JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Hikers with creaky knees might want to invest in a sturdy pair of boots, or a bottle of Advil, as Snow King’s Summit Chairlift will not operate until July.

The bullwheel at the top of the lift needs replacing, says the King’s Jim Sullivan. The chair is 28 years old and, unlike most ski lifts, runs in winter and summer.

“Very few lifts in America have the strain or steepness of that lift,” Sullivan says.

The double chair usually opens to sightseers by Memorial Day. The lift also is popular with hikers looking for a gentler way down the mountain, which spans 1,571 vertical feet.

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Posted under Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: hiking, photography, snow king

While the rest of the world wishes that Dick Cheney would just disappear to the middle of nowhere, that sentiment is not shared universally.

Dead-End Dick is likely to be in town for this weekend’s Memorial Day/Old West Days festivities. A well-placed source tells us that he is slated to fish the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho on Monday.

The owner of this truck is an old-timer from Moose who happens to be a real cowboy. The lettering used to read, “Impeach Cheney First,” but he had it redone in light of the creepy ex-veep’s so-called “retirement.”

Rumors persist that the Cheneys have put up for sale their $3 million home on the 18th hole at Teton Pines, but that could be wishful thinking.

From the middle of nowhere, let us join the chorus pleading of Jackson Hole’s America’s biggest Dick: STFU!

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(Note: Only the license plate has been altered in this photograph, to conceal the owner’s identity from Cheney’s goon squad.)

Posted under Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming

Tags: dick cheney, fat cats

Here comes summer.

Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey is calling for temperatures of nearly 80 degrees by Monday, meaning the Snake River is about to begin swelling with runoff.

Last night, Mike Beus of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation gave an overview of his plan for operation of Jackson Lake Dam. In the last few weeks, spurred by cold, wet weather and concern from backyard geomorphologists, the bureau has shifted into flood-control mode, bracing for a second straight high runoff.

Beus projects that the Snake will peak around June 8 or 10, at a level comparable to last year. Releases from the dam should reach about 6,000 cubic feet per second, meaning flows likely will exceed 10,000 cfs in Grand Teton National Park and more than 20,000 in the Snake River Canyon.

Beus’ long-range weather forecasts suggest a greater chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures in the coming weeks. If that scenario plays out, I’m guessing the runoff will exceed last year’s peak of about 14,000 cfs in the park and 23,000 in the canyon.

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Posted under Environment, Sports, Weather

Tags: river running, snake river

The news in this economy isn’t all doom and gloom, as opportunity always exists to do something better or smarter than the lumbering behemoths of the past.

That’s the reasoning behind Lightpost, a new software application for nonprofits designed by the brainy, Jackson-based triumvirate of Clint Troxel, Clay Preheim and Steph Thomas.

Clint and Clay are Web programmers/designers and two of the creators of The-J-List, that clean, easy-to-use listing site ruefully dormant of late. (Clint is also our occasional hipster music correspondent, while Clay and his fiancée, Steph, kept us updated via Twitter from the Obama inauguration.)

Lightpost is a simple yet effective way for nonprofits to keep track of donors, fund-raising campaigns and related information without complex spreadsheets and byzantine database programs that look (and work) like a Windows 98 horror show. Best of all, it’s a lot cheaper than most of that archaic software — a critical consideration for organizations squeezed by shrinking budgets.

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Posted under Business

Tags: clay preheim, clint troxel, nonprofits

Updated 5/15 with resort pricing

The Associated Press has revealed more details of the Madoff family’s ties to Jackson Hole, particularly a lavish ski vacation over the holidays in December 2007 and January 2008.

Mark and Andrew Madoff, sons of fraudulent financier Bernie Madoff, each paid $560 a day for their families to ski for five or six days at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Resort spokeswoman Anna Olson said that sum would have paid for a guided day of skiing for up to five people, including early gondola rides.

The prodigal sons also racked up a $2,879 catering bill at Pica’s Mexican Taqueria and, as noted prominently in today’s Daily, spent $254 on sushi at Nikai but left only a $15 tip.

The charges were made on dad’s American Express platinum business card, the bill for which was made public in a bankruptcy court filing in New York. The January 2008 statement, totaling a whopping $100,122, can be viewed here.

In all, the Madoffs and their wives and children spent $13,174 in Jackson Hole on this credit card for dining, shopping and rental cars. They made purchases at the Mangy Moose, Jackson Hole Sports, Wildernest Sports, Snake River Lodge and Teton Mountain Lodge.

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Posted under Crime, Food, Ski Resorts

Tags: bernard madoff, fat cats, jackson hole mountain resort

Thanks for bearing with us these last three weeks, as I’ve been out of town, for work and pleasure, more than I’ve been home.

Most recently JH Underground joined the hordes of Jacksonites on spring pilgrimage to the desert for a few days of camping and mountain biking. I’ll have a report on these and other adventures shortly.

Time to clean the slate as we gear up for summer.

Posted under From the Publisher, Wyoming

Tags: photography, travel