Hunker Down

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

By JH Weekly Staff

Ah, the romance of winter – hiking the backcountry, hot cider and rum, books by the fire, cozying up in one’s yurt . . .

Some new friends of mine over at the Earthfire Institute, outside Driggs, are building a yurt. It will be 30 feet in diameter, more than 13-feet tall, when completed. They ordered it from The Colorado Yurt Company.

Of course, yurts are fairly common around here, what with the yurt park up in Kelly and the various excursion packages that include an overnight stay in a yurt. But really, can one live through the winter in a permanent tent?

A former assistant editor of JH Weekly and her fiancé live in one. She told me that after her first winter in the yurt, which lasted atypically long, she was pretty sure she could handle anything Providence threw at her. By the second winter, she was an old pro, donning the somewhat solitary existence of a yurt dweller.

As of deadline, Jean Simpson, whose heading the yurt project at Earthfire, has built the frame, but the wind has prevented him from attaching the canvas.

The wind will be a constant problem, he expects, so he also intends to plant evergreens as a shield. Otherwise, he’s confident the yurt will be a comfy and spacious (bigger than his cabin, even) place to hold workshops and host special guests all winter.

Yes, winter is romantic, if you’re prepared to hunker down. – MI

Hunker Down
Winterizing your business
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Not so long ago winter was marked by the shuttering of local retailers. “See you in June,” the signs read. Once Jackson Hole became a ski-destination Mecca, business owners began figuring inventive ways to tap into the winter market and survive ‘til spring.

The so-called shoulder seasons in Jackson are now the only downtime for many shopkeepers. Most restaurants report doing “decent enough business” in the winter as compared to summer. Nearly half shutdown for a few weeks or a month during the off-season, from mid-October through mid-November, while the valley waits for the influx of skier money.

Take, for instance, outdoor gear stores. While both Fitzgerald’s Bicycles and Skinny Skis remain open year-round. Each thrives during the season it is geared for. At Hoback Sports, 15-year owner Hernando Pardo has hedged his bets.

“Absolutely winter is bigger,” Pardo said. “The shear length of the winter season is longer and there are higher ticket items like skis and parkas associated with it that cost more than bike helmets and tire tubes.” Pardo said he hires an additional 15 employees during the winter over the 20 working during summer peak. Many of them are cross-trained to tune either bikes or skis. Store hours are extended from 10 hours daily in July to 13 in January.

The summer season for area landscapers, while lucrative, is short. At Wyoming Landscape Contractors, they’ve done what most lawn care professionals in Jackson do in the winter – they move snow.

“All our vehicles are designed to do both summer and winter work,” said owner Nick Orsillo. “The only purpose in snowplowing, really, is to keep our employees busy. The landscape season is so short, snow removal is becoming better for us. It is about 35 percent of our annual gross now.” Orsillo employs 81 in summer and 42 over the winter.

Other beneficiaries of winter that are not directly ski sport-related are fitness centers. Both the Jackson Hole Athletic Club and Bell Fitness report seeing a spike in hard bodies with the cold weather.

As for that traditional summer pastime celebrated in Jackson like anywhere else, elbow-bending habits seem virtually unchanged, although we don’t drink like we did over the summer.

Amber Josi mans the drive-up at the Virginian liquor store. She said its hours of operation remain the same over winter as does the volume of business. “The drive-up is a little busier in the summer but volume is still about the same.” she said.

At TLS, Dave Erickson agrees. “Winter is less volume. After the holidays, things tail off in January until February.” TLS employs about 21 total in the summer and 17 in the winter.

All area liquor stores report white wine and light beer selling in the summer whereas winter beverages are red wines, dark beer and whiskey. JHW-JN

Winterizing your vehicle
Maybe I took that Boy Scout motto too far, but I am a guy prepared for anything. Same goes for my truck. I always keep my “outfit” equipped with a few goodies designed to get me through a Wyoming winter; stuff that works in Jackson Hole’s extreme conditions even when the AAA checklist fails or freezes solid.

First off, let’s reduce the chances you’ll wind up stranded by your own doing. If it seems like the mere act of starting your car in cold morning temps makes it angry, you’re right. It hates you for that. Cranking power begins and ends with the battery. If it is more than four years old, get rid of it. It will only let you down and probably in a blizzard.

Bring your old battery to NAPA or Carquest – they can load test it and offer you a rebate for it on your purchase of a new one. If you drive your vehicle infrequently during the winter, consider a trickle charger. It will keep your battery fully-charged when frigid overnight lows are robbing it of power.

Also, check out the battery terminals. See that grey-white crud? Clean it off with Coca-Cola (you’d be surprised how much corrosive-eating strength the fizz has) and a wire brush then slather the whole connection with petroleum jelly.
Diesel-owners know the necessity of a block heater. If your vehicle doesn’t have any type of engine heater, get one. Even if your vehicle starts after a 24-below night, a block heater will keep your vehicle’s fluids – oil, tranny fluid, antifreeze – flowing like coffee.

Your radiator fluid is a 50-50 mix of antifreeze and water. For those bone-chilling nights in Jackson, a 60-40 mix might be better. Your motor oil also needs to be changed. If you normally use a 10W-40 for the summer, swap it for 5W-30. That’ll get your oil flowing faster after startup. Also, keep your fuel tank topped off as much as possible to prevent fuel-line freezes.

Now you’re on the road. You should have winter tires inflated to the recommended PSI, found on the inside door post of your vehicle, not the tire itself. Remember, you will lose about 1 pound of PSI for every 10-degree drop in temperature.
Even the most careful of Wyoming drivers will find themselves “off-road” sooner or later. Carrying a few handy items in your trunk might just save the day should you become stuck for an hour or days.

Flashlights are a must, say the experts. What they don’t say is your batteries will go dead in about 30 days. You won’t remember to change them ‘til you need them. Think about a flashlight with rechargeable batteries that runs off your cigarette lighter.

That recommended gallon of water will be a block of ice before long. It’s more practical to melt snow – you’ll find plenty of that. Just throw your Primus ultra-light camp stove, fuel container and that GSI cookware in a sack and stow it. Toss a few candy bars in there too … you never know.

Candles are also an overlooked item. Besides providing comforting light, one burning candle can raise the temperature in your car by about seven degrees. Light it with one of those mini-torches. They light every time, even in the wind, and can also come in handy when you need to defrost a frozen lock.

Before you donate last year’s North Face parka to Goodwill, consider tossing it in your backseat along with a blanket, gloves, and a hat. I guarantee you will make use of these extra winter clothes at least once.

Every Wyoming vehicle should have jumper cables, tow rope, and a snow shovel. No excuses; don’t assume the other guy will have one. JHW-JN

Copping Culture Amid The Cold
A sharp contrast to summer’s monster RVs and camera-clad tourists, wintertime quiets Jackson Hole and orders us, when the sun retreats, to seek refuge indoors.
Though a bevy of cardio activities commence as snow blankets the ground, there’s also no shortage of cultural to-do’s.

Teton County Library offers programs throughout the winter to feed your brain and spark intellectual chatter. Three book clubs – the senior, classics and library book club run year-round. 

The library also offers useful wintertime resources such as a topographic map database with printable maps, classes on avalanche awareness, trail maps and how-to books and videos on wintertime sports.

Communications Manager Margaret Thompson said TCL hosts some of the “brightest University of Wyoming professors” for its Saturday U lecture series, continuing this winter.

Brush up on current events and connect with renowned experts through 92Y Live – a live video feed that broadcasts pertinent thinkers and subject matter right into the library’s auditorium. The last 92Y Live session featured economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Kregger. Visit tclib.org

Bookstores in the valley might not rival a tri-level mega chain, but an intimate bookseller can up your ante for conversation with strangers.

Browse some of your next vacation spots and get lost in Main Event’s expanded travel section. 733-7112.

Jackson Hole Book Traders slings selections on the older side that will most likely be new to you. It’s a great place to bump into someone on the hunt for a similar book. 733-6001.

For Art After Hours, the National Museum of Wildlife Art offers free admission to exhibits, musical and performance art, film screenings and guest speakers including conservationists, artists, and scientists. Beginning Dec. 8, the event runs in conjunction with Tapas Tuesdays, an opportunity to sample small, inexpensive plates from the Rising Sage Café. Visit Wildlifeart.org.

The Jackson Hole Historical Society hosts longtime, local figuers for Voices of the Valley, beginning in January at The Wort. Hear stories from local ski legends, musicians, river guides and dude ranchers.  Olympic medalists Pepi Stiegler and Tommy Moe are up first on the roster. Visit jacksonholehistory.org

Coffee shops provide a warm haven from the cold with a living room sort of atmosphere and hot libations. On the West Bank, the pastoral, unassuming coffeehouse Elevated Grounds will extend its hours until 7 p.m., seven days a week beginning after Thanksgiving, when the shop brings back its open mic night. 
On the third Thursday of every month, also commencing in November, Elevated Grounds will host tea parties (not the silly “patriotic” kind) with local tea-maker Heather Bupp of Dragon Lady Teas, from 6 to 9 p.m. elevatedgroundscoffeehouse.com

Jackson Hole Roasters, located in a sunny East Jackson abode on Broadway Ave. also tends to extend its hours for the winter months. Visit jacksonholeroasters.com
For local art connoisseurs, Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary will continue to host SLAM – Saturday Local Artists Market – throughout the upcoming months, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays, SLAM is a veritable local market where artists sling everything from urban threads to body lotions and East Asian jewelry.

LMC will also continue to host film screenings, like the PBS contemporary art series Art:21, as well as corresponding music events.

On Nov. 8, local music kat Matt Donovan teams up with McCandless to host a screening of Before the Music Dies, an award-winning independent film that addresses the rise of corporate music entities and how it affects the way music is made and heard.  734-0649. JHW-RV

Home energy-saving tips
Everybody’s trying to be green these days, especially now that the economy is in the can – saving energy saves money.

In Jackson, a lot of people heat with electricity, because Jackson gets some of the cheapest electricity in America, as much as a third cheaper than in many urban areas.

But Jackson’s going to have to look elsewhere for each new kilowatt-hour it consumes beyond 2011. That electricity will be more expensive, and the cost will be passed on to everyone. This has led an already robust community-wide campaign to reduce energy consumption in the valley. Here are some tips to help us all save money.

We called Nancy Taylor, author of Go Green: How to build and Earth Friendly Community, and Wid Ritchie, Lower Valley Energy’s conservation expert, to get energy saving tips:

- If you live in an old home and don’t have the cash to replace single pane windows, use shrink-wrap. Apply double-sided tape around the window frame. Stretch the shrink-wrap and then slowly wave a blow dryer around it to get the wrinkles out. Don’t keep the blow dryer in any one place for too long or the wrap might melt.

- Check doors and windows for a draft. The most obvious leaks let light through, but others need a better check. On a windy day, or using a partner outside with a blow dryer, hold a candle or lighter up to frames and joints to see if there is any air coming through. Use caulk or weather stripping depending on the problem. If you are sealing a window, you might need to attach additional wood stripping to hold the caulk in place.

-  Set your water heater to 120 degrees. Many are set to 140, which wastes electricity. LVE’s Web site suggests that even 115 degrees is warm enough for dishwater or a hot shower. Since water heating is one of the biggest winter energy hogs, wash your clothes with cold water.

-  Dry your clothes on a clothesline, especially if you have a woodstove.

-  Open curtains and blinds that are south-facing or sunny during the day to let the sun’s energy heat your home. Cover the windows at night to keep the cold out.

-  Don’t heat rooms that you don’t use. Roll up an area rug and lay it across the bottom of the door to keep the air out.

-  Set the thermostat at night, or when gone for the day to no less than 50 degrees. 

-  Buy a programmable thermostat, which allows you to automatically warm your home when you’re in it.

But if you aren’t into do-it-yourself stuff, or want a professional to tell you what to do, call Lower Valley Energy for a $100 energy audit.

Auditors from LVE come out and tell you how to save energy. Ritchie said the three big things they look for are:

1. Doors and windows are adequately caulked and weather-stripped.

2. Insulation levels in your roof are up to their R 49 standard, which is much higher than what many homes have. Ritchie said the first thing people overlook when upgrading their insulation is that their door or hatch to their attic is insulated and caulked/weather stripped as well.

3. Windows are double-paned.

Lower Valley Energy has some programs that provide rebates on energy saving improvements to your home.

If you have a drafty log home, you may have heat leaks coming through the chinking in logs. Tracey Hansen and his company StormBusters use a thermal camera to take thermal video of your home, and find those leaks that a little bit of caulking or chinking can seal up.

And if you have any questions, go to your local hardware store. JHW-HS





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