You never wrote me back....

Dear Snow,


     It's been a long time my love, and I was beginning to think you would never return. When I last saw you in the spring, you told me that you had to move away for a few months. I was sad at the time, but I knew that you would eventually return. But the months passed, and you seemed to become a distant memory in my mind. You never replied to any of my letters. I thought you were never going to come back, that you were leaving me for him. 
    Yes, I know what you have been up to these past few months. I found out that you were spending your time in the South Equator with someone else! It made me sick of some of the things you two did together, selling yourself out to him like that! I was convinced that I would never care for you again, I mean look what it did to me. I was forced to make do with what we had left here, and it wasn't much to choose from. I went through withdrawals, and periods of depression as well.

You left me in a mess...

    I thought all hope was lost for us, but something happened: You came back. At first you stayed in the higher elevations, nervous to come back down to the bottom. But slowly you came back to the Flathead Valley. I see that your back in town again, and I want to spend some time with you. Yes there are other guys here, but none that care for you like I do. See this picture I found a little while ago? It's of you and me, together and happy. That can be us again, I'm willing to forgive and forget, and make a fresh start.

    Let's meet up tomorrow, shall we? I get done with classes early. Let's go up to the mountain together tomorrow, and spend some time together. I know we will grow close again. But all I can do is hold the picture of us together, just sit and stare, and feel you flowing through my hair

until we meet again... 

Love,    

Spencer Jenko

(almost) too many choices...

As I write this, the snow is falling heavily in the mountains all across the Northwest. Finally, something to lift our spirits for this winter.

Now around this transitional time of the year, skiers, snowboarders, sledders, and like are all facing a challenge for the coming winter: Creating that Music playlist for the coming winter to ski, ride, jib, slash, and steeze to.

Accomplishing this task can be a daunting, even intimidating task for many people out there, especially since there is a vast array of of genres and artists to choose from. Almost every rider that had done this before has their own way of going about doing this. Most have learned from experience or from someone else. Now while there a multitude of ways to pick and choose your music for this winter, I should point out that there is not correct way to do it. It's all by your taste in music and what you want to listen to on the snow. But, I might as well put out a fews tips that I use, to choose my music.

Like said, this is just how I do it.

1) Never make just one playlist. I always make a few different ones, depending on what the conditions are or what my mood is for the day. Such playlists include:
- Powder Day mix
- Park/Freestyle Mix
- Sunny Day Mix
- All Around Mix ( A must in my opinion, but more on that later...)

2) NO repeat songs from previous year mixes. I try to keep it fresh every year to keep it interesting. I don't want to be listening to same song as last year that I thought was the best at the time, but end up having to get rid of it after the first day. That's not kosher with me.

3) Try mixing several genres together. Yes, you can have your Techno, Alt, and Country playlists too. But why not try to mix a couple together? You might be surprised.

4) Always be open to new songs in the midseason. Careful about this one though, because adding a new song that your stoked on can sometimes make your curent song selection seem old and standard. If nothing else, wait until you have a couple more, then add them.

5) Have a standard, all around playlist. This is my main mix for the season. My go-to, all around, fallback, and favorite playlist to ski to when I'm not sure what I want to listen too. I take my time to make this playlist, and can easily take over a month to complete. How do I do it? Well...
- First I throw together a list of potential songs. Even if they might have a chance, or I'm on the fence about, I'll throw them in. You never know.
- Then I go through all of them and narrow list by more than half.
- After that, then I just freestyle it until it meets my standards.

6) The number of songs on you playlists is completely up to you. Mine typically contain between 20 and 40 songs.

Many off you already know how you make your lists, and will scoff at this. I don't care, as I already said, it is completely up to you how you make your playlists. I hope I helped someone out a little, though. Whatever. Have fun with it!


Pray for Snow!

 The S-Jenk

"Lunch at the Mall."

First off. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Nina is back! Check out the Noaa forecast here for the upcoming winter season, then jump for joy for the upcoming season! More powder days for all.

                                 Noaa Winter Season Outlook

which means....

ohhhh yeah baby, those days are coming back!

                                    More on that later.

                                   --------------------------

This happened a couple weeks ago, all true I might add.

All I needed was a new wallet. It was my main and only goal as I walked into the Kalispell Mall. Tuesday was here and I was on the hunt for a replacement for my old wallet, mainly since it had come to rest in a grass field for close to a week, and it just so happened to be one of the wettest weeks of the summer. Amidst the molded remains of my old friend, I quickly retrieved my driver’s license, a couple of other items, and tossed it in the dumpster. With the goodbyes all said and done, I set out for a new wallet.           

My trip into town eventually led me to the front doors of the local mall. And as I passed through the doors of the old building I was greeted with a cool breeze, the typical smell of the place (you know it), and the empty sound of but a few shoppers. I looked about and saw numerous shops that have closed and been emptied, a sign of the times one might say, especially for this dismal place.

But I was on a mission. I needed a new wallet, and I was sure I could find some cheap piece of leather there that would fit my needs. But a groan from my stomach informed me to put it off for a little while. Lunchtime.

I thought that there had to be some decent joint here where I could get something good to eat. I wander aimlessly through the near-empty mall for someplace to eat. Orange Julius? Closed. Café Espresso? A bit over-the-top for me. Dairy Queen? Yeah right. After laughing at the pretzel factory I notice next to it a small eatery composed mainly of tables and chairs with a small corner for the kitchen and counter. The sign overhead reads “Anna’s Greek Gyros.” Unlike the majority of the mall, the small place is crowded with locals, eating, reading the newspaper, or in conversation with the person next to them. Curious, I approach the counter and immediately I am greeted with the smell of beef cooking on a rotisserie, cooked lamb, and fresh pita bread. An older lady stands at the counter cleaning the counter, and upon noticing my approach, she kindly asks what I’d like to eat. “Whatever is the most popular,” I reply and she rings up an order for a cuple Gyros sandwiches and a Coke.

Now just to be clear on things, the Gyro sandwich is a popular European food, comprising traditionally of broiled lamb or beef in a pita bread along with a cucumber sauce, lettuce, and tomato. Now while it spelled Gyro, in it’s original language it is pronounced “euro” which the standard pronunciation today.

I sit down and bite into the Gyro. It is delicious. The bread nice and fresh, the beef nice and tender, and the cucumber sauce adds a savory kick to the sandwich. The next one is of pork, a different but delicious tasting sandwich. I finally finish with a lamb gyro, along with roasted ell peppers and grilled onions. Every bite is as good as the one before. I notice the lady from counter has sat at one of the tables, and is polishing a wooden handmade clock. She is obviously of Greek heritage, wearing a heavy tan, older skin, and grey hair. Her accent is heavy in Greek as she talks with a customer sitting nearby. I wonder what could possibly have brought her to place such as Montana, since she appears totally out of place here. Pondering that thought, I continue on with my sandwich.

When I finish I take my tray to the front, and the Lady asks me for my opinion. “It was delicious.” I say, and she kindly says “Thank you” to me. And seeing her smile in appreciation, I leave the place.

I go about my wallet finding business, and soon find one suitable for my needs. Standing in line at the register I can’t help but ponder how good that gyro truly was, how a place like that can offer simple, yet delicious food for the local person. I’m stunned at how such a place, in the middle of an empty mall be such a hidden jewel, ignored by many, but greatly appreciated by those who decided to take a chance. To try someplace new, and find themselves surprised at just how good the food is. Traditional Greek food in Kalispell, who knew such a thing existed. I leave the store with one last thing on my list to do.

The lady had finished her clock, and was finding it a spot in the eatery to put it. After talking with her husband in Greek language, shouting a few words of course, she notices me approaching the counter.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist buying one more.” 

Pray for Snow!

 The S-Jenk

I thought I was staying home this summer...

I thought I was staying home this summer, you know, work and making bank, going fishing, skiing and hiking. I guess I'll be able to do some of that stuff too. It just seems like there is always something that comes up in June for me. Whether it's going on a camping trip or long distance trip, it's always something. I'm not complaining about it, I'm just laying down the facts for you. 

I'll just say it. I going to Climb Mount Rainier this summer. 

Ice climbing is actually something I have been really curious about, and the curiosity never just came out of blue. Our family has quite a bit of climbing history in them going back to my grandparents generation.

Originally, the grandparents on my dad's side of the family are from Slovenia. Now they may both be slovenia, but keep in mind that they didn't meet each other until they were in Austria in a refugee camp leading up to WWII. While my grandmother was there, she ended up climbing the highest glaciated peak in Austria, know as the Großglockner. Carrying on the sport of climbing were my dad and his brothers, who ended up spending a good chunk of their earlier years climbing mountains around North America, more notably my dad and his brother Dan. The pair have ended up climbing in Northern Canada, Colorado, the Washington Cascades, the Tetons in Wyoming, and Most of Western Montana. 

Grossglockner Mountain in Austria

Now enter my brothers and I. We all learned from our Dad starting young. Most often we would climb in, you guessed it Glacier Park. Now I am a bit younger than my brothers, so I was a little later jumping on the bandwagon. In that time though, they had gotten good enough and ended up climbing the Grand Teton in Wyoming. I did manage to get on and was able to climb with him on his 50th peak ascent in Glacier National Park. We've also managed to so climbing up in Canada recently, and I have grown a love for the sport of mountain climbing. 

Climbing the Grand Teton.

Anyways, back to Rainier. The climb is going to a 4 day expedition, which will include about 20 miles of trekking, and 10,000 feet to ascend in two days. The first part will be to haul all of your gear into camp Muir, which you might be able to see on the map. The next day will be to climb the Disappointment cleaver route up the glacier into a large no-fall-zone, and then make our war to camp 3. 

The third day will be the longest, at an estimated 14 hour day. We will end up traversing along disappointment cleaver up to the ingram headwall, and then make our summit at the Columbia crest. After some time up there, we head down. All of the way down. We will end up packing all of our gear back to the car in one day from the summit. Sounds like a fun day to me!

Here are some stats, if you care. 

-14,411 feet high.
-has 26 major glaciers
-36 square miles of glaciation
-Highest mountain in Washington and Cascades.
-too lazy to write more. I'll post more stuff later.

Pray for Snow!

The S-Jenk

It refuses to die.

8:05 as I'm parking my car a mixture of sleet and snow pitter patters against my windshield. Falling. Skies begin squeezing the little morning light left in the sky. A farewell gesture.

10:25 am and I sit history class. Suddenly a crack and over the intercom a voice speaks: the track meet has been cancelled. As I stare outside I see flakes slowly drift downward. Falling. The instant they hit they melt into water,and turn the ground wet. My mind tunes out the mixture of responses from team members as i begin to think. It's looking pretty grey out there.

11:08 walking back from the math building I notices a thin layer of slush forming on the ground. Flakes still melt as they hit, but not without sticking for a second to showcase their white brilliance. Still Falling. Heading to the door I take a look out again. It's looking pretty white out there.

1:17 heading to the weight room and its coming down hard, and flakes begin to thicken. Climbing up the hill to the building and snow starts staying to the ground. Continuously falling. Looking down I see snow on cars and buildings, yet the ground stays clean. It's getting pretty thick out there, wonder how track practice will go.

3:20 and it's coming down hard. Outside the locker room snow continues to battle the ground for control. Falling and fighting. Coach says we are running hallways today, a well known tradition for track runners. As I leave for warmups I step outside to check up. It's beginning to dump out there.

3:46 Sprint. Turn the corner. Avoid hitting the janitor. Sprint. Try and not get squeezed through the doorway. Hear the slam out a body against lockers. Sprint. Turn the corner. As I run down the last stair well I look out the window. Snow is piling up fast, and it's still coming down hard. Falling. Hot and humid hallways make us even more sweaty. Sprint. Look out the window again. It's not letting up. Falling as fast a we run. Falling. Still falling.


The S-Jenk

Jackson Hole Clip

Some footy from our last trip, check it out sometime. you should definitely do that.



Clip: Skiing Pow in Jackson Hole on Vimeo.



Pray for Snow!

The S-Jenk

Of days past and days to come...

The morning darkness is broken by pairs of headlights,
illuminating the rain going back the two nights,
from the west it had come bringing with it moisture,
falling hard from the skies and holding with it tenure.

Sitting in shotgun my friend stares stone cold,
we both say our prayers yet words we withhold,
the tunes play aloft of Chris Stolz and TiredEyes,
right below it the temperature a depressing 45.

Passing through town as White as the Fish,
home to a cult all sharing our wish,
headlights appear first slow but for sure,
and follow our path heavy rain we endure.

A sip of warm coffee to keep me awake,
a we get ever closer I tap the car brake,
right blinkers flash as we make that direction,
driving through sleet at the intersection.

Thick odors of OJ, toast, eggs, and crisp bacon,
hang in the air since we had awakened,
the path of our headlights appear as a blur,
as the changing of state begins to occur.

We drive through the switchbacks gaining more height,
as the color of the road changes to white,
raising the volume, a deep breath of air,
knowing that God has answered my prayer.

Heavy the snow falls and my friend shows a smile,
enjoying the moment all for the while,
dialing the phone and hearing Big Dave,
he lets out a laugh to words he was gave.

The only words he says are "14 of new",
the level of stoke now I cannot subdue,
pumping the tunage abuzz is my mind,
a thought from before that just came to mind.

I say a quick something to which we both know,
to thank God today for the blessing of snow.
with God we are blessed for the ability to ski,
and with God on a pow day, I truly am free.


Pray for Snow!

The S-Jenk

Busy days, powder days

This may be more of a photo journal than a story but I like it actually. Personally, I think photos speak louder than words.     

    Wow, what a February. Sorry I've been out skiing. A lot. I ended up missed a good chunk of school with the succession of 3 ski trips in February. My grades ended up taking a little bit of a hit from my time spent having fun in the snow, but hell, I wouldn't trade it for much anything else. After my trip with Conway to Big Sky, I spent the week gearing up for my next trip down south again. This time it was Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee, and wow what a trip! Best skiing of the season without a doubt.
    The trip started on the Wednesday after our trip to Big Sky. When my teacher were finally done complaining and ranting about how much school I've been missing for skiing, they signed the pre-absence form and soon afterwards we were in car heading down to Butte to meet up with the rest of the crew. On our way there, we met one of the local policemen of Anaconda who was kind enough to start our trip off with a speeding ticket. Nevertheless we sped the rest of the way to Butte, where Mike, Tom, Elliot, and I met up with John, Dan, and Nathan.
   Now on a quick note, John and Dan have always had moustaches. I swear I have never seen them without the lip-brooms, and I've always assumed at a young age that they were born with them. In truth, I find them to be more entertainment than an annoyance. Sure it may seem a little old fashioned, but they know how to ski the hell out of any powder day. Never have I seen a more perfect combination of powder and moustaches, and shaving them off would be like desecrating church......well, maybe not to that extreme.

John and Dan

and this 2 years ago, sexy huh?

  
      The trip took around 9 hours, not too shabby. Arriving in Driggs is like driving to the base of big mountain, I mean that is has the equivalent snow depth of that of Big Mountain. Truly a place blessed by snow, and thats only at the valley floor. Anyways we ended up staying 15 minutes from Grand Targhee at a local condo place, which was generously equipped with a set of hot tubs which we conquered the first night of our trip, but thats another story.
  
"...we ended up just eating in the back of our trucks with the tunes cranked up..."


 First day: 5 inches of new, and snowing at Targhee. Our breakfast was an array of sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast, cheap and totally filling. Skiing there on a thursday is just like having the whole mountain to yourself, everyone is either working or in school, so you ended up just exploring for most of the day in a place so lost in time, it seems hard to forget that we were there only two years ago. The storm had not fully hit yet, so the ended up being a hunt for the powder stashes that been overlooked. We found it where we always had; right underneath the chairlift. Normally people are timid about riding underneath the chairlift but thats where the leftover pow can be found. The end of the day and the incoming storm set spirits high for tomorrows trip to Jackson Hole.

John gettin' in balls deep.

    Jackson is probably the craziest mountain I've ever been to, and it doesn't surprise me that some the worlds best have come from there. Armed with a plethora of cliffs, technical terrain, and the "Big Red"(tram) it seemed to be the highlight of our trip so far as we charged through the caches of 3 feet of blower hiding under the accumulating snowfall. Mike and I, armed with our cameras documented the day, always volunteering to go take photos in order to go first through the pow. Lunch can be pretty expensive there, so we ended up just eating in the back of our trucks with the tunes cranked up. Why do they always insist on putting banana peppers in my lunch? I told them I didn't want it my sandwich, thanks Elliot. The afternoon ended up being pretty much the same as the morning: ride the tram to the top, ski hard the bottom, laugh when one of you crashed, cruised the groomers to the empty tram line, and repeat! I thought this place was supposed to have large crowds? Im thinking some people have been lying to us here.

From flexing the lats, to being lost in snow, what more could you want?

    Each day ended up being the same; we would get up in the morning eat and be out the door at an early time, ski pow in the morning, go each lunch, go out and ski pow for the rest of the day. Occasionally we would take turns flying off catwalks and lips to catch as much air as we could, and someone would always eat it. Whether it was john getting his skis stolen by trees, Mike and his curse to look bad in front of the camera, Nathan getting sucked underneath the snow, or me how i would fly off something and rag-doll the landing. The end of the day wouldn't be much different; try and sneak me into bars, get me kicked out, go eat a huge dinner, and then invade the hot tub area until closing time.
    

"Sometimes I like seeing Noaa mess things up..."

Woke up in the morning to snow on the car. 18 inches in the past 24 hours, and blue skies. Given that this was a saturday, we loaded up early and drove through the valley fog towards Targhee. Almost in an instant we broke through the fog to near clear skies. Cranking up the rave music as well pull in the parking lot for another epic day.
     Our group ended up trying out the blackfoot chair area. While most people will skiing the main quad, the Blackfoot can become an alternative on a busy day. It was our last day, so most of us skied a little more confidently today.

Powder? yeah we had some of that too.

     Sometimes there is nothing more I hate then to wave goodbye to an amazing trip. Food, friends, the snow, all of it came together perfectly, and just before our trip we were expressing doubt about the weather reports negative outlook. Sometimes I like seeing Noaa mess things up, hey I can't complain about it, and neither did anyone else.
   So now I'm back in Montana, writing this. If I had posted this a few weeks ago, I would've ranted on about the warm weather and bad snow conditions. Now with a dump of 10 inches in the mountains, it's starting to look positive again. This el Nino has left our mountains near 60% of normal. Hopefully god will be gracious enough to grant us some more snow soon, the mountains need it, the glaciers need it, and the forest fire season needs it. Yeah I may be dreaming pipe dreams right now for all of us, but right now I could use just one last powder day for the season.

Pray for Snow!

The S-Jenk

The "sketchiest" skiing in North America...

      My friend Conway and I took a trip down to Big Sky last weekend, and it was nothing short of a good time. We enjoyed the sun, ate some good food, shot a little video, and enjoyed some of the sketchiest skiing I've ever done in my life.
    I'm surprised at what they call a "run" on that mountain. You could call it a giant mound of rocks for short, and in short, that's pretty much all it is. Snow on rocks, and that can be one hell of a recipe for disaster.
    Depending on where you live, the trip there can range from just a couple hour drive, into one long -ass drive. From when we left, it took us about 6 1/2 hours to get there. Not exactly what I call a fun trip, but it's not as bad when you have your friends dad with you who can't stand 5 minutes of silence in the car. Always something to talk and do with Steve, whether it's boring or interesting. On our way there we managed to kill close to an hour with ou search to find a Subway for lunch. It really happened by accident; we were all craving 12" of goodness, and so we decided to stop in Deer Lodge for lunch, Guess what? No Subway. Next we tried Anaconda, which is a bit out of the way for us. We managed to get there right after school had gotten out for lunch, and every student managed to be there in line at Subway. Nonetheless, we were still hungry, and finally stopped in Butte to eat at the Subway there. Mmmmm, Sweet Onion chicken teriyaki on monterey cheddar bread roasted to..... oh sorry, I should get back to the trip.

           

    Anyways, we arrived there around 4:30 in the afternoon at The Lodge at Big Sky. Honestly, that place was one of the most legit places I've ever stayed. The attitude of the place was so laid back in everything, making it "fun" to stay there. Everything ranged from local barbecues every week, to liquorice jars that required you to sing for a twizzler, to the fact that the owner of the place himself was the driver of the morning shuttle to the base area. Unbeknownst to us, we didn't know about the last fact until our last night there, but more on that later. 

    Now I didn't shoot many photos of the trip, and most of the video we got is still being edited. I did however to get a small compilation of helmet cam footage up for now.

Helmet Cam at Big Sky from Mount Clements Media on Vimeo.

  The skiing is amazing there. Simple and to the point. You really don't grasp how massive the terrain is unless you've been there, it had been close to a week since the last dump there and we still were skiing fresh lines for the most part of our first day. Luckily for us it was a friday, and the tram line was almost nonexistent that day. Did I mention they have a tram? Oh go look it up, I'm not explaining all of that to you. We rode the tram twice that day, and that was all that we could really handle then. While Lone peak tends to get more snow than the rest of the mountain, it also gets a lot of wind. Skiing up there was more of trying to avoid hitting rocks on you way down, which was impossible i might add. You almost need to wait for a good snow year to charge that terrain with much confidence. We made do with what we had, which was perfect for a first day. That night we played the hell out of Jenga, and managed to beat it. Twice. I'm serious, ask conway if you don't believe me. 

  

     Last day: we wake to 3 inches of new snow and decided to try some of the tree skiing today. I was actually surprised at the amount of cliffs and pillows that we had found, and made for some creative  skiing too. The best tree skiing I found was underneath the swift current chair, and the challenger quad. Most people seemed to overlook these areas, which left plenty of lines for us. We skiied hard until lunch, which we ate at the same place every time. The market there knows how to make some pretty delicious chili dogs, I'm not going to lie. It is cheap too, and we both ate for around 6$ each day. A great place of you are on a budget. For breakfast? If you are staying at a place that does not offer breakfast, then try the breakfast place right across the market in the mall area, good coffee and good proces too. Filled with a slurry of pork and chili, we began planning to try some of the A-Z chutes that afternoon. 

      Now these chutes are some of the sketchiest skiing I've ever done, but was hella worth it. Depending on which chute you wanted to ski, the hike time ranged from 10-45 minutes in length. Note: the hike is not for those with fears of exposure, because at times one slip with land you at the bottom of Moonlight Basin, so be careful when you do it. 

This is only half of the A-Z chutes. 

    I ended up skiing the Drunk Men chute, honestly the second scariest line of my life. The first 100 feet force you to either hop turn it or point it out, since there were plenty of rocks present, i decided to play it safe. Third turn in I caught an edge and ended up tumbling 20 feet before stopping myself. Luckily I didn't lost any skis during the fall, at that point I ended up just getting the hell down the face. Scary? Yes.  Worth it? Absolutely. 

   It ended as the sweet note to the end of our trip. 6 1/2 hours later I was home for the week. Relaxing, and licking my wounds the mountain of Big Sky left me as a souvenir. 

Pray for Snow!

The S-Jenk

"Revolution of white"

 My mind is being tortured right now since it has been snowing these past two days. And I'm stuck here. This in no way follows the rules of poetry, for whatever they are. Since it has not really been invented yet, I'm coining it right now. Hmmmm.... maybe Sjenkou will do. Yeah, not to shabby of a name at all. Keep up the winter weather!




Hills of trees, gullies of white,
   Skis on my feet, giving me flight. 
But stuck here am I, trapped behind doors,
   Absence of snow, instead hardwood floors.
Last day here, little to fear,
   Freedom draws close, chairlifts draw near, 
6 hours are gone, snow meets the sky, 
   Living quite simply, Time flying by.
World fades away, an answered prayer.
   White Room exists, and thank god I'm there.


Pray for (some more) Snow!

The S-Jenk

Can we spread the love around a little?

     This is where the el Nino is showing right now my friends, while the Northwest and Canada are feeling the dry spell, The southwest and lower rockies have been getting dumped on.
     In this past week, California has been receiving near record dumps in the mountains. Here are just some of the snowfall totals for the past 7 days:

Badgers pass- 96"
Mammoth- 97"
Sierra Summit- 102"
Arizona Snowbowl - 96"

Parts of New Mexico received large amounts of snow as well from the storm. But no the storm was not finished, after that then it swung up into the rockies for the weekend. Brighton has totaled 81" this weekend, and Silverton received 72" in 72 hours. You might be thinking that the storm is done by now, but wrong again! Now Wyoming and southwest Montana are getting what's left of the storm. A couple of feet are predicted for them as well.
    That's not cool. I hate it even more since we're getting nothing out of this storm. Sure an inch or two here and there, but this whole ordeal has given me the urge to punch an infant.
    The only thing that's helping me deal with this "stormy" situation is the fact that it's warm in the southwest. Yes, the 8 feet of snow they had gotten is none other than California concrete, with the exception of some of the lighter snow on top. Here's the video of the day from Mammoth.




     Wow. 8 feet of snow and it isn't even flying past their knees. You'd have to slide on your belly or dive in headfirst to get face shots there. I feel better already. Of course, this excludes Utah, Wyoming and Southwest. In turn they are ones benefitting from this storm, sure they might have received less than Caly, but hell, I'll prefer quality to quantity any day of the season. As for the Northwest and Canada, and especially Big Mountain, hold in there. It's not our turn yet but soon it will be, just wait.

To keep you drooling over the snow reports, here's the video of the day from Jackson Hole.




I bet that doesn't help. Oh well, lucky for me I'll be down there in 2 weeks, and back again in 3. Let's just hope the storm isn't over by then.

Pray for Snow! (Especially for Canada, eh?)

The S-Jenk

  It always sat in the upper corner of the map. On paper, it was just a short red line with the phrase "T-Bar" underneath it. The Colorado and Caly tourists never gave it much attention, to them it was about the high speed quads, the open bowl faces, and the machined groomed slopes to make it the "perfect ski day". Yet, on the powder days, a small group of locals would often slip away from the crowds towards the same spot. Away from the lift lines and the crowded slopes, the T-bar hid away from most of the mountain. Only the local riders knew about it, and the significance of it.

     It was called "Bigfoot" for reasons long forgotten. Possibly from a reported sighting of the mysterious Chewbacca, or maybe from it's ability to hide from the public. Personally I believed in the second idea. It never had the easiest access. At least 300 feet of flat ground stood between you and the only run that could take you there. Often you would have to straightline off of the summit, avoided colliding with inexperienced moms, 12 year old snowboarders, and getting caught by the ski patrol for "unsafe speeds." If you did it right, you could be in at the lift in under five minutes. A small shack sat at the bottom, equipped with ladders, shovels, ropes, and a pair of rad '97 Rossignols. Quick stories were always exchanged between the riders and lifties there, and often a laugh would erupt through one of their beards. They always wore their bushily beards with pride, and between the hairs were snow and the remnants of breakfast. Before you had time to get a conversation going though, you would be at the front and handed your ticket to the top. I mean the t-bar of course.

  

There's fog too, I should mention that.

     The first tug was always the hardest. It ranged from a easy pull, to a sharp tug. Once you had gotten past that however, it was smooth sailing to the top. Screwing up meant standing in front of everyone, looking like an idiot while the platter just bounced away up the hill. Failure always meant banishment to the back of the line, and when your friends saw the empty platter crest over the top, they would simply ski off without you, figuring out ways to heckle you when you crossed paths later that day in the chair 1 lift line.

     Even though it was well maintained, the lift was fragile, and therefore demanded respect. Swerving and horsing around during the pull could derail the line and shut it down for the day. The same could be said for letting go of the platter in a disrespectful way, giving it a chance to swing over the rope and jam up the turnaround wheel. During the ride up groans and the clatter of metal on plastic would fill the ears, adding a funky rhythm to it's personality. The metal towers showed sots of rust, and an exposed power line ran awkwardly between both sides. Safety equipment was considered a luxury there, and never really existed on it, just an irregular shaped T attached to a rope which, really was all you needed.

      Though it never serviced the sickest terrain or much vertical, the place was to all of us, a gateway and a getaway. It served as a safe haven for the locals during the most torrential time of the year: The Holidays. The time of year where powder is seen the most is the same time of year where large families, relatives, and half-ass noob riders invade much of the mountain, chewing up most of the good snow and creating 45 minute lines. The tourists conquered most of the mountain, and what was left was a local group of riders trying to escape the crowds.

       What the map never showed though, was that the little red line sat on a ridge to inbound terrain that sat isolated from much of the mountain, and because of it's spot on the map, you could always reach the chairlifts below with ease. North facing slopes, and 5-15 minute hikes could get you to some of the best runs of the season. It would also allow you more technical faces and cliff areas that did require some finding, but were well worth it. To top it off, it also serviced the expansive backcountry as well as its rugged terrain. Avalanches did occur in the area, and several people had been killed in winters past. With an avalanche beacon, and the right friends though, nothing ever held you back. If you were lucky, you could even score a ride with a snowmobiler on your way back to the boundary.

     Enter the 2010 season. Even in its glory, the T-Bar has become old, and in recent days talk has begun to replace the t-bar with a high speed quad, making access to east bowls and the backcountry easy for anyone looking for good snow. This for me, is sad. Having an easy access chair means the loss of an area that would be no longer called local terrain, forcing us to find a new place to escape to. Problem is, not many places still exist anymore that hasn't been exposed by the resort, and the threat of losing the Bigfoot would be too much for me. In truth, I hope such a proposal will never be made true, and that the small red line on the map will still exist years from now. Of course, there isn't much chance of that. The development will continue, even after I'm long gone to college and other ski hills. But for now, it's still just an idea, and for now it remains as that small red line on the map, a place that I return to every weekend with the knowledge that this place of solace, is still ours.

God Bless,

The S-Jenk