicken.  The food was absolutely fantastic - I cleaned my bowl and if I could have licked it clean, I would have.  Delicious.  They also had some funky house cocktails.  I wanted a Lemongrasshopper (gin and tonic with lemongrass and Thai basil) but they were out for some reason, so I went with a Mosquito instead (mojito made with vodka and Thai basil - a little bland for my palate but definitely refreshing).  When we go back to Jackson, we'll go back to Thai Me Up for sure.

Grrr! (we didn't actually see any bears)

After dinner we went back to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, mostly because I wanted to try a "44 and soda" which we'd been told about on our visit the night before:  44North Mountain Huckleberry Vodka (from Idaho) and soda.  It was okay, a little too sweet even when mixed with just soda, but it's good to try new things.  We watched some tourists play pool for a while, then called it a night and went back to the motel.

jackson, wyoming - day 2

On the recommendation of both a work friend of mine and the front desk clerk at the Angler's Inn, we walked to the Bunnery (130 N. Cache St.) for breakfast Sunday morning, getting there right before the 8 a.m. rush for tables.  I had biscuits and gravy and crispy hash browns; H had a breakfast burrito.  Everything was very tasty but we didn't linger long over coffee as we were heading up to Grand Teton National Park.

The Grand Teton dominating the Teton Range

Our first stop was the Craig Thomas Visitor Center at the park's south entrance for a map and a quick orientation before heading north along the Teton Park Road.  We backtracked a little on the scenic one-way drive along the shore of Jennie Jenny Lake, then popped into the Jennie Jenny Lake visitor center which was quite busy.  There are some easy hikes around the lake, some of which made even easier if you pay for the shuttle boat across the lake, which cuts two miles off.  We decided to put our boots on and go clockwise all the way around the lake, an 8-ish mile jaunt.  No boat for us.

Looking at Cascade Canyon across Jenny Lake

High spot on the Jenny Lake Loop Trail

This is a nice trail, rolling up and down with mostly soft, packed-dirt footing, in and out of the trees that ring the lake.  We ended up doing 1,000 feet of climbing due to a couple of detours but the only thing strenuous is the length of the walk.  On the west side of the lake, we took a side trip up to the 200-foot Hidden Falls; they're not that hidden, as pretty much everyone getting off the shuttle boat was making the 1.2 mile RT for a viewing.  Other than around the west side boat dock, we really didn't see many people.  We did get close to three osprey perched in the dead trees in an old burn scar.  We did the 8.21 mile loop (plus waterfall) in 2:52 with an average speed of 2.9.  We haven't done many hikes over 7 miles lately and both of us had sore feet by the end of it.

At the north end of Jennie Lake

A snack and a couple of beers in the parking lot (and a sighting of a doe with still-spotted twins) cured what ailed us and we continued on up the Park Road to the northern end of Jackson Lake, stopping in to check out Leeks Marina, Jackson Lake Lodge and Coulter Bay.  There was a possible cow elk sighting (although H thinks it was just a big mule deer doe) and confirmed pronghorns and bison, but no moose.  The clouds started gathering along the Teton Range as the afternoon wore on and it did start to rain when we were exploring the Cunningham cabin historic site.  We were pretty much done with the GTNP for the day, though, so it didn't dampen our enthusiasm any.

Weather rolling in

After cleaning up at the motel, we walked to El Abuelito (385 W. Broadway) for dinner, another front desk clerk recommendation.  I had pollo en mole, tasty with a sweetish flavor and served with homemade tortillas, and H went with a burrito verde.  It wasn't the very best Mexican I've ever had but they did have very good and enormous margaritas.

Downpour on the western shore of Jackson Lake

We again swung through town on the way back, this time stopping in at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar for a beer.  This place is a hoot, tourist trap / local joint / biker bar all wrapped up in one, with a touch of Vegas to boot.  It's been a fixture in Jackson since 1937 and the decor alone is fabulous: real silver dollars embedded in the three bars, saddles topping the bar stools, ferocious taxidermied critters and knobbled pine beams.  They don't have any beers on tap - too much of a hassle since they're extremely busy - but they did have Snake River micros in cans on hand and that suited us just fine.

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, baby!

jackson, wyoming - day 1

Our wedding anniversary was last Sunday and to celebrate we went to Jackson, Wyoming.  It's not that bad a drive from SLC in the summertime - just about 4.5 hours, although the way we went was through some canyons that I wouldn't want to do in the wintertime - so we dropped B off at the kennel at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and hit the road.  The road before Hobart, WY, is really pretty, following the Snake River's twists and turns.  We found a spot where we could get down to the river and paused for a good 45 minutes there, drinking a couple of beers and waving at the rafters and kayakers as they cued up to enter the Taco Hole.  Although the forecast for the area had not been great (afternoon thunderstorms with a 40% chance of rain), we were in the sunshine and managed to spot osprey, hawks and a bald eagle.

Snake River sunny spot

We got to Jackson proper around 1 p.m.  We checked into our motel, the Angler's Inn, but since the room wasn't quite ready, we left the truck and wandered into town to check things out.  Jackson is tiny and imminently walkable; our motel was on the northwest edge of town and only three blocks from the town center.  We stopped at the visitors' center first to buy our annual national park pass, then strolled south to town.  The place was swarming with tourists so we ducked into the Town Tavern for a couple of beers and some mediocre food.  After walking a little more, we were able to get into our room.  We unloaded and then drove out of town a bit to Jackson Hole.  Orientation: the town is Jackson; the whole valley is Jackson Hole, as is the large ski resort out of town; the village at the Jackson Hole ski resort is Teton Village.

Jackson Hole

Although pricey ($32/pp), we bought tickets for the tram ride to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, towering over the resort at 10,450 feet.  Now, this is the same height as the Supreme lift at Alta but since the JH base is at 6,311 feet, there's a 4,139 vertical rise.  Alta's base is at 8,530 feet with a vertical rise of 2,020 feet.  There's a LOT of skiing to be had at JH. We walked around for a while at the top, opting not to walk back down to the base since I had shortsightedly worn my Keens which were hardly good footwear for a 7 mile hike.  The views off the summit were just amazing, especially since the gathering clouds had not yet clustered over the summit of the Grand Teton looming out of the national park just to the north.

View of Grand Teton from Rendezvous Mtn. summit

With the weather moving in, we went back to town and walked six blocks south to the Snake River Brewery for dinner.  I had their Snake River Pale Ale and H went with Pako's IPA.  The beers are fantastic, light, full of flavor and not bitter.  The food was equally good: H had a sliced brisket sandwich with carmelized onions, cheese, bacon and horseradish sauce; I had an incredible warm beet salad, with red and golden roasted beets, grapefruit wedges, crumbled bacon, gorgonzola, candied walnuts and radish sprouts.  So tasty!

Sure wish that tram tower had a bigger base!

We took a detour back through the center of town, noticing that the tourist hordes seemed to have called it an early night.  We did too, getting back to the room around 10 p.m. to get ready for the next day.

Motel-sweet-home for the next few days

posting to resume shortly

We're back from a long weekend in Jackson, Wyoming, hence the disappearance from this here blog.  Starting tomorrow, we'll get started on relating our adventures and sharing our photos.  The weather wasn't perfect but it was better than we'd hoped - I thought we weren't going to be able to see the Grand Tetons at all.  But we were and they're spectacular:

See you tomorrow!