I was involved with the Kids Camp in 2008 and thought it was fantastic, as well as excellent tribute to the spirit of Hans Saari. Just by nature of taking place in the Tetons, the camp is a very legitimate and intense outing with many lifetimes of experience packed into five days. No backcountry skills are needed, but applicants should be strong skiers to get the most out of it as they will be skiing all sorts of terrain in a variety of conditions, as well as packing all of their gear in and out of the mountains.

The application process involves filling out a questionnaire, converting it to a pdf and emailing it in on or before May 15th. More information on the camp can be found by clicking here for a pdf cover letter, or by visiting the Hans Fund website.  A photo gallery from the 2008 camp can be found here.

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The bagels are brought to you by the Summit County Republican Party, so any discussion of why they have a hole in them and what it can be used for will be struck from the record.  Abstinence is the best policy, except when giving away public lands to foreign developers, when you should just bend over.

PCMR owns all the base facilities, parking areas, ski lifts and water rights, but not the actual ski runs.

Talisker has figured out a way to make money by running empty lifts.

I’m not sure why PCMR didn’t buy the land they are on in the first place.  The town of Park City originally boomed with mining and much of the land was owned by United Park City Mines (UPCM). Perhaps when the mining started to die off and skiing was just getting going, neither industry really knew if they were going to thrive or fade, so UPCM held onto the land, which PCMR then leased and built their lifts, lodges and parking lots on. This seems like an unusual situation as most of the resorts I know of either lease from the Forest Service, or own their land.

Evicting PCMR from their land would create a strange stalemate as PCMR owns the water rights, lodges, parking lots, base facilities and lifts. So, what good would all this land be without lifts, or, what good would all these lifts be without land?

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I first met Steve during the early stages of Rando racing in North America when you could still do well just by having a good touring base and the a pair of Dynafit bindings.  This is also where I think I first met Grant Guise, who has gone on to become Mr. Dynafit in New Zealand.  Since Grant is/was a Kiwi and I’d always wanted to ski in New Zealand, we put together a trip and Chris Figenshau came along to round out the group.

It’s hard to have a trip to NZ without coming back with lots of funny experiences, and this trip was no exception.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Teton Style
After waiting out many days of bad weather, we finally had a short enough break to go out and ski a little mini golf line across the valley.  At the trailhead we debated the virtues of walking in with running shoes, then stashing them and switching over to ski boots once we hit the snow.  Steve would have none of it and insisted on going “Teton Style” which meant hiking the whole way there, up, down and back again in your ski boots. I decided to give it a try and remember bickering with him about it the entire way as my feet were killing me on the flat two mile approach.  I never did it again, but Steve held strong to Teton Style and I don’t think he ever did it any other way, including monster approaches in the Tetons.

Steve (left) and Figs doing it Teton Style.

Grounds for Rounds
I think this was on the same outing as mentioned above…  We had grown tired of waiting for the weather to clear and decided to ski a scrunty little couloir just for the exercise.  About halfway up we had to scramble over a rock band, and of course just as we were delicately padding our way along, a sluff avalanche came down from above.  It missed me completely, but from what I remember it caught Steve (Grant?  Figs?) with enough force to knock them off the rock.  We retreated and I didn’t think much more of it.

After a day or so of more bad weather (this is NZ after all), I had a chance to check my email and was shocked to see 10-15 messages from friends telling me how glad they were to hear that I was alive and okay. I wasn’t sure what to make of it until we reconvened at a bar later that day and Chris Figenshau, who had had a similar experience, asked Steve what was going on.  Steve admitted that yes, he had sent an email out to a few friends, and that maybe, perhaps, one of those friends was an editor at the Jackson Hole Daily newspaper, and yes, he had put in phrases like “lucky to be alive.”

Figs immediately declared this as a breech of etiquette with a “Grounds for Rounds” sentencing, meaning Steve had to buy a round of drinks for all of us.  I was thinking along the lines of a cheap Tui, but Figs led off with some $18 cocktail, so we all followed suit – even Steve, who then graciously paid and apologized.

Steve getting into the spirit of “Grounds for Rounds.”

The Tech Geek Guy
For most people, buzzwords like ProShell, ePIC, NeoShell, Mirco Clim and others are just a bunch of marketing BS, but for Steve, who worked in a gear shop, it was almost a religion.  He could tell you the difference between all of them and why each one was good in certain circumstances. It was fun to work him up into a selling frenzy by asking him to explain the technical aspects of things like a Buff headband, which he’d gladly do.

At the end of our trip we had a few clothing samples that nobody really understood, so we asked Steve to give us the  scoop on it.  He proceeded to give a flawless performance explaining vapor transfer, climate zone heating, breathablity, zipper details, pocket specs and of course, the fabric characteristics.  At the end of it we were all impressed and asked him if he wanted the jacket since he had given it such a glowing review, to which he replied “No.  I hate that shit.”

Randosteve being brief.

Mountain High Meat Pie
Meat pies are to New Zealand as pizza pies are to Italy – they are everywhere, cheap and delicious (except the possum pie, which is revolting).  Before Steve fired up TetonAT.com he threw out the idea of starting a meat pie cart right at the base of the Jackson Hole tram, which we all thought was an excellent idea.

The working name was “Mountain High Meat Pie” and asking Steve about his business model provided endless entertainment. Won’t that take away from your skiing time? “I’ll hire someone to run it.”  Ssshhh, employees?  “I’ll hire illegal immigrants and if they don’t work out I’ll fire them.”  What about ingredients? “Cheap beef from Albertsons, but I’ll say its organic buffalo.”  What if the enterprise doesn’t work out?  “I’ll dump it in the middle of Wyoming and say that it fell of my trailer hitch.” He was kidding of course and it is better for all involved that he started up TetonAT instead.

Sampling some organic, free-range, grass fed buffalo bits, aka bacon.

You are deeply missed Steve!  I hope there is a fast connection and an overstuffed sleeping bag waiting for you in heaven.

There are many different options for your suffering pleasure. The Recreation division has male/female divisions and features 4 climbs with a total of 3,500′ over 6.5 miles. The Race division has male/female, plus subdivisions of race/heavy metal and a lung-frying 6 climbs with a total of over 6,000′ and 11 miles. The course description promises “captivating views of the Heber Valley” which means I might have to actually look up from my ski tips once or twice.

For more information check out the Wasatch PowderKeg website, or go directly to the registration link at UltraSignup.com
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On Thursday, March 15th at 7pm, I’m psyched to be returning to the original scene of the inspiration to give a presentation on skiing and climbing these peaks. Admission is free and tradition is BYOB.
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• The hidden dangers of 60 degree slopes
• The power of a big quiver
• Lou Dawson on “Why it never gets better.”
• Trusting your instincts
• Ski like a Hedge Fund
• Doug Coombs on “Nibbling”
• Bob Athey on taking the high road
• Redefining challenge
• Doing it for the children
• The only known cure for avalanches and seasickness

I think I’m limited to 15 minutes, so some of these may not get covered.  My goal is to avoid mentioning the F word  (f*cets) or the flakes of ill repute (hoars) even a single time.  I expect these theories to get flushed straight down the avalanche sewer, so this might be your only chance to hear them.  For good measure, I’ll throw in a photo of a naked female.
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The downside of the WSE is that it is difficult to access, to say the least.  There may be a few places where you can do day trips, but for the most part it is Expedition Central and to get anywhere beyond the fringes  often involves winter camping, sled hauling and lots of shivering. With this in mind, I’ve teamed up with Wild Alpine and the Ultima Thule Lodge  to put together the inaugural “Wilderness Ski Week” from April 1-7, 2012.  This will be my forth time up to the Ultima Thule lodge and I’m sure it will be the highlight of the 2012 ski season.

Some photos from a previous trip – mouse over for captions, click to enlarge.

The idea behind the Wilderness Ski Week is to use the  Ultima Thule Lodge as a basecamp and then do daily ski mountaineering excursions from there using the planes and superb piloting skills of Paul Claus. Paul’s Turbine Otter has an incredible range and carrying capacity, which means we will have excellent access to a variety of regions and elevations.  A typical day might involve getting dropped off and skiing one zone, or if need be shuttling to a different area after a run or two and then flying back to the lodge for dinner and/or sauna.  There are also endless peaks to be skied (see Solidarity video below) and backdrops such as the Bagley Icefield, Mount Saint Elias and University Peak.

The trip dates are April 1-7 and a second week may be added based on demand. Group size will be limited and the objectives will  be adjusted based on conditions and skill levels of the group.  It is recommended for skiers with solid touring skills and although we will be getting flown out to each area, once there, we will be ascending under our own power.

Prices vary according to the level of accommodations and range from deluxe to ultra deluxe.  Suffering in a cold, wet tent and eating partially re-hydrated food is NOT included in this event.

For more information, visit the Wild Alpine website, or send an email directly to Aria Thomases who is the Programming Coordinator for the event.

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Ahhhhh… It is about time. These two lovely leafs are from the “Winter Indicator” tree across the street from our house in Park City, UT – elevation 7,100′.  The tree often changes color over 3-4 days, but for some reason this year it seemed to go all in one shot.  I may have just missed the early changes, but being a skiing optimist, I’d like to think that the sudden change can only mean one thing – it is going to be a HUGE winter.  :)
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