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  • Jackson, WY Days 4,5,6

    [Update 3/18/2008]Hmm it was brought to my attention due to one of my many readers (Must be at least 4 of you now!) that I never finished my Jackson Hole vacation posts. I dug in and saw that a forgot to publish this last story. So the below is weeks old now.[/Update]

    Day 4 -Grand Targhee

    This day we decided to drive to the far side of the Tetons to Grand Targhee mountains. This is a smaller resort than Jackson Hole but has some great powder skiing available. We arrived a bit after 10am and it was a gorgeous day, clear and sunny. Not much to comment on other than I was feeling better and got in some good powder runs. There are also a natural terrain park that we stopped at and tried to capture some video but failed at it. About 4pm we called it a day and drove back over the Teton Pass home. Here is a link to a picture from the top of the mountain.

    Day 5 – Jackson Hole

    This was our last day of skiing. No new snow fully groomed trails but hard packed off-piste skiing. I had a great time skiing on the groomed runs today and was in great spirits and did not get tired despite 30-40 minute runs. I wish I felt this good on Day 1 and 2!

    The bad part of today was as soon as you got off the groomed trails the snow turned to crap. It was hard, crusty and stopped you dead in your tracks. Falling hurt so I stuck to the groomed runs most of the day. Here is a shot of me close to the top of the mountain.

    Back to Mangy Moose for a quick drink or two and back to the hotel.

    Day 6 – Flight home

    Not much to say other than the flight was uneventful but we got home to a snowstorm. We brought the snow home with us! So the taxi from the airport to Matt’s house took over an hour and then my drive home from there took another hour. Ugg. Home now and recovering. Dang, I need a vacation!! Only two years to the next ski trip.

  • Jackson, WY days 2 & 3

    Day two was fairly disappointing as when I woke up my fever still had not broken. So I spent the day in bed sleeping and resting. I do think I needed this as I could barely move out of the couch/bed I was in.

    For supper the three of us followed a recommendation from Rachel Ray ($40 a day) and went to Snake River Brewing Company. The beer there was good but the service and the food was no good. The Brat I had I could barely get down my throat even when washing it down with the home brewed beer. So either Rachel Ray never really ate there, or they served her special food. Two Thumbs Down!!

    Monday morning I was feeling much better, in fact anxious to hit the slopes. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we drove to Jackson Hole for a day full of skiing fun. Now I should give some background.. Before we arrived they had no fresh snow in two weeks. Sunday they got over 14 inches and Monday it snowed all day. Normally fresh powder is great, as if you fall it really does not hurt, which is true. But when there is snow up to your knees and ice underneath it really works your legs and ankles when you plow into 2 feet or more of pushed around powder. After a number of hours of this I was really getting beaten down. The highlight of the morning was from the gondola we saw a moose wandering around the ski trail. We avoided that trail for the rest of the day.

    Me At The Mangy MooseWe took a quick break around noon at Bridgehead Restaurant and quickly hit the slopes again. My energy levels quickly faded and by 2:30 I had to call it quits and went to the Mangy Moose to drown my poor respitory system with some liquid pain killer. Matt threw in the towel 30-40 minutes later followed by Nate in another 30.

    After returning to the hotel it was hot-tub time followed by dinner at Bubba’s BBQ. Excellent pulled pork, great fries but their chili and coleslaw were not good. Quite the exhausting day.