Big Red is Back!

On December 19th after two years of hard work and no tram for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort the new tram was unveiled with fireworks and Santa Clause repelling out the bottom. On Saturday the tram opened to the public after six VIP and media cars. I was lucky enough to be on the the third media car which was so exciting. I have been riding the tram since I was five years old so for me it was very exciting because I have always been so excited about riding the red box ever since I was  that little kid. I always would beg my parents to take me up the tram every chance I could. I obviously then continued to love and ride the tram until present day so my first ride on the tram was exciting and I had a window seat which was even better. I could not believe how fast that it took 100 passengers up the mountain, it takes about nine minutes to go 4130 vertical feet. 

Opening day was also a very windy cold day, but the wind did not seem to phase the big box. I could not believe how well it handled the weather coming into the dock.  I have experienced mild lift lines with the tram running, it spreads people out more over the mountain you just need to be the first person down Rendevous Bowl. Thanks to everyone who brought back our amazing tram!

Skiing First Pow of the Year

I have been going up on Teton Pass the last five days and have been skiing some great snow. I have also been kicking my butt into shape! I have hiked Glory Bowl five days in a row and have been hiking it in about 41-45 minutes depending on how aggressive I am feeling that day. The last two days have been amazing powder days but very cold. Cold weather makes for light fluffy powder though which is a great thing. The snowpack is setting up to be dangerous on November 29th we had freezing rain which set up a horrible crust layer underneath the top layer that we are all enjoying now, the frozen layer is a couple of inches thick. We all just need to be careful with what we ski especially after last year we had very stable conditions. The tram opens on Saturday so that is exciting!

The First Day of Skiing

Yesterday I decided to head up to Teton Pass to see what I could find for some skiing. I have not skied since April so I was really excited to at least make a couple turns. My friend hannah and I decided to skin up edelweiss which is a low angle grassy run about an hour skin away from the car. There is absolutely no snow in the valley, but the temps have been pretty cold. I was shocked with how great the skiing was, there was about five inches of powder on a crusty layer. The crusty layer underneath worked nicely for a base, I never felt that I was going to punch through. The other positive thing about my run was that since there is not very much snow edelweiss felt like a lot steeper run and longer run. It was a great first day, but I hope it starts to snow soon!

Ski Conditioning

As we are all waiting for the snow to fall we are also trying to get into the best shape possible to be ready for the skiing when it does finally start. I am teaching two different ski conditioning classes right now, one at the rec center and a smaller one at the Jackson Hole Athletic Club. I am also attempting to kick my own butt into ski shape as well. The normal ski conditioning class consists of lots of strength and agility training so that you can stay out there and ski hard all day and take nonstop runs. Ski Conditioning is great for all levels of skiers. Injury prevention is also another huge goal I have in mind when preparing my ski conditioning class. I feel that everybody that is participating is becoming stronger each class not just with strength but with balance and coordination as well. 

As for myself I am trying to do three days of strictly strength training and 2 days of hard agility. On my strength days I do a lot of lower body and core exercises but also try and focus on my upper body as well. Skiing is an entire body workout. I am also trying to improve my anaerobic training, which means without oxygen. This is what I use mainly when I am competing, short quick bursts of energy. Aerobic is longer endurance type exercises such as skinning or hiking. So hopefully my first day of skiing I will feel like I have trained.

Morelia Mexico

  My boyfriend Brian and I are traveling through mexico mainly the beach areas but traveled inland on our way south. We spent the first week near Sayulita and now we are heading to Xtapo.  

Along the way we stopped in  an old colonial town of Morelia Mexico. Moralia is the capital of  Michoacan state which is in the mountains of  mexico. The elevation is around 6,000 feet.We caught a cab into the center of town and stayed at a tiny hotel right across from a 17th century church. This city has so much history, we walked around and went in about six different churches including the large cathedral which is in the middle of town. This cathedral began production in 1640 and continued until more than a century later. Everything is old stone and very intricately designed, the streets are cobblestone and lined with many shops. There are about 150 historical buildings in Morelia.

I really enjoyed visiting this town, i had always been to the beaches of mexico that are more modernized. I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in this town with my red hair and wearing my pink Arcteryx hoody. I especially got a lot of looks when I decided to go for a run around the city, it was really fun running the streets of a very old city.  The city was very clean and the people were very nice. I definitely need to brush up on my spanish though, but for the most part I have been able to communicate enough.

Ranch Party 2008

There is not a lot going on this time of year so for the last seven years I have been inviting eight of my friends down to the ranch that my family manages in the winds. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. A lot of my friends have not had to much experience with horses so it is always a great oppurtunity for them to learn how to ride. This was a special weekend because we happened to be shipping our cows to winter pasture so it involved some cowboying. Everybody was psyched to get their chance to move some cows. We moved cows Friday and Saturday, everybody did really well and definitely had their fair share of riding and using muscles they did not know exsisted. 

After the cows had been shipped away into their respective trucks we gathered up the remaining people and all rode horses up to this place I call the canyon which is where the Big Sandy river comes down and enters into the ranch. We scrambled up the rocks and then up to an overlook above the river. this is one of my favorite places so i was glad to share it with everyone. By the time we got back it was getting late so some of us went to watch the sunset and some took a siesta. We then all cooked and had a sit down dinner together in the hill house which is my favorite cabin on the ranch because it overlooks the entire valley. Everyone can't wait until next year.

Climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park

Climbing has never been my strong point but i love it. I continue to push myself and am getting stronger, and more comfortable with my abilities on the rock. My boyfriend and i returned again this fall to climb in one of the most beautiful mountain settings around. 

After some rain storms the day we arrived it cleared up and we headed in to our first objective, Direct South Ridge III 5.9  9 pitches,Notchtop Mt.

We did not get as early of a start as we maybe should have but we felt good on the approach and climbed the first 4 moderate pitches fast. I am not yet leading on trad climbs so i follow with a small pack and sometimes find it difficult on certain types of climbing, such as tight dihedrals, chimneys, and roofs.When we got to the start of the 6th pitch the description was very vague and hard to distinguish the right line. Brian started up and after 30 ft realized he was not on route. After some down-climbing and some talking we figured out the correct line. This took about an hour though and put us way behind for a timely ascent. 

We cruised the remaining pitches and summited at 5:30pm. Knowing it would get dark at 7 pm and that we still had 6 rappels and a two hour walk out to the trailhead we started our descent. We finished the rappels and retrieved our packs at the base and made it to the main trail before it got dark but we had both forgotten our headlamps and had to suffer the remainder of the walk in total darkness.