#39 Boston - I can ski!!! March 3, 2006

Miracles do happen! I have graduated to parallel skiing and I have the fabulous teachers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming to thank (http://www.jacksonhole.com/). Two days of lessons with John and Grant, and yours truly zipped down the hills like you would not believe! I am exaggerating a bit of course, as the zipping was interrupted by some tumbling and sitting down, and the occasional bout with altitude sickness - but compared to last year's performance which included my eyes open to the size of grapefruit convinced I would die trying to get down the mountains, this was stellar!

Of course, the snow was wonderful out there and made it easy to learn. The ski instructors - John, whose stoner-dude attitude got the level 3 class relaxed and ready to ski and Grant, telemark skier extraordinaire, who taught us (class level 4) how to perfect our turns and show good form (it worked most of the time). As soon as the altitude sickness hit (Day 3) and my legs collapsed I retired to the patio of the Four Seasons Hotel, sat in one of the most comfortable Adirondack chairs in front of the open air fire place, enjoyed the mountains and let the sun shine in my face.

Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton Mountain range are one of the most spectacular places I have ever been to - the 40-mile mountain front is the youngest section of the Rocky Mountains (http://www.nps.gov/grte/). The scenery is simply stunning, it really takes your breath away. The town of Jackson is located at 6200 feet, and in the ski village you can head up the mountain in various lifts or the gondola to up to 10,000 feet. Of course, the highest peak is the Grand Teton with 13,770 feet (4198 meters) surrounded by 12 other pinnacles of at least 12,000 feet. There are lakes, meadows the size of small countries, beautiful wildlife to look at and tons and tons of snow.

Actually on our first day Sophie, Lisa, Roger and myself decided to go snow shoeing and joined Ranger Amy from the US Forest Service for a little tour of the area with some education on nature thrown in. We learned about the buck-and-rail fence (http://www.thevisualrecord.com/dbphotopages/photopage.php?photo_id=682) - a traditional method of fencing, where the poles do not need to be dug into the ground (important in winter when the ground is frozen) and were taught that the lodgepole pine is used to make telephone poles (and buck-and-rail fences). My favorite topic for the day though was the hounds tongue(http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/houndst.htm), a so-called noxious weed. Its flowers send out seeds that are covered with hooked prickles that stick to you better than Velcro and it contains toxic alkaloids that can cause liver damage in grazing animals. Upon hearing what this vicious little plant can do, we immediately labeled it an obnoxious weed, alongside some of its equally threatening colleagues, such as the Dalmatian Toadflax (who makes up these names??), the Spotted Knapweed and (my favorite, no contest) the Ox-Eye Daisy, whose name sounds like a wild women who shoots people ("Watch out for Ox-Eye Daisy over there, she'll shoot ya!"). We learned about ermines and chiselers (a ground squirrel - http://www.fotosearch.com/AGE044/c63-428306/), and saw impressive moose and elk (at the National Elk Refuge - http://www.fws.gov/nationalelkrefuge/).

Aspen trees were abundant, and I learned that Aspens reproduce (yes, this is the juicy part of the update) in clones. Many of the Aspen tree stands you see are one organism - we were told that in Aspen, Colorado there is a 90-mile stretch of Aspens which is one organism. The largest living thing in the world is an Aspen Tree in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. It's an Aspen with a recorded 41,000 trees off of one root stock! Apparently the roots (called "suckers") of the tree are having a field day underground, and keep reproducing like rabbits!!

As you can see we had a good time, skiing, cross country and snow shoeing - no activity was left out. Of course we did not hold back on the social front either. It is a must to go and spend some time in the mountain resort's rowdiest place -the "Mangy Moose" - it is packed to the ceiling with skiers (mostly guys - so this is where they all are...) and wannabees; large quantities of beer are consumed and there is some dancing going on as well. The town of Jackson provides some very sweet distractions also including the "Million Dollar Cowboy Bar" where you can sit on a saddle bar stool and enjoy some good old fashioned line dancing, and the "Silver Dollar Bar" at the traditional Wort Hotel (http://www.worthotel.com/) whose S-shaped bar has 2,032 uncirculated 1921 silver dollars embedded in its surface. Good beer is everywhere including the local Snake River Brewing Company's specialties, the Wildlife Mighty Bison Brown Ale from Victor, Idaho and "Fat Tire" from Fort Collins, Colorado. (Best beer find during the trip though was the Polygamy Porter from the Wasatch Brewing Company in Utah with their motto "Why Just Have One! Take one Home for the Wives!" - http://www.wasatchbeers.com/)). On the culinary front I tasted both buffalo and elk for the first time at the most charming Sweetwater Restaurant in Jackson, and the meal was followed by a pleasant stroll to the town square famous for its park with entrance arches made from antlers shed by elk.


The stay was made even more agreeable by Lisa's family who welcomed us into their mountain home and spared no effort to make us feel comfortable. We were treated like royalty - Susan and Roger, you are fantastic!! Their home is located in Wilson, WY - literally two miles down the road from Teton Village, and every morning after I woke up, I opened the blinds and there were the mountains - bam! Dramatic views greeted us every day. Life is good.

OnTuesday two very very very bumpy flights brought me back to a seriously chilly Boston, where temperatures had been hovering in the upper teens and lower twenties. I am cruising through the week and am ready for my next adventure this weekend - a trip up to Franconia, New Hampshire for some snow-related activities or hiking, depending on what Mother Nature has to offer.

Folks , I am signing off . Hope you are all out having fun and look out for me on the slopes. No Green Trail is safe!

pet:)