Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving, friends, family, mountain people, mountains too

Just touched down in Jackson Hole on Wednesday, after a 14-hour snoozer (maybe I should say "yawner") of a drive from the Bay Area. Dropped into town without a place to stay or a plan at all really. Not very pro-active, sure, but that's the way I do it. Just so. There's a bit of time "winging-it" until I get more settled, like staying at the Jackson Hole Bunkhouse and eating canned soup. There will be a room in my future and with confidence that the pieces will fall into place soon enough, I am going to work and skiing.

I just talked to Steve Romeo of Teton AT. Steve's a long-time local and avid backcountry skier, so of course we chatted about what to do around here this winter. The place is full of rippers and I still want to beef up parts of my own skiing repertoire so I just feel like putting in a lot of vert, testing myself on some of the classics (E Face of Buck, mabye the Grand). Steve sounded a little nonplussed at this, or so I thought. Maybe living in this isolated community you look to newcomers for fresh influences and I think he is particularly looking to keep pushing backcountry skiing further. I mean, have you checked out his trip reports? Skiing is vital to me, and I do want to improve, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to get my snow-legs under me before I try to pick up the torch. This winter I will land a 360 and also take lessons on steep skiing.

Today, I am thankful for a fully-functioning body, my family who loves me, my dear friends who push -and support- me, and good people everywhere. Thanks for good people like the generous owners of the Teton Steakhouse who put out a free Thanksgiving spread for over 400 people in Jackson today (they've been doing it for 21 years!):

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