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

The waning days of 2009 bring two things scarce of late: snow and music.

Woody is calling for up to 17 inches in the mountains through Friday, cause for celebration among the powder-starved about to go nuts beneath the blue moon.

From a dance club at Calico to funk at Q and bluegrass at the ‘Coach, revelers have plenty of options. The-J-List helps keep track of the entertainment, and if there’s a noteworthy event missing, you can add it yourself.

Music fans also have a big show to look forward to in 2010: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will play the Knotty Pine on Thursday, Feb. 25. Tickets are $22.

Posted under Entertainment, Holidays, Music, Weather

Tags: funk, karl denson, knotty pine, powder

With 45 days to go till the Vancouver Olympics, Snow King Mountain is gearing up to host some of the world’s best skiers.

The U.S. women’s ski team will be among the alpine racers stopping in Jackson to train for the slalom and giant slalom events in British Columbia, Canada. The French men’s and women’s teams also will prepare on Snow King, as well as the Finnish men.

The national ski teams are set to arrive Feb. 6 in advance of the games. Giant slalom and slalom races begin Feb. 21 in Whistler.

At the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, skiers from eight nations won a total of nine medals after training on the King, including slalom gold medalist Jean-Pierre Vidal of France.

“We are very excited and appreciative that Snow King and the Jackson Hole Ski Club are so willing to help us in preparing our American Olympic-bound athletes,” says Seth McCadam, assistant coach for the U.S. Ski Team and a ski club alum. “The Jackson Hole community has a long and rich history in winter sports and supporting such athletic endeavors.”

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Posted under Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: resi stiegler, ski racing, skiing, snow king

Dick Edgcomb, developer of two failed golf and resort projects in the Snake River Canyon, is seeking approval from the Forest Service that could lead to construction of up to 77 homes on another piece of his riverfront property.

Edgcomb has applied for a road and utilities easement for the 144-acre parcel, which straddles the Teton-Lincoln county line about six miles south of Hoback Junction. The land is surrounded by national forest on a stretch of the Snake newly designated as Wild and Scenic.

“There is no development proposal at all,” Edgcomb said in an interview Monday. “We’re just asking for a road easement down to our property.”

The land in question was supposed to have been the subject of a swap with the Forest Service, to be preserved following approval of the highly controversial Canyon Club golf development, later renamed Snake River Sporting Club.

Edgcomb has been requesting access to the property since mid-2008, according to documents filed with the Bridger-Teton National Forest and obtained by JH Underground under the Freedom of Information Act.

He is calling the new project “River Bend Preserve.”

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Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics

Tags: conservation, development, eagles, fat cats, fishing, national forest, river running, snake river

On several occasions we’ve featured the work of photographer Morris Weintraub. Turns out Morris shoots scenes other than attractive, scantily clad ladies and skids swilling PBR.

This fall the freelance photojournalist took a road trip around the West, shooting landscapes from southern Colorado to the Oregon coast and back. Among the spectacular places he documented are Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks and Crater Lake.

Need a last-minute gift? Morris is selling prints from this collection, priced affordably, with proceeds going to the Santa Claus Fund, a Jackson Hole nonprofit that distributes toys to underprivileged kids. This year the organization is helping 110 volunteers shop for 370 children.

Click on these thumbnails to enlarge, use arrow keys to navigate the slide show, and click here to browse the full gallery.

Posted under Art, Holidays

Tags: colorado, nonprofits, photography, utah

By now you’ve run up a healthy credit card bill buying gifts for relatives who are as likely to cherish them as leave them in the box for two years, then re-gift at the office Christmas party.

For those with holiday-depleted savings or who generally look for the closest thing to a free meal, Shades has revived its $4 lunches that were popular back in May.

The cozy eatery at 75 S. King St. will be serving plates of oven-baked mac and cheese, double-decker tostadas, samosa pie and the like from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. throughout the winter.

It’s hard enough to find a meal anywhere in Jackson for under $10, let alone lunch for two. Cheers to Shades for keeping the frugal fed into the new year.

Posted under Business, Food

Tags: skids

Doesn’t seem fair on the winter solstice that Jackson, Wyo., has less snow than your local mall back East.

Good thing that inside the Capitol senators were putting the finishing touches on a health care bill, so in case this snowboarder imploded on concrete he couldn’t be denied coverage.

Not far away, in northern Virginia, an intrepid powder skier was making an extreme first descent.

(Photo: Kristoffer Tripplaar, Newscom/Sipa Press, via Talking Points Memo)

Posted under Politics, Sports, Weather

Tags: powder, skiing, snowboarding