The Vill: Heroic depths; Euros still coming; comp gets pow
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
By Brigid Mander
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Another couple of storms dropped 34 inches on the Resort last week, which is about what we have come to expect this season. Things are really good again, especially since the snow was perfect hero snow consistency. Curiously, though, on Friday morning, with 18 inches of new snow, there was no line at the gondola when it opened.
Apparently just about two feet is merely a ‘ho hum’ morning for locals at this point in a stellar season. Are we really that spoiled? Well, who cares. For those that got out there, the rewards were high - like, overhead, choking, stupid deep-again, high.
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The snowfall in general is approaching the all time record this season. Currently we are at 514” at the Raymer plot at JHMR. The highest snowfall on record is 575” in 1997, according to
www.jhavalanche.org, and at this rate it isn’t difficult to imagine a few more storms through the rest of March and April taking us past that mark. At any rate, it is wonderful not to have to see irritating green growing things, or chirping things, insisting on spring at this point in the season.
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JHMR reports that they are approaching a record number of skier days this winter as well. The busiest winter yet was the much hyped, last year of the old tram, snow-filled winter of ’05-06. That season ended with 452,000 skier days. Aggressive marketing, a weak dollar attracting foreigners, and plenty of snow have combined to bring many people to town to fill the ever-increasing numbers of hotel beds.
Increased air service has been key, Anna Olson told the Casper Star Tribune last week. “The air is our lifeline in winter.” In what a friend in the local retail industry amusingly calls the ‘airline blackmail fund,’ the resort and local businesses essentially pitch in and pay the airlines to make it more worth their while to fly passengers here.
With all the new hotel beds, and many, many more on the way in the village, more new hotels will be chipping in to make sure they stay filled. So, skier days probably won’t be dropping much from here on out, the airlines will be happy, and local businesses will be stuffing their pockets.
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The 3rd annual Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open went off last Friday on a huge powder day, a rare blessing for a big mountain contest. Although it wasn’t perfect, since there was an icy hard layer showing its ugly face in spots, conditions were still good. Despite the pain of standing around waiting instead of skiing powder, competitors were stoked.
Local skiers were in good standing after the first round, with Crystal Wright in first for the third year in a row, and Rob LaPier in third for the men’s.
However, the snow turned a little tricky by Sunday, with a lot of crashes seen in the Tower 3/Toilet Bowl venue. “The snow at the bottom was eating people alive,” said local competitor Jess Spangler, who also skied strongly. When all was said and done, the manky snow had taken out plenty of contenders. Some bobbles caused Wright to drop to 6th in the final, but LaPier held on for a podium finish in third place. All in all, there were a lot of locals that joined in the festivities of competing, good skiing and representing from the Jackson scene.
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In non-tram lift news, the East Ridge chair had some problems last week, and was closed for maintenance for several days. The cable had some damage at the splice location, which was not a problem yet, but had the potential to be one. If you have ever been terrified on a sketchy foreign lift, which you are sure hasn’t been maintained in the last three decades, it is easy to be very appreciative of the watchful eye of our lift maintenance crew. So, thanks, maintenance.
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The Vill: Heroic depths; Euros still coming; comp gets pow | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation
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