90 Days

Today is the last day of August. It's also exactly 90 days from opening day. Jackson Hole opens for the 2009/2010 ski season on November 29. Fall is almost here and winter isn't far behind!!

Voting Ends on September 15

Just checked the National Geographic website. I'm behind in votes for the 'Inspiration/Keep Going' category. Keep up with the voting and tell your friends! Voting ends on September 15.

VOTE HERE!

Shadow Mountain

Yesterday, I worked from 6am to 9pm; both jobs with a half hour break in the middle. I got a call from some friends that they were going camping out at Shadow Mountain. I had never been to Shadow Mountain before, but I decided to make the journey out to try and find them. I reached them by about 10pm by following Adam's directions by text message. The sky was clear and the stars were amazing. It felt good to hang out around a bonfire after such a long day. I work hard, but I'm definitely dedicated to playing hard too.

[ Morning view from camp ]

[ Dogs. ]

We spent the afternoon hanging out at the girls' place and playing in the pool.

[ The pool ]

[ Chris sending it off the water slide ]

Surgery

The doctors decided that Sarah's back wasn't as stable as they originally thought. She was flown down to SLC yesterday morning and had surgery to stabilize her back. It went well. She will be having a second surgery on Tuesday for reconstruction. She is feeling good and receiving a lot of support from friends and family.

Lithium

Another night riding in the pass; tonight we rode Lithium. It starts off at the top of the pass on the same trail as Black's Canyon. It's a couple mile hike/uphill ride to get to the real trail head.

[ Adam on the long, gradual uphill to the Lithium trail head ]

[ Top of Lithium - looking out over the valley ]

The first part consists of some big open fields with some tight switchbacks and into a gully as it makes it's way to the ridge. The trail is washboard right now- really bumpy.

[ Short climb onto the ridge ]

Once you hit the ridge, it's loose, rocky, and steep on either side of the trail. You don't want to fall- the rocks are sharp and if your bike starts tumbling, it won't stop. Alex got a flat tire on this section. Luckily, we had a tube and tire pump. It would be a long hike out. We worked fast to get off the ridge while we still had plenty of visibility.

[ Alex working his way down ]

[ Looking across the valley at the highway ]

[ Flat tire. You can see how steep it drops off to the side. ]

[ Tracks ]

Eventually, the trail winds it's way off the north side of the ridge and into the forest. This is where the trail gets fun. There are berms, rock drops, wooden bridges, and lots of jumps. We took a few minutes to session some of the features, but we were losing light fast. By the end of the trail, it was almost dark and hard to see anything more than a gray blur in front of us.

[ Small rock drop to berm ]

[ Double berm - you can air out of the first one ]

[ Bridge - still in construction...it's probably around 6 feet high. ]

[ Adam ]

[ Riding the berm ]

[ Air ]

[ Huge wooden bridge ]

[ Last shot in the dark ]

Dark and quiet

Looking down at Jackson on my way to work at 6am this morning.

Schralping the Pass

Tonight I did a quick pass lap with Adam and Alex. We rode Jimmy's Mom to Parallel. This was the first time I brought my camera riding with me. I helped get the shots set up and Alex took the photos for me. We started running out of light sooner than we would have liked.

[ Loading the schralp tools ]

[ Alex sending ]

[ First jump on Jimmy's ]

[ Wanna ride? ]

[ A man with his bike ]

[ I saw Adam at the grocery store - he's pushing an old shopping cart ]

[ Adam prepping the landing ]

[ Upper ravine gap ]

[ Alex with his 'Bro' face on ]

Room 122

Last night, I learned that my good friend Sarah had broken her back on the trampoline. I met up with Jacki and Lisa and went straight to the hospital. We were there for a several hours last night and first thing this morning to give her support. She seems to be doing the best she can for the given situation. It doesn't look like surgery will be needed. She is wearing a back brace and made a short walk down the hall during PT this morning with support of a walker. She might be released from the hospital this evening depending on how the rest of the day goes. She is supposed to make a full recovery by December. Get better Sarah!

The Edge of Never

The Edge of Never is a documentary film, inspired by the non-fiction book of the same title, and it begins where most ski films leave off or never dared to go. While these movies tend to rely on action and loud music to provide a momentary rush that quickly melts away, The Edge of Never combines those elements with mythic storytelling to produce an experience thats fun, meaningful and memorable. Not only is this a ripping tale of adventure about a young man coming of age, but a frank and subtle portrait of the extreme skiers who live big in the face of death and risk everything to experience the fullness of life in the mountains.

This is the official trailer for The Edge of Never Film produced by William A. Kerig and Peter Schweitzer. The Edge of Never was shot in high definition in Chamonix, France and features big-mountian skiers Mike Hattrup, Kye and Trevor Petersen, and Glen Plake.

22nd Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival

I went to the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival this weekend with Alex, Lauren, and Sara. We drove to Targhee on Friday evening, arriving just in time to set up camp and see Railroad Earth. There were a lot of people at the show, all camping out in the woods and fields near the resort. It was a fun, crazy night.

[ On the road to Targhee ]

[ Alex ]

[ Lauren is ready for Railroad Earth, headband and all ]

We woke up early on Saturday. It was a hot day, so we decided to go find some water to play in. We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and listening to music. The group Bearfoot, who happened to be from Alaska, was probably my favorite group. Later in the afternoon, Annie, Livey, and Maren arrived at the festival. Alex and I went back to camp to hang out before Yonder Mountain and ended up running into some friends who turn out to be our future neighbors.

[ Sara - early morning Saturday ]

[ The wagon circle ]

[ Lauren and Sara exploring ]

[ Alex checking out the river ]

[ I think we had more than our fair share of whiskey throughout the weekend ]

This morning I woke up at 7 to drive back to Jackson for work. I definitely spent more money this weekend than I had planned on, but it was a solid weekend- good friends and good music.

---

Friday 8/21/09
3:00 PM	Bearfoot (childrens show)
4:00 PM	John Cowan Band
6:00 PM	Darrell Scott Band
8:00 PM	Railroad Earth
Saturday 8/22/09
12:00 PM	Tony Trischka
1:30 PM	Bearfoot
3:00 PM	Danny Barnes Trio
4:30 PM	Casey Driessen & the Colorfools
6:00 PM	Steep Canyon Rangers
8:00 PM	Yonder Mountain String Band
Sunday 8/23/09
12:00 PM	Anne & Pete Sibley
1:30 PM	Solas
3:00 PM	Wilders
5:00 PM	David Grisman Quintet

14 out of 15

I've been working a lot lately... 14 out of the last 15 days. A few weeks back I was promoted at Spring Creek Ranch to be one of the new banquet captains. It was a good change, but because of that, I've been picking up more shifts and working a lot of hours between my two jobs.

A couple weeks ago we had some crazy thunderstorms. Following the storms came a hazy smoke from wildfires in Idaho. The sun was a deep red.

[ Red sun over Teton Pass ]

Most days I start work between 6 and 7 in the morning. It's early, but it allows me to still have play time in the evenings. Unless I'm working a weekend banquet, I'm usually out of work by about 6pm at the latest. That leaves me two solid hours of light to ride Teton Pass with Alex and Adam.

[ The Kona ]

I recently bought stiffer front and rear springs for my suspension and have a lot more confidence in my riding now. The trail has been getting pretty dry and loose lately and caused me to have a few spills on Monday. Riding bikes isn't always painless. I generally wear a full-face helmet, gloves, and knee/shin pads, but I guess I need to invest in some arm guards.

[ Yeah, I got a little beat up ]

I woke up and left for work at about 5am this morning and found a nice little notice on my car window. I've parked there many times and have never had a problem. I was parked about 100 feet from the driveway of the house I was staying at and in a pullout completely off the street, not to mention there is a stairway leading to the pullout from the backdoor. I found it slightly annoying.

[ Notice of Intent to Impound Abandoned Vehicle ]

Please Vote!

A few months ago, I entered a National Geographic photography contest. I entered a photo I took while skiing in Hatcher Pass last fall in the Inspiration/Keep Going category.

Over 12,000 entries were received. Two photos were chosen from each category, for a total of 12. I was chosen as one of the 12 finalists! It is now up to the public to vote for their favorite photos.

Check it out HERE and give me a vote!

Nimbus Independent: Contrast

The difference between action sport films is often just athletes and locations, where the edit formula remains the same. Skiing is about more than the latest trick and best action from the previous season. With that in mind, Nimbus Independent is proud to announce their second high definition motion picture, titled Contrast. The new film examines the difference between objects, people, concepts, color, light and the skiing of Pep Fujas, Eric Pollard, Chris Benchetler, Andy Mahre and Blake Nyman.

Wilson Backcountry Sports

Wilson Backcountry Sports is a small bike and ski shop located in Wilson at the base of Teton Pass. They are definitely my favorite shop in the area. They don't keep a lot of product on hand, but they know how to take care of their customers.

Last week, I stopped in to buy stiffer springs for my front shock and rear suspension. Not only did they give me a fork spring they had sitting around, but they even installed it for me on the spot free of charge. I had an order put in for my rear spring and it arrived within a week.

After work today I went to pick up the new parts. I left my bike to have it installed along with a new tube for my rear wheel. They don't charge an arm and leg for labor like the shops in town. I got a call within about twenty minutes to tell me everything was ready. That's customer service.

Plans for tonight: Riding the pass.

Life Isn't Always So Black & White