Jackson Hole Underground

… and the creeks, the fish, the elk and the fresh air we breathe.

Today is the last day to submit comments on the Bridger-Teton National Forest plan.

The plan is being revised to guide use of the forest for the next 10 to 20 years. It’s possible (although not probable, with your input) that more than half of the 3.5 million acres could be opened to oil and gas drilling.

Comments can be e-mailed to: btnfplanrevision@fs.fed.us.

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Where do the roots connect the aspens?

Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller is testifying today in the perjury trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff. The blog firedoglake is posting a play-by-play.

Will Miller shed light on Libby’s mysterious allusion to her vacation in Jackson Hole, in a letter he penned while she was in prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury in 2005? Or will she discuss their meeting at the JH Rodeo in 2003, back when the controversy first raged over who leaked an undercover CIA officer’s name to the press?

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Number of days since last significant snowfall: 18.
Number of nights during this span with low temperature of zero degrees or colder: 18.
Number of nights with low temperature of -10 degrees or colder: 9.
Forecasted low temperature for tonight: -11.
Days until first day of spring: 51.

While it seems like this has been the worst drought in recent memory, it isn’t.

Through January, this year’s snowpack ranks as the third-lowest total in the 40-year history of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, trailing only 2001 and 1977, the infamous “winter it didn’t snow.” But relief may be on the way.

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With the International Stage Stop Sled Dog Race off and running, Dan Carter is taking an important step in his preparation for the Iditarod this spring.

Carter was one of 18 mushers to glide through the streets of Jackson on Friday in the Stage Stop’s largely ceremonial opening leg. The real racing began Sunday with a 76-mile run from Lander to Pinedale, won by Wendy Davis of Lander.

The Stage Stop winds through seven communities in western Wyoming before finishing Feb. 3 in Park City, Utah. For daily race results, click here.

Carter, 36, is the latest man of Granite (Creek) to aim his sled toward the Iditarod, following in the tracks of his mentor and boss, Frank Teasley.

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“What an incredible Cinderella story! This unknown, comes out of nowhere, to lead the pack … at Corbet’s. He’s ripping from the East Ridge Chair, about 455 yards away, going to take air over a mogul, I think. [Swishes, takes out a rope] Oh, he got all of that. The crowd is standing on its feet here at Corbet’s. The normally mellow crowd is going wild … for this young Chicago wiggler who’s come out of nowhere.

He’s got about 20 yards left, he’s going to drop about 30 feet, it looks like, don’t you think? He’s got a beautiful carve … [Swishes onto goat path] That’s — Oh, he got all of that one! He’s gotta be pleased with that! The crowd is just on its feet here. He’s a Cinderella boy. Tears in his eyes, I guess, as he lines up this last drop. He’s on the edge of the cliff, and he’s got a, looks like he’s got a soft landing.

This crowd has gone deadly silent … Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper, now, about to style Corbet’s. [Swishes, sticks jump into couloir] It looks like a mirac- He’s in the Hole! He’s in the Hole!”

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