Today was January 126th up on Teton Pass, where nearly a foot of fresh powder triggered one last all-out frenzy.
I say “last,” but of course, given the weather lately, I’m tempting fate. We could be headed for powder days in May, June … July?
Today’s run on Glory will be my last.
Today is the NFL draft, a day of much anticipation (and usually frustration) for fans of our favorite football team, the New York Jets. Here is a montage of just a few of the many first-round busts the Jets have picked over the years.
This clip is worth watching for the vintage ’80s hairdos, if nothing else. (Mel Kiper is still sporting his.)
Will the Jets get the game-breaker they need in Run DMC, or will Gang Green be Gang Groan yet again?
“Obviously the Jets know something that the people up here don’t.”
How is a health- and eco-conscious hiker to hydrate, in the wake of yesterday’s announcement by Nalgene that it’s pulling its water bottles off the shelves?
Concerns over the chemical bisphenol A, which is used in a wide variety of plastic and canned food products, prompted the move. The Canadian government listed the substance as toxic, setting in motion a ban on its use up north.
Low levels of bisphenol A have been found to cause reproductive defects, cancer, hyperactivity and neurological disorders, among other problems. The substance is used in plastic baby bottles, making young children particularly vulnerable.
From what I understand, the danger of imbibing bisphenol A from a Nalgene water bottle is minimal. Pouring boiling water into the bottle is said to increase the risk.
(All photographs © Jim Stanford. Click to enlarge.)
Spring break came, and I did not get very far away: the Gros Ventres, the mountains behind my home.
Most of my winter-loving friends — those who “can’t wait” for the snow to come each fall — had fled to the beach or desert for sun and surf and sand. I, eternally yearning for warmer climes, got invited on a hard-core ski trip.
Bemused by this irony, I gathered my gear and loaded my pack for a two-day trek into the Gros Ventre Wilderness. The weekend weather forecast looked good, and I had never been to the ski cabin by Goodwin Lake, where we would spend the night. Plus, it’s not often you get to explore pristine country with experienced mountaineers.
This is what a season of 605 inches looks like on the last day of lift service.
It had been a few years since I came out to Teton Village on closing day, so it was a great and pleasant surprise to discover the festivities have morphed into Mardi Gras at the base of the slopes. The last tram celebrations of yore are JV by comparison.
In the absence of an emptying tram car to pelt, the party lacked a climactic snowball fight. Then Dick Cheney, after a day of skiing the resort in jeans, got up to address the crowd. His appearance triggered a shock-and-awe-caliber fusillade of snowballs that forced him to fall off a table and flee.
This is a new feature on JH Underground. Click on the above image to enlarge and watch a short slide show of the day’s merrymaking. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the photos.
The over-the-top outrageousness was befitting of an incredible winter that gave us four straight months (and counting) of powder skiing. I can only hope the summer of Two Thousand Great is as bountiful with warmth and sunshine.
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