After several years of trying to get my friend Jim (AHS Class of 83) to come to Jackson Hole and go skiing he finally planned a ski trip to Jackson Hole. What a good year for it too, we have had the best winter ski season in many years! We got on the phone and planned a weekend, looking on the calendar for days that work for both of us and NOT on a holiday (lines too long.) We picked a weekend and he booked his flight. Sure enough, after a winter of fresh powder almost every day, it quit snowing several days before he got here. Bummer. No worries though, we have a deep base and cold air, the snow is not bad we have just been spoiled with phenomenal snow & powder this year. On the up side, the bumps were a nice size and fun to ski.

Sunday drinks at the Mangy Moose Saloon

Jim skied Grand Targhee Thursday, I had to work and then I had band rehearsal that evening. Targhee is much smaller than Jackson Hole but they usually gets more powder than we do but not this year. Apparently Thursday night when I was at rehearsal Jim pointed out our window at Snow King, our town hill, and asked “is that it?” meaning is that Jackson Hole. My husband thought he meant ’is that all there is to Snow King’ and he replied “yes.” I think Jim was nicely surprised when we got in the car and drove the 12 miles to Jackson Hole Resort, a much bigger and more impressive mountain.

Jim brought his Blackberry, it was cracking me up. In the morning I’d get up, make coffee, then IM him in his room, in the basement, below my feet. “Good morning Sunshine, coffee’s ready” Wah, I want a blackberry!

Top of the Mountain

We skied together Friday and Saturday at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort, as it turns out we are about the same level of skiing. My boss gave me a ski pass and I played hooky Friday. We skied hard the first day and slowed down a little the second day. It was hard pack snow and moguls. Jim likes moguls and I got lots of practice on them during his visit. I have been skiing on flat skis all winter so I had to find my edge and remember how to use it. Over the two days I took several runs I have never been on. including the run from the top of the mountain. Even though our tram is under reconstruction there is a chair lift that gets you to the same place. He talked me into going up there, I did not have the elegance I have on the flatter runs but I did it with out falling and it was FUN!

Friday night we went to the Cadillac Grill for happy hour martinis then bar hopped a couple of the local bars. I even brought him to the local red-neck bar and introduced him to one of the locals and his wife. We landed in the Cowboy bar, I had my boots and was ready to swing dance, but the band did not have a country beat good for swing, bummer. We did my traditional shot of Jack Daniels and favorite friendship toast, “here’s to you and here’s to me…”. We didn’t close the bars, due to me, the party girl in me wanted to stay out and play but the ski bum in me has total control of my body for the winter, I can’t ski all day, stay up until 2am, get shit faced, then wake up at 6am to ski all day again. But I had a good time.

Sunday Morning was departure day, I had planned to sleep in a little, go out to breakfast, see Jim off, and then go skiing with Cecilia. So much for plans, ski bum in me woke up at 0600 (how dare I try to sleep in on a ski day) so I got out of bed, made coffee, and looked out the window. It was DUMPING! Not just snowing, not blowing, one of those dumps where the snow is falling in big flakes from the sky and piling up everywhere. I IM’d Jim “coffee is ready” and “it is dumping.” We went to breakfast at Bubba’s, a favorite local spot, We were still getting dumped on! During breakfast he just kept looking out the window at the snow and saying “wow” with a big grin. We said our goodbyes, and he left to return his rental car and to the airport to fly home.

I had already promised my ski buddy Cecilia that I would ski a half day with her after Jim left. So even though my legs were trashed tired I went home and got my stuff together for another few hours of skiing. Then my phone rang, it was Jim, his flight was canceled due to the weather, 60% of the flights to and from Jackson were canceled and the rest were delayed… and dropping off like flies. The airport was a zoo. So he changed into his ski gear, right there in the terminal with people staring in envy, and I picked him up. You should have seen he in his ski gear, thumb out, and the big shit-eating grin across his face when I pulled up to the terminal (I wish I had thought to get a picture) we went skiing in the powder for 3 hours. It turned out to be one of those rare days that the snow got deeper and better with every run. We skied until we were literally ready to drop. What fun!!! Then we ended the day with Après-ski drinks at the Mangy Moose Saloon & Jim flew out Monday.

Off to the slopes ~ Think Powder!