"Some people do not have to search, for they find their niche easily in life and rest there seemingly contented and resigned. At times, I envy them, but usually I do not understnad..and seldom do they understnad me. I am on of the searches. There are, I believe, millionsof us. We are not unhappy, but n neither are we completely content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power and unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests, mountains, deserts, hiddern rivers, and lovely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as our laughter; to share our sadness with the ones we love is perhaps as great a joy as we know. Unless it is to share our laughter. We searchers are ambitious but only for life itself and anything beautiful it can provide. Most of all, we want to love and be loved, to live in a relationship that will not impede our wanderings and prevail our search. We do not want to prove ourselves to others or compete for love. This passage is for wanderers, dreamers, and lovers who dare to ask of life, everything which is good and beautiful." ~Found in the door of a deserted store in Colorado
So after my last post you would think all of this snow is a good thing...well not so much. We have seen record snow fall in a very short amount of time. Over 5 feet in less than a week. All of this snow fell on a very weak base layer which is recipe for disaster. Since Saturday the 27th, we have had 2 in-bounds slides (this means 2 avalanches within our resort boundaries). This is extremely rare but with the conditions the way they have been...it was only time before we would see something like this occur. I am very sad to report that on Saturday, December 27th, a man was killed in an in-bounds avalanche. He was a local from Wilson, WY and skied the resort frequently. We are saddened greatly by this loss and our ski patrol is doing everything in their power to prevent something like this from happening again. Unfortunately when you are fighting Mother Nature...she is going to win. We have some of the best ski patrollers working our mountain and they risk their lives every day so that we can ski safely. But with these conditions...it is very difficult to make skiing 100% safe...no matter what you do. Yesterday December 29th, we had another slide. The Headwall slid and ran into the Bridger Restaurant at the top of the Gondola lift. There are 3 restaurants and 1 store in this building. Fortunately no one was hurt...which is a miracle...and there was no structural damage to the building...just busted out windows and scattered tables and chairs all over. This part of the mountain wasn't open yet so there were minimal amounts of people up there. Below are 2 links to articles about these 2 incidents.
The incidents have been quite devastating to our company, my co-workers, our guests, and my friends. We are all trying to be as positive as possible and looking forward and not to the past. There is no blame to be placed for these incidents. We are all very thankful for the people working to make our mountain safe and we look forward to getting back on the hill as soon as possible. I just wanted to provide you all with an update to the events happening here in Jackson. Please keep the families and friends affected by these events in your prayers. Thank you for all of your support and comments. I love and miss you all bunches and bunches.
Merry Christmas! I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope all of your wishes come true this holiday season! For me here in Jackson, Christmas isn't quite the same as home but I am so fortunate and blessed to have the friends here who are like my family to make Christmas so wonderful. I miss home terribly this time of year and I miss all of the precious comforts home provides.
The past couple of weeks, everyone here in Jackson has been praying for snow. The season started off a little scary with not much snow. With the new Tram and with the state of the economy, snow is our only chance at survival being that it is the main reason people travel to Jackson in the winter. Well it looks like our prayers have been answered and the snow has come and is still "dumping"! Last night we received 18" of new snow and since 6:00 a.m. it has probably snowed another 8"...and it is still dumping! Unfortunately I am at work instead of out skiing but I am hopefully going to get a break at lunch to go take a few turns on the hill.
So...LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW! Here are some pictures I took with my phone this morning of the snow covered village. ENJOY :)
The view out the front door of our main office in the village.
The mountain is back there somewhere but is covered by all of the snow!
This is just outside my office in the village...Lucy is the one in the middle...she was a champ this morning getting me to work. I cruised right past a van stuck in the snow and she kept trekking along with just a few squirrely moments ;)
This is my place! I have the upstaires unit. Finally a picture for you all to see...there will be more of the inside to come later :)
The view from my driveway. This is looking toward the mountain but you can't see it because of all of the snow falling!
Standing in my driveway looking toward the mountain.
Jay and my neighbor's trucks.
My other neighbors SUV...crazy amounts of snow!
I miss and love you all bunches and bunches! Merry Christmas XOXO :)
So, I am starting the beginning of my second winter here in Jackson. After an amazing summer, I am ready for tons and tons of skiing and apres' ski! Unfortunately, last winter I didn't get to experience the legendary Tram. In 2006 they decided after 40 years of service to deconstruct the Tram and replace it with a new and improved Tram. The old Tram carried 50 people per car (there are only 2 cars) and the new Tram carries 100 people per car. 2 years and $31 million later...we have the new Tram which is the largest and longest non-stop lift in North America. It travels from the base of the mountain to the very top of the mountain; traveling over 4,000 vertical feet in 9 minutes. Many people here have experienced years of the Tram and hearing their stories is magical and chilling. To be part of the new Tram is something I am so happy and proud to experience. This is something that will not happen again in our lifetime! We have some of the best skiing in the world and now we have the best Tram in the world! I am looking forward to a very exciting ski season full the 'pow'! The excerpt below gives a little insight to what the Tram was all about years ago...so you can only imagine how it will be now! Excerpt from Jackson Hole: On a Grand Scale by David Gonzales The phone’s keypad glows in the dark as I dial the number for the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s morning snow report. “Six inches of new snow in the past twenty-four hours,” says the recording. Outside the window, fresh pillows of snow crown fence posts and shrubs. Waves of flakes halo the streetlights. The sky wears the slightest tinge of blue. The report, taken from an automatic gauge high on Rendezvous Mountain, has been stingy all season. Instead of six inches, there could be eight. Or ten. Sleeping any longer is out of the question. On the road to Teton Village, I pass a herd of horses moving across a pasture in the predawn gloom. They plod in single file, their backs dusted white. At 7:15 AM, one hour and forty-five minutes before the resort opens, the tram maze at the village already sprouts a thicket of skis and poles. The protocol: If you arrive early – by seven – you can leave your skis in line while you buy a breakfast burrito or warm up in Nick Wilson’s restaurant. Don’t return to your spot much later than eight, however, or you might find your skis tossed over the rail into the snow thirty feet below. But if you’re unwilling to stake out a place in line, you’re missing the point. Arriving early enough for the “first box” is as much about the buzz as it is about the snow. First box doesn’t necessarily mean first tracks. After all, the ski area opens to the public only after several tram-loads of patrollers, guides, instructors, clients, photographers, models, and a few smooth talkers have already unloaded atop the mountain. But it does mean fresh tracks, as well as a fresh chance to bond with others in line who share your disease. Call it Rendezvous fever. It’s marked by insomnia (many in the tram line woke before their alarm clocks rang), numbness (the body’s natural defense when standing in the frigid tram dock for two or more hours) and restlessness (only on a powder day does 9 AM seem like a long time in coming). The disease is particularly virulent among young Jacksonites, but its range is far wider. First in line this morning is a group of five from California. “We live in San Diego,” one of them says. He nods to their ringleader, who perches on the barricade closest to the turnstile. “Actually, he lives in Jackson; he just visits San Diego 360 days a year.” The ringleader grins and shrugs. He woke his companions up at 6:00 this morning to be at the tram at 6:30. “I fell in love with this place the first time I came, in 1973,” he says. On that trip, it snowed three feet one morning; he was one of only eight skiers on first box. Times have changed. It’s 8:15, and the maze at the tram dock is completely full. Outside the maze, all the neophytes who thought they’d get first box by arriving forty-five minutes early mill about helplessly, like sheep on the wrong side of the fence, cut off from the rest of the flock. Inside the maze, rumors abound of snowfall twice as deep as what was reported. Previous powder days are relived. Plans for the day’s first run are mulled over. You can bet everybody knows exactly where they will head once they’ve unloaded at the top. But don’t bet on them telling you. Nine AM finally arrives. “Have your passes and lift tickets ready!” Fifty-four skiers and boarders file through the turnstile and crowd into the tramcar. It leaves the dock, floating for the summit. Conversation dwindles. Everybody studies the mountain as it slips past, drinking in with their eyes what they will soon consume with their feet. Near the upper tram dock, the attendant’s radio crackles with an order from ski patrol: “You’re going to have to hold that car at the top. Don’t open the doors.” Everybody groans. But when the tram stops, the doors fly open. A cold wind leaps into the car, and the tram dock rumbles under 108 heavy boots. Despite the patrol’s protests, the eager occupants of the first box have been unleashed onto the mountain. They clatter down the metal stairs, throw skis and snowboards onto the snow, and shove boots into bindings. A minute later, the mountain’s summit is silent again, save for the whirring of the tram’s haul cable as the car heads back down. From below, in Rendezvous Bowl, come the whoops and howls of paradise found.
Below are some pictures old and new...ENJOY! The very first Tram car.
The new Tram car (in it's protective Marmot cover) being placed on the cables.
The beginning of the contruction for the Clock Tower over 40 years ago.
The new Clock Tower and base of the Tram.
December 19th...the unveiling of the new Tram car.
The new Tram car...it is HUGE!
December 20th...the launch of the Tram.
Box 1 leaving the base heading to the top!
What a magnificent construction full of history and adventure!!!
The mountain is back there somewhere but is covered by all of the snow!
This is just outside my office in the village...Lucy is the one in the middle...she was a champ this morning getting me to work. I cruised right past a van stuck in the snow and she kept trekking along with just a few squirrely moments ;) 
Jay and my neighbor's trucks.
My other neighbors SUV...crazy amounts of snow!
The new Clock Tower and base of the Tram.
The new Tram car...it is HUGE!
December 20th...the launch of the Tram.
Box 1 leaving the base heading to the top!