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Published: March 5th 2010
The Other Side of the Tetons
From the tippy top of TargheeMark and then Liz posting:
It is hard to believe that Liz and I have been in Jackson for nearly four months already. And despite the fact that winter never truly arrived, we have had made the most of the weather that was given to us. I was surprised to find out that Jackson has received 300 inches of snow so far this year and that is 60% of what could typically be expected at this point in the season. It does not seem as though there has been that much snow because those totals are measured higher up in the mountains - and for one reason or another there has been very little accumulation at the base. Still Liz and I have used our ski passes at Snow King a couple dozen times which has allowed us to find our long missing ski legs. And just as we were able to regain our legs and form on the slopes the time has come for us to consider our departure.
Black Betty (my Civic), Liz and I will be leaving Jackson in mid-March with the GPS set to Camdenton, MO. Per usual though, our return comes with a caveat.
Grand Tetons at Targhee
Another view of the Tetons from the other side - still Wyoming but also known to me as the other side We will be heading further west before our journey ends in the midwest. Both Liz and I have friends and family on the west coast that we are excited to visit. It would appear we will be leaving here on or near St. Patrick's Day for Portland. Two weeks later we need to be in Salt Lake City to see Michael Buble in concert, my gift to Liz for her birthday. In between we are planning stops of varying lengths in San Francisco, Monterey, LA, Long Beach, Newport, and Chandler, AZ. We are also planning to schedule time at the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks before the final stretch through Utah. It's a circuitous route and instead of closing the loop in Jackson we will make a 90 degree turn from Salt Lake toward Denver and on to Kansas City.
Our final three weeks in Jackson will not go by without its own share of excitement though. On Thursday Liz's mother will be arriving for a short stay. And her visit will overlap with one from my parents starting on Sunday. Did I mention they have never met? My brother borrowed a phrase from his close friend, Kevin
Targhee
This is the other side of the valley from the run we were on - it is possible to traverse over to a lift on that side but it does not go up that high Nowak, calling the meeting of the parents "The Summit". Liz and I will have taken this concept to a whole new level when we execute "The Summit at the Summit". Sounds a bit like a pay-per-view boxing match. The only knockout I could anticipate is if Vicki makes my mom one of her famous drinks - margarita, mojito or lemon drop, pick your poison Wendy! Obviously there will be more to come on the excitement that surrounds both the meeting of the 'rents and the entertainment we throw at them.
In the meantime, Liz and I continue to find excursions to keep ourselves busy. Recently we made the roughly 70 mile drive to Alta, WY to ski at Grand Targhee. Up to that point we had almost exclusively spent the season skiing at our beloved Snow King. While the King is the epitome of both value and convenience, it lacks the variety of runs that other hills in the area offer. Unfortunately ski passes at places like Teton Village will run a visitor upwards of $90 for a day of skiing. Targhee, on the other hand, frequently offers promotional prices but includes a more painstaking drive. The character building
Can you see them?
I'm talking about the ski lines in the snow...yup, people skied down that portion of the experience involves the traverse of Teton Pass, an endeavor which includes several hairpin turns and sections of 10% inclines and declines.
The day we made the trek was, by all appearances, the ideal day to both travel and ski. The only question was whether it was too cold to ski comfortably. As it turned out the cold was not an issue even though we would later find out that Liz's aunt and uncle, the most avid of avid ski bums, turned their car around halfway to Teton Village. Apparently, Liz and I are heartier than people might give us credit for! Maybe it was the delicious breakfast burrito from the locally famous Down on Glen (D.O.G.) that started our day. That and a couple cups of coffee certainly set us on the right path.
Speaking of the path, upon starting up the first of the inclines on the pass I could tell Betty was glad we decided to go on a clear day. Not only was it clear day but it also followed several warmer days which had melted any snow or ice on the roads. There were certainly a few moments of struggle for
Other Side of the Tetons
Photo 1,523, 287 of the Tetons...and that's just from Liz and I my little Civic coupe but, as usual, she did the job with minimal complaints. Following the roughly 15 miles of minimally-harrowing (but imaginable in the right conditions) driving through the pass we came out the other side and into Idaho. From there the road flattens out and heads north essentially right along the border between Idaho and Wyoming. Even though I'd spent some time looking at a map to get a better sense of where we'd be going I had not realized that we would end up on the opposite side of the Tetons. It wasn't until we turned east back into Wyoming and I saw the backside of those famous peaks that it all became clear what we'd just done. To clarify - we live 15 miles south of the city of Jackson and the Tetons are another 10 miles or so north of town. We see the Tetons on an almost daily basis and be standing right next to them in no more than a half hour. Yet we had just driven for over an hour and forty minutes merely to end up on the other side. Ah, to be a crow.
We arrived at the resort
Idaho, Udaho
I know to be prepared for that back and forth if I ever mentioned Idaho at noon and were planning to purchase a half-day pass which runs from 12:30 to the close of the lifts (4PM). The ticket center would not start selling the passes until 12:15 so we went upstairs to the bar for some hot drinks and Olympic curling (Liz's favorite!!*). Now the normal rate at Targhee is $88 for a full day pass and $49 for a half day. They also have specials such as two for ticket prices for either full or half-day tickets. We were expecting to pay full price for a half day ticket but when we arrived at the counter the guys behind the desk inexplicably charged us $29 each.
Pleasantly surprised by our good fortune Liz and I took to the slopes. I immediately likened Targhee to a golf course with its nicely groomed runs (fairways) and mogul filled sections between the runs (rough). Naturally you tee off at top and reach the green at the bottom of the hill. The apres vous following a "round" of skiing could even be compared to a trip to the 19th hole. I suppose this type of comparison could be relevant to any ski resort but Targhee is above
A View from Targhee
This time we're looking out toward Idaho and from the look of that sun behind the clouds it might just be God's country the tree line so it is wide open. The absence of trees allowed me to see pretty clearly across the mountain from one run to the next, each divided by a section of "rough". Liz didn't seem too interested in my observation but I thought I was pretty clever. Anyway, the skiing was great and provided us with the opportunity to genuinely ask ourselves which run we wanted to take. That's opposed to flipping a coin to decide on Bighorn or Cougar at the King. We had a pretty full day on the slopes, enjoyed a beer and an appetizer and then made the painstaking return trip across the pass.
Liz's version three days later:
Mark left me by myself for the day, but I didn't want to let that stop me from doing something truly awesome. The day was one of the most beautiful days we've had since arriving- no clouds in the sky, the sun shinning brightly and "warm" temperatures- about 25 or so. Grand Teton National park parallels a string of lakes and, of course, the stunning Grand Tetons. The park service closes the access roads during the winters to automobile traffic, but keeps them
Hoback Market
Welcome to the Hoback groomed for snow shoeing, skate and cross country skiing as well as walking during the edges of the season. While having a strong cup of coffee that morning, I found the best rental deal was $15 for cross country skis. I arrived about 1:30 to the park and the parking lot was full- I wasn't the only one who wanted to take advantage of the day. I passed a lot of people on the way out, but as it grew later in the day and as I continued north, I saw fewer and fewer people. This was only my second time on cross country skis and I really enjoyed it. I decided to make Jenny Lake my turn around point, and even though it was getting closer to dark than I would have liked (I still had to go back!), I turned off the road and went all the way to the lake. It looked like few people had gone that path and while it freaked me out a little bit to me on a very vague trail by myself near dark in the woods, I continued to the lake. I eventually took my skis off to take a few
Hoback
We live in Hoback and this is our market pictures and promptly punched through the snow about three and a half feet. Yep, I was up to my arm pits in the snow. I got out, a little colder, and managed to get my skis back on and head back. All was well and I realized I had found where all the snow had gone this season. Coming back was a little easier as it was slightly down hill, but oh was it a workout. I literally skied as hard as I could for over two hours to get back before it turned absolutely dark- great work out. Being out that late afforded me some fantastic views of the sun setting behind the Tetons as well as seeing a helicopter who was responding to an avalanche on the Grand Teton- yes that is actually the name of one of the mountains as well as the range.
Oh, and I also saw a huge immature bald eagle or golden eagle on my way to the mountain. Apparently it is very hard to tell the difference and most scientist can differentiate one breed from the other by habitat, but Jackson happens to be a place that hosts both species. Either
Bird is the Word
This golden eagle or immature bald eagle that's been hanging around the 'hood way, it was a neat sighting. The eagle, by the way, was lording over the carcass of a road kill elk. I guess he or she was taking a break, because it was perched on a tree above watching the scavenger crows below.
Mark has been on me to write my account for a few days and even tried to fill it in himself in the absence of my version. My mom, Vicki, has arrived and is staying my aunt and uncle at "the big house" so I'm anxious to go talk to her. Hoped you enjoyed my version. For fun, I thought I would include Mark's version as well.
What he said to me this morning to get me to finally sit down and write: "please finish the blog so that last paragraph doesn't sound like I threw up words on to the screen." So I present to you, words thrown up on the screen (which isn't possible with Mark):
Now Liz wanted to write a bit about cross-country ski trip to Jenny Lake but since our blog is long overdue and she is busy watching The Good Wife I will take a
Sun and a Mountain
I don't think this is the Tetons but it can't be too far - Liz took this photo on her way back from Jenny Lake crack at it. That is despite the fact that I wasn't even there! I'll tell you what I know and she can fill in any details. It was another beautiful day here in Jackson so who could blame Liz for wanting to get out and enjoy herself. She rented a pair of cross-country skis - I can confirm that she called at least a half dozen places for quotes - and took the car into Teton National Park. Along the way I do know that Liz came upon either a golden eagle or an immature bald eagle. If we had a nicer camera she probably could have gotten a really great photo. As it is she was able to get a pretty good photo just not close enough that we can determine exactly what type of outrageously large bird it is. I'm not surprised that Liz wanted to cross-country ski out to the lake. She was nervous prior to her first time out in Yellowstone but apparently it was a sport she genuinely enjoyed. It sounded like she had a great day and really her only concerns were that she skied out onto the lake and initially did not realize
Cross-country Skiing
I don't know if it's true or not but I'm going to say that Liz blazed this trail it. She was nervous that she could fall through. She was also worried about getting back to the car before dark which, from what I understand, she was able to do successfully.
Have a great weekend, faithful readers, I raise a cup of coffee to you.
* Sarcasm
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Paul & Claire
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Travels
You guys have had quite a time. Great pics and stories...Very envious. I know Steve & Wendy are looking forward to seeing you. It has to be special to them as Coz is going to be in a kennel!! Funny you got tix for Liz to Michael Bublé in Utah as I got Laura tix for his concert here in Richmond in July as part of her Valentine's gift!! Enjoy the family visit...I am sure all will go well! Love to y'all...Paul & Claire