… to quote my friend Tim. Or das big in Swiss German?
A quick photo, but a full report to come soon!
A couple hundred more turns to the valley floor below.
Category Archives: Travel
Jackson Targhee Trip and Blame it on the Season!
Yesterday, my friend Bri and I were hiking and heard some of the loudest snowpack settling, aka whoomphing, (indicating instability) that we’ve both ever heard. It sounded like thunder. We stopped and dug a pit and saw a high quality failure with little force (Q1 shearing at 35 cm below the surface with 4 wrist taps). We decided to turn around – one powder run is not worth dying for. We also decided at that point to blame everything on “the season.”
After my dismal skiing performance at the comp, I was feeling a little down on my skiing ability. I could blame it on the season, or lack there of, that we had in Tahoe this year, which is definitely a factor – skiing groomers until January 21st doesn’t prepare you to ski in a big mountain comp. Still, others were able to perform with less than stellar snowpacks going into the comp, so blaming it on the season isn’t entirely fair. I’m pretty sure I’m just not a comp skier – maybe I’m just a “soul skier” as people say. I know I’m a good skier in good snow, but the fact that I ski in Tahoe, where the snow is usually good, and I have the luxury of flexing my schedule to ensure I get to ski the snow when it is best, paired with my love for backcountry skiing, may not give me the skill set to deal with more challenging snow conditions.
skiers inspecting the venue at Targhee
Louise was an awesome friend during the comp. She provided lodging, laughs, and encouragement.
At this point, my comp days are over. Still, this post is about Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, AKA, the village, and how awesome the rest of my trip to Wydaho was…
Having not made the cut to ski in the finals on Saturday, I decided to head to Jackson to ski with Greg and Monica at the village. We awoke Saturday morning to snow showers. Getting the 2nd tram, we skied rendezvous bowl by feel, having absolutely no visibility until we found some trees to duck into. The winds meant that some chairs were closed and we ended up lapping apres vous and thunder lifts most of the day. It snowed all day and the quality was awesome. It was great to ski steep terrain with cliffs and chutes. I also finally got to put my new Moment PB&Js to work and they are a great Jackson ski – good for both untracked and cut up snow. By 2:30, most of the lifts had closed, and the lines on the few that were open were over 30 minutes long. We called it a day and started our Jackson apres – calling it a night early. It was going to be a powder day on Sunday.
The tram line was already over 100 people long at 7:15 AM! We got our skis in line around 7:40 and were in the 2nd Tram. I decided to drop Corbetts, which didn’t go too well, but the snow was awesome! It was going to be a good day! We skied powder all around Jackson that morning, Headwall hikes, danger cliffs, and a bunch of other places I don’t know the names of. I had a blast chasing Greg, Audrey, and Eric around the mountain.
Eric slaying some powder on some classic Jackson terrain
At 1pm I met up with Monica and the Jackson Hole Babe Force at the Tram. What a turnout! About 30 ripping female skiers and riders ready to charge! Check out this great article on the experience. We skied a few hilarious runs and then Monica and I went out to check out the Jackson Hole Sidecountry with our new friend Michelle.
The ripping babe force of Jackson Hole
I knew I needed to get back to Tahoe for work Tuesday, so I decided to hike Mt. Glory with Michelle the next morning and get an early start on the trip back to Tahoe. Glory is a classic Teton Pass hike and you boot pack the entire 1600′ hike. We were rewarded with powder skiing on the way down.
Greg, Michelle, and I on the summit of Mt. Glory
Monica/Pow/Glory (Photo by Greg)
Greg with a long way to go... Mt. Glory, Teton Pass.
Jackson is an amazing place with vertical and terrain unmatched anywhere in the US… it was a little hard to leave, but knowing Tahoe was about to get snow made it easier.
Headed back to Tahoe from the top of Teton Pass. Fun times in Jackson with Greg!
Thanks to Greg, Michelle, and Louise for making this an awesome trip!
Filed under Backcountry Skiing, Skiing, Travel
The Search for Snow Pays Off!!!
It’s a well-known fact that this winter has started off slow for us skiers in the lower 48. While it was easier to cope with the lack of snow before Christmas, once the new year hit, I decided it was time to take action and seek out snow. While some have traveled to Alaska, Canada, Europe, and even Japan, I didn’t quite have that time or budget, so after scouring the weather and finding a willing ski partner, we headed north, first stop Central Oregon. Busting out of Tahoe on the 1st day of 2012, it was eerily warm, we made quick time up to the Oregon border where we saw our first dusting of snow on one of the higher passes east of Shasta. We rolled into Bend that evening and met up with a local skier, who was injured, but gave us some beta. The next morning, we headed up to Mt. Tumalo, a quick backcountry jaunt across from Mt. Bachelor. It was windy, but the skies were mostly clear. A mellow skin amongst the trees led us to the summit where we could witness the wind piling the snow into the northeast facing bowl. “GAME ON” we thought as we transitioned, did a quick snow assessment, and dropped in. The first powder turns of the season – so effortless and fun. We skinned back up for 5 more laps, upping the ante each time and connecting with a local professional skier and photographer. Small cliffs, then doubles, then a 30 footer, and finally a few flips off a natural kicker; we finished the day with high fives, snow on our goggles, and some new friends (all photos by Court Brock).
a windy skin
small hits to warm up
oh yeah, that’s the stuff!
big hits with deep landings
stoke rubbing off! time to throw some backies!
And a photo montage by the talented Paul Clark:
We headed back to Bend to refuel and plan our next destination and ended up at Deschutes Brewery where the atmosphere was buzzing from a combination of locals night (1/2 off!), the Ducks playing in the Rose Bowl, and the fact that it was the last night open for a few months and they were planning on knocking the wall down that evening to kick off the remodel. The Bend locals seemed to welcome us and we even found a place to crash for the night and hatched a plan for the next day – Central Oregon was paying off so far, why leave a good thing?
The next morning we headed to the Three Creeks Sno Park to access the Tam McArthur Rim. We knew it was a long approach on a snow-covered road best done by snowmobile. We also knew there were yurts back there, but they were booked last time we checked. So the plan was to head up there, skin out to the base of the Rim, waving down a snowmobile for a tow if possible, and then ski out the road that evening by headlamp.. until we met Shane, who runs the Three Sisters Backcountry Huts on the road in. He had a group book both huts, but there were 5 no shows and 1 heading out that day. He offered us a ride in to the yurts and the chance to stay there for free. He even went back to our truck and got our sleeping bags and a change of clothes for us while we were out skiing! We couldn’t believe our luck so far in Oregon.
With our new friends, we headed up to the top of Tam McArthur Rim and checked out a zone called the Playground. It had great terrain and soft snow. With a rare windless day in the Cascades, we decided to leave the group and do a more scenic tour of the Sisters Range and headed out to ski Broken Hand and Ball Butte. It was a slog, but a beautiful one.
heading out to Broken Top (Photo by Court)
chalky snow on Broken Hand
skiing amid a volcano sunset
making the most of the short days and good snow
With no snow to even tour on in Tahoe, it was just what we needed – a full day out in the mountains. Back at the yurts, we enjoyed a gourmet meal prepared by our new friends.
the beautiful three sisters yurt
The next day we focused on objectives closer to the yurt, hitting a sunny line in the morning and numerous lines in the Playground – skiing and skinning until our legs gave out on any landings we tried.
sunny soft lines on Tam McArthur
last round of soft turns in the Playground
Skiing out the 5.5 mile road was quick and we thanked Shane for a memorable time and headed back to Bend for a quick soak in the Turkish baths before the long drive back to Tahoe. Both of us were reluctant to leave since there was still great snow out there and Central Oregon had treated us so well, but it was time to get back to Tahoe. But right before we crossed the border back into California, I had to make one last stop – to buy a lottery ticket in Oregon because that is how lucky skiing powder with friends in beautiful places makes you feel.
Filed under Backcountry Skiing, Travel
Midwest Summer Fun!
A few weeks ago, PK and I headed back to the midwest to visit our family and friends. It was right about the time a “heat dome” settled over the area and pushed the temperatures to 100 degrees and above and combined with the humidity, it was sweltering! But, that is what it the midwest is all about, great people in less than ideal weather!
Our first stop was Chicago – land of Barack Obama, hot dogs, and summer concerts. My friend Lauren was a gracious host and we stayed in her awesome apartment with Walter the french bulldog, hilarious doormen, and fabulous views of Lake Michigan and Wrigley Field.
We spent the majority of our time visiting with members of our family and old friends, so we didn’t take in too many Chicago sites. On Sunday afternoon, we headed down to Union Park for the Pitchfork Music Festival. It was amazingly hot, but we danced our butts off to Cut Copy, who I love.
Pat and I pre-Cut Copy
Lauren and I... so sweaty!
Cut Copy!
It was just getting hotter and luckily we planned to head to Northern Michigan to beautiful Higgins Lake. It seriously looks like the Caribbean… see for yourself!
Me and my mom!
Lauren and her adorable nieces
Need to teach my dog this
We spent lots of time on the Pontoon Boat and had more fun kid and family time with our oldest family friends. I even saw my old friend Kasha who now lives in China who has the cutest baby.
old friends reuniting
Pat and I also practiced a sweet new trick.
Finally we traveled back to my hometown of Northville, MI so we could see one last round of family and friends and eat at my local favorites: Olgas and Custard Time. Despite the heat, it was a fabulous time… though maybe next year we should go in the fall!
Filed under Travel
Alligators are Scarier Than any V+ Rapid
Read this story if you have time. I can’t even imagine the danger involved in the expeditions this guy did. 15′ long alligators! Cannibals! Africa is such a wild place. I had a high school teacher who once told me that if you ever leave the continent twice, go to Africa both times. Here are some sweet photos from my one and only trip there.
Kissing a captive giraffe
high school girls pretending to be on a dangerous expedition
hippos ready to pounce on this sweet outfit
Filed under Random rambling, Travel, Whitewater
All you need is love
Ketty A and Jakey K got married in Anderson Valley this past weekend. What a fabulous location for a fabulous couple. After a frantic rush to finish my work on Friday, I left Tahoe to pick up PK from the Sacramento Airport en route to Philo, CA. It was a pretty far drive and so we arrived more than fashionably late for the gourmet BBQ that Tim prepared that included a gigantic fresh caught wild king salmon and kegs of local beer.
The next morning Pat went on a tour of the brewery while Tim, Max and I went on a super awesome and recommended 50 mile road bike ride from Anderson Valley out to the coast and back. We started out from Philo, headed north through farms and vineyards, then west through vineyards and redwoods, north again along the coast and then back east to anderson valley along the Navarro River and through more redwood groves, completeing the loop. Only 20 cars passed us making it extra awesome.
We met up with everyone at the swimming hole at the wedding spot for some frisbee and cliff jumping shenanigans. This person was there, who is the identical twin sister of this person, but all I noticed is her impressive muscles. I should probably start weight training like a firefighter.
Then it was wedding time, which was super awesome, hilarious, fun, and sweet. Congrats to the happy couple (not sure who took this photo)!
The next morning we tasted some wine at Navarro and started to make the trek back to Tahoe via Sonoma and Napa counties. Good thing we busted out because on the way home Lauren texted me and said she had VIP passes for Alison Krauss that night in Tahoe! Extra exciting because Good Old War was opening. Woo hoo! Amazing way to cap off the weekend.
Filed under Biking, Random rambling, Travel
The Real O.C.
Our friends Scott and Heather are spending the month in Laguna Beach at a beachfront house, so we took them up on the invite and headed down to the O.C. for a long weekend over the 4th of July. We were excited to get out of Tahoe since it is usually mobbed on the 4th. We left town after work Friday to make the 9 hr trek to So. Cal. Some nice scenery on the way down:
We rolled into Laguna around 12:30 pm and although it was dark out, we knew we were going to wake up to ocean views when we turned towards the ocean off the 1. The next morning we woke up and walked down to the beach to get a neighborhood tour and get the dogs out. Yzie enjoyed both laying by the ocean and in tidal pools.
After the walk we began our So. Cal daily routine of surfing, eating tacos, and drinking cocktails… sometimes even repeating this multiple times per day.
On the actual Fourth of July, we tried our hand at ocean stand up paddleboarding (really hard), hung out at the beach, and watched the sunset and four sets of fireworks from the rooftop deck.
While the sunset and fireworks were both exciting, we were probably more pumped to find out that we could see Lauren Conrad’s Laguna Beach home from the rooftop deck… thanks to the help of this aptly named website.
After one last surf, beach, and taco session, Juliana and I headed out on the long drive to Tahoe, leaving Pat behind to continue living the life and attending Scott’s Advanced Surf Camp. Thanks everyone for the good times – I can’t wait to get back out on the surf board!
Filed under Travel
Meghan Kelly Teles! 