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

An avalanche that killed two and nearly wiped out 200 snowmobilers west of Revelstoke, British Columbia, last weekend has prompted calls for closing the backcountry in times of high danger.

Royal Canadian Mounties also are investigating whether to press charges against event organizer “Ozone” Dave Clark of Calgary, who allegedly pressed ahead with the informal snowmobile competition called the Big Iron Shootout despite repeated avalanche warnings.

A crowd of sledheads had gathered for the Shootout on Boulder Mountain when high-marking ‘bilers triggered the massive slide. A wall of snow plowed into the crowd and sent spectators and sleds tumbling hundreds of feet. The pile of debris measured up to 15 feet deep, and the slide ran 1,100 feet in all.

Thirty-one people were injured, and the search and rescue effort cost an estimated $1 million.

Read More…

Posted under Crime, Deaths, Environment, Sports

Tags: avalanches, canada, rednecks, snowmobiles

Maybe it’s the water in Cheyenne, or a surge of Republican testosterone.

But there’s something about the Wyoming legislative session that turns otherwise rational, reasonable men into a pack of chest-bumping bro’s trying to out-redneck each other.

This year the aggressive posturing has reached a near-absurd low. First, the governor moved to effectively squash wind power in Wyoming.

Then came a slew of bills railing against the federal government, stopping just short of secession. Five bills challenging federal authority have passed the House, including one that would further sanctify the Cowboy State’s central obsession: guns.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, talks of a “palpable anger” toward the federal government from Wyoming residents.

What are they so angry about?

Oh, yeah: We elected a black Democrat president.

Read More…

Posted under Humor, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: gov dave, keith gingery, Media, rednecks

Our new video correspondent, Christie Koriakin, spent Valentine’s Day at the Shriners Club Cutter Races, documenting the characters around the Melody Ranch horse track.

Her feature is still in production, but in the meantime, Christie stitched together a montage of the many amorous invitations she received from the cowboys.

Ladies, if you feel like you missed out, take heart: Hill Climb weekend is only a month away!

Posted under Holidays, Humor, Sports, Wyoming

Tags: christie koriakin, cowboys, cutter races, dating, rednecks, sex

Controversy erupted at the 33rd World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb late Thursday as event organizers were ambushed by last-minute entries of hybrid snowmobiles.

The four-woman team from California-Amazon Technical School, calling themselves “Team Al Gore Rhythm,” arrived unannounced in a Toyota Prius towing two experimental sleds which they claimed burned an alternative fuel.

Jennifer Flynn, the team captain, said, “We’ve been working on a recyclables-based technology we call pre-apocalyptic craptacular fusion. Using a mixture of sea water, pulverized No. 1 plastic and shredded coated-print stock — we use Victoria’s Secret catalogs because we love the irony — we have created a 55-pound engine that delivers nearly pure energy. The gimbal-mounted flywheel acts as a gyroscopic stabilizer, too.”

Read More…

Posted under Environment, Humor

Tags: favio snimp, hill climb, rednecks, snow king, snowmobiles

JACKSON, Wyo. — Unfazed by the rapidly melting snowpack and overjoyed at the prospect of cleaving Snow King into two smaller sub-peaks, organizers say they will go ahead as planned with the annual Snowmobile Mud Climb, sponsored by Halliburton and the Bin Laden Group.

U.S. oil companies have hired the paramilitary firm Blackwater USA to airlift an extra 1,000 barrels of Saudi Arabian crude to help cover the fuel consumption this weekend. The Dubai Stock Exchange soared on news that the event will take place.

Weather forecasters say viewing conditions should be excellent, with unnaturally warm temperatures under hazy skies.

Read More…

Posted under Humor, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: climate change, favio snimp, hill climb, rednecks, snow king, snowmobiles