Temps have been warm and the snow is receding fast here in Jackson Hole. Many folks have started to change gears and have started to think about biking or their spring trip. Not me. I am going to keep the winter going. If it is to warm for skiing locally (it is going to get cold in Jackson again very soon) go North. That’s what I always say. Fortunately, I was very recently invited on a backcountry trip for a few days of skiing in B.C. If you need me next week I will be here:
This is a window at the Callaghan Loadge that looks out on some of the terrain. If you are having trouble seeing the terrain here is another look:
I’m looking forward to a little ski touring. I am going to give the Scarpa Skookum a test drive. I’ll let you know how the Skookums perform.
squirrel murphy Product Spotlight, Skiing
The Jackson Hole Town Downhill event is this weekend at Snow King. The boys over at Wedco just sent me this sneak peek of the new crown that a former champion had commissioned. Why does the winner get a crown you ask. Well, when you live in a town populated by former olympians, world cup racers, collegiate national champions, a bunch of those guys from high school who were always the best and a bunch of people with chips on their shoulders who think they have something to prove you can imagine the level of competition out there. Not to mention the bragging rights involved. I actually had a local tell me that he was going to quit the event for life if he lost to one of his buddies again. Good luck to all the competitors who are brave enough to take on the mini hahnenkamm course. Especially, to TVS owner Bill Campbell.
squirrel murphy Skiing
Please go to the Teton Pass Ambassador Night tonight at 6pm. If you don’t everyone will think you hate skiing the pass and that all the work that goes on behind the scenes is not appreciated.
squirrel murphy General News, Skiing
I had the opportunity to spend some time with TVS Repair Technician Eric “Junior” Cohen and TVS Ambassador Courtnee Wilhite on a slack-country tour last weekend. We had a fantastic tour around the block. The photo above is a great example that TVS folks are great product testers. They participate in all kinds of outdoor activities at many different levels. Notice Courtnee and Eric are rocking outerwear from The North Face. TVS folks love The North Face’s gear. It should come as no surprise to anyone that their outwear performs at the highest levels here in Jackson Hole. What I did not know until Courtnee and Eric educated me was that The North Face makes a highly technical line of pancake wear.
Above Eric tests his North Face hoodie on National Pancake Day. He claims the marsupial pouch is great for extra syrup while the supple cotton fabric is good for absorbing spilled syrup or wiping partially chewed pancakes from the corner of your mouth.
squirrel murphy Product Spotlight, Skiing, TVS
Everyone knows that Wyoming offers some of the best skiing on the planet. Not many of us know about all the skiing that Wyoming has to offer. For those of you who want to learn more about Wyoming skiing why not head to Sleeping Giant on March 6th and 7th for the Buffalo Jump contest. If you dare.
squirrel murphy Skiing
Teton Village Sports Field Contributor Chris Bezamat checked in with an update on his current ski trip. He isn’t much of a writer so I still have no idea where they are or who he is with, but judging by one of the photos they are in Croatia. It looks like a TGR shoot with Dash and Dylan. Chris did mention that he and videographer Matt Herriger had a situation on the chair lift. They both managed to fall off the lift. Fortunately, they fell into a safety net near the top of the lift. Chris is claiming it was due to a design flaw in the way the seats attach to the chair.
squirrel murphy Skiing
TVS Correspondent/Photographer/Slum Lord Chris Bezamat checked in from points unknown. Chris and the TGR gang are heading to Europe for a few weeks of skiing. I didn’t hear where they were skiing, but they are going through the European skiing Mecca of Amsterdam so I’m sure the footie will be epic as usual. If ever you were wondering what life on the road is like for a film crew or the pros it seems to look a lot like the picture above. Glorious food, delicious beer and then a lot of scrambling around to find the best snow. I am not qualified to comment on any of these trips since I have never been on one, but this is what I gather through years of stories. It isn’t just powder turns and apres skiing sessions for these guys. They work hard. If you want pictures of people actually skiing powder check out Chris’s website. I will try to get some more stories from the road for you.
squirrel murphy General News, Skiing, TVS
Congratulations to everyone involved in Swift.Silent.Deep. They won Best Documentary and Best Editing awards at the Powder Video Awards. If you haven’t seen this film you do not care about skiing.
squirrel murphy Product Spotlight, Skiing
Someone (Facebook) just informed me that it is Tele-Sue’s Birthday today. Happy Birthday Sue. Great picture. If anyone out there wants to have of picture of themselves in this spot check this out. http://www.chugachpowderguides.com/brochurescan2.pdf Specifically the Epic Europe section.
squirrel murphy General News, Skiing
I took advantage of the fact that I work for a ski shop this morning. I figured the 18″ of snow we received overnight was worth using a “powder clause” day. Besides I had to test out the new Salomon Rocker one more time. They still rock. I love rockered skis, especially when there is eighteen inches of sweet, sweet powder underfoot. Thank you Salomon. For those of you who don’t know the value of a rockered ski you should go try a pair. They make powder skiing effortless. They help the ski float so that you do not have to lean back. Although, when in 18″ of snow you still have to lean back some. A point I proved today right under the Sublette Chair. Fortunately, the boys in the repair shop had my dins screwed up high so I was able to ski right out of the head first somersault.
squirrel murphy Product Spotlight, Skiing
Social Chairman