Every day we see ways humans have fought, conquered, and overcome nature with roads, buildings, and bridges. We watch on the news as mother nature fights back, with tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. Even Bear Grylls, the ultimate nature man, is up against the wild. However, when man and nature can coexist, it is really something beautiful.
Wednesday afternoon we packed up the van with 4 skiers and 4 snowboarders to head to Jackson Hole for the Gatorade Free Flow tour. I had been looking forward to this trip all year, because the last time I had been to Jackson Hole was in the summer on our Sophomore College geology trip, and driving by the ski resort over and over again was just a taunt. The time before that I was 9 years old and just learning how to snowboard, unable to appreciate the greatness of the mountain. Jackson Hole has a looming presence in the ski world as one of the best mountains in America, if not the world. The terrain is steep and technical and the views are breathtaking. I had known from the beginning that this trip was not going to be about the park. Turns out I was in for a bigger surprise than I had thought.
We arrived under the wyoming stars and I knew it was going to be a good trip. I was filled with flashes of my summer in Crested Butte spending night after night under mountain stars - no light pollution, no city smog... just you and the sky. It strikes a chord somewhere deep down that makes you just smile at the grandness of the universe and the beauty of nature. Its a feeling that gets rid of all the small problems of the day, because you are facing something so much bigger than just you. This is a feeling you often miss in the suburbs of New York, or San Francisco, or even Salt Lake City for that matter. It was a feeling I had been longing for for a couple months now.
The next day we woke up to foggy skies and got out of bed slowly hoping the fog would pass. We had big plans for the day - Dustin was going to take us hiking up Teton Pass and show us his old stomping grounds in Wyoming backcountry. No lifts, no park, no snowboard scene, just us and the mountain. By the time we got out of the house and drove up to the pass, the skies were bright blue and near cloudless, it was warm and avy danger was low... a near perfect day. We set out on the 45 minute - 1 hour hike to the top of Glory Bowl. The sun was beating down and it was a straight uphill hike, so everyone definitely got a good sweat in. Some of the boys were not too stoked on the hike, which I will admit was very steep, especially in snow gear and without water. But after I got over the first couple hundred feet, I was beyond ecstatic. Once again I was filled with flashes of the summer, of long hikes and fresh mountain air. Hiking mountains is an unbelievable feeling, because you feel as if you are doing something that no technology can. You progress beyond civilization to an intimate relationship with you and the mountain. By hiking, you are not fighting nature or overcoming it, you are simply coexisting with it. And after putting your lungs to the test, standing at the top of a mountain looking out over what you just accomplished - its hard to say there is a much better feeling in the world.
(Chillin at the top of Glory Bowl)
At the top of the mountain we were all feeling accomplished and slightly parched, but the hard part was over. We celebrated for a bit at the top, making friends with our fellow hikers. The best part about winter is that once you get to the top you get to snowboard down. I have to say, my least favorite part about hiking this summer was definitely coming down the mountain. I couldn't escape the bumps and bruises that over took my knees and legs. So coming off of my hiking high, we then set out to snowboard down. We were not sure of what to expect - it hadn't snowed in a week and it was kind of hot. To our surprise, it was pretty unbelievable... almost right out of a movie. The whole way down all 8 of us cruised through the trees and gullies getting untouched powder and hitting natural features. When we got to the bottom, every single person was grinning ear to ear. We hitch hiked back to the car, with smiles on our faces. It had gotten late, so we attempted to go to SnowKing to ride some night park. Unfortunately SnowKing let us down and had no park, so instead we chased a moose. We all fell asleep that night, exhausted but fulfilled after an awesome day of new experiences.
(Clifford "getting lost")
On Friday we attempted to go to Jackson Hole (the resort) to check out the park and explore the terrain. However as things happen, we couldn't get discounts on passes and the bottom was socked in, so by the time noon rolled around nobody was willing to pay $90 to ride half a day. Instead, we headed to SnowKing to ride for 3 hours. SnowKing is a pretty small resort, so after about an hour we had already hiked to the best spots. The top was sunny, so it made for a pretty view, however once we dropped below the clouds things were not all that exciting.
(Top of snowking above the clouds)
There were a lot of races going on, and SnowKing was not too stoked on a bunch of park rats dressed in bright colors at their mountain with no park, so after a series of incidents and a covert mission through the trees, we headed to Billy's hamburgers to grab some of the best burgers in town. We headed home to change, and then drove through the Wyoming sunset to registration for Gatorade Free Flow. Once again, exhausted, yet fulfilled we all fell asleep.
(Wyoming sunset on the way to teton village)
The next day was probably the first beautiful competition day we have had in a really long time. The sun was shining, no clouds, and no wind. It was too bad that when we got to the course, there were two 15 ft jumps that you had to go as fast as humanly possible into. The course was questionable, but it was whatever. Good thing Jackson Hole is not known for its park. After practice I went to explore the mountain, finding a couple of Jackson's stash parks (all natural features) and riding up the tram (which was beautiful). It was hard to believe that it was ten years ago I had been first thrown up the tram and told to snowboard. Where does the time go?
(View from the top)
Girls finally got to go at around 2 after all the guys and skiers had gone. Unfortunately we did not know the speed at all and it had been warm all day so it was only natural to believe that the speed had gotten slower. I started off the starting block for my first run and went in to do my back 3 off the first jump. As things go, I overshot the 15 foot landing to flats and over rotated my 3, not landing the jump. Second run I was ready to stomp it. I started BELOW the block and rolled in slowly thinking I would have no problem because all the big guys had been knuckling all day. Of course, I once again overshot the jump. So I didn't land a run, but ended up in second and got a lot of gatorade. Overall - it was an okay day. The two days before definitely made the trip. I have faith though... a landed run in a competition will come eventually. I'm still hungry.
It's hard to be hungry when every time you start to attack your food you get food poisoning. Yet, we can't stop needing food. We need to be fed and nourished to survive and need feeds desire. Maybe that desire will be dulled every once in a while, but there is a reason you desire to eat. Once you have found that hunger, there is not much you can do to get rid of it, except feed yourself. And even after being fed, the hunger returns. The key to food poisoning is not to gorge yourself once the hunger returns... because your stomach cannot take all that food at once. You also cannot back off completely, because you will starve. It's all about finding a happy medium, with the confidence that one day you will not get food poisoning.
So overall, we definitely took advantage of our Jackson trip. We all headed home happy and tired. It was a great trip and I am so glad I got the opportunity to return to Jackson. I can't help but feel at home under those stars. Half the crew is heading up to Canada for the Canadian Open, and the other half has already departed for Colorado for a fun trip. As for me, I will be in Park City regaining my appetite, ready to stomach a full meal again.
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