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

Heading into a second year of drought with reservoirs already drawn down and snow melting fast, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is planning to release nearly twice as much water as usual in the Snake River this summer.

Barring prolonged wet weather, water managers will release 4,000 cubic feet per second from Jackson Lake Dam through September.

The agency projects to draw down Jackson Lake reservoir to about 18 percent of capacity. At best, the bureau will fill Palisades Reservoir to about 50 percent of capacity before draining it nearly dry to meet irrigation needs in Idaho.

Mike Beus, BuRec operations manager, presented his projections along with weather forecasts at the agency’s annual water meeting last night in Jackson. A crowd of anglers, irrigators, farmers and rafting guides attended.

Beus painted a stark picture of less water available for storage in the basin, temperatures skyrocketing to 90 degrees in Boise last week and snow melting in the high country above Jackson Lake at a rate of 2 inches per day. While this weekend’s cool, wet weather offers some relief, temperatures were 10 degrees above average for the first half of May, he said.

“The normals are changing,” he said.

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Posted under Economy, Environment, Sports

Tags: fishing, river running, snake river

With 9 inches of snow reported yesterday and more falling today, April already has surpassed January for snowfall in the Tetons, as a typically dreary mountain spring masquerades for prolonged winter.

The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center has measured 52 inches of snowfall in Rendezvous Bowl so far this month, compared to 45 inches for all of January, which was plagued by cold drought.

The center ceased issuing avalanche and weather forecasts yesterday but will continue to post automated readings for temperature, wind and snowfall.

The water content of the snowpack in the upper Snake River basin above Jackson Lake now measures 106 percent of average — which is about right, after an average winter.

Props to the spring break-starved prankster who made his or her feelings known about the weather last Tuesday along Pearl Avenue. For the winter weary, relief is on the way, with the National Weather Service calling for sunny and near 60 by the end of the week.

Posted under Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: powder, skiing, snake river, snowboarding

To the chagrin of many cyclists, the Highway 89 pathway north of town along the National Elk Refuge is closed until April 30.

The closure is part of the deal Teton County arranged with the refuge to build the pathway in 2011. Despite a recent plea by cycling advocate Tim Young to open the path early, the refuge is sticking to the specified dates.

The path offers a velvety-smooth ride 10 miles to Moose and another 8 miles to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Only the portion along the refuge, between Jackson and Gros Ventre Junction, is closed from Oct. 1 to April 30 each year; the park sections presumably are rideable when free of snow.

Although it may seem aggravating and bureaucracy at its worst, there is a rationale behind the closure. To better explain it, county pathways coordinator Brian Schilling provided the following list of frequently asked questions. The bottom line: Be patient, people, and let the refuge finish studying impacts.

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Posted under County Government, Environment, Politics, Sports

Tags: cycling, elk, grand teton national park, wildlife

On a day when pro triathlete Adam Wirth of Boise captured the PPP crown, a huge crowd gathered at Teton Village to celebrate spring’s arrival during the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival.

Perhaps as many as 4,000 people turned out Saturday for the PPP awards party, music by Lazy Eyes beneath the tram and the featured concert by Black Mother Jones and O.A.R. Parked cars lined the village entrance road all the way to Highway 390, in what may have been the largest turnout yet for the festival.

While the selection of the headliner generated strong opinions, one thing everyone could agree on was fine weather and free music make for a great party. Tailgates with generous spreads of food and beverages could be found from the PPP finish line at Astoria to the village parking lots. Most of the buzz around O.A.R. was whether rock star Dave Matthews — staying at Teton Village on vacation, skiing and snowmobiling — would join them onstage. (He did not.)

The diehard music fans pushed the festival into the wee hours of Sunday night, when the Providence, R.I., rock group Deer Tick played the Pink Garter.

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Posted under Entertainment, Music, Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: festivals, jhmr, pink garter, ppp, rock

From its beginnings as a trickle of snowmelt off Two Ocean Pass to the thunderous cataracts of its Grand Canyon and sinuous meandering through the plains of Montana, the Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states.

A new film by Hunter Weeks follows a 30-day journey by drift boat down the river to its confluence with the Missouri at Fort Buford, N.D. Where the Yellowstone Goes chronicles the people and landscapes the party encounters while floating and fishing this majestic waterway.

Weeks will show the film and take questions Wednesday night in a benefit for American Rivers at the Pink Garter Theater. Tickets are $10, available online or at Jack Dennis Sports and Teton Mountain Lodge. Showtime is 7 p.m.

I’ve always thought of the Yellowstone as one of the uppermost headwaters of the Mississippi. Along those lines, I’d someday like to make a journey from Atlantic Creek all the way to New Orleans.

Posted under Environment, Sports

Tags: conservation, fishing, pink garter, river running, yellowstone