Cattle Drive

Jackson Hole was orginally a cattle town. In the past twenty years most of the cattle ranches have been sold off, sub-divided, and turned into gated communities. Tourism is now the biggest industry in Jackson Hole. Cattle ranches do still exist in Wyoming, but not in Jackson. Property taxes have become so high that most of the cattle ranchers have been driven south to more remote places in Wyoming. Last weekend, I was invited to join Crystal Wright’s family in Boulder, Wyoming to help move the last of the cattle and shut down the ranch for the summer.

On Saturday morning, sounds of cows rustled me out of my deep sleep. The truck arrived early in the morning to take the first batch of cattle to their winter grounds. I was really excited about the day and jumped out of bed to see what was happening.

Don Wright and the rest of his crew had been up before the sun and were separating the cows before loading them into the truck.

That’s a real cowboy!

The Malboro Man Lives!

As I watched, Crystal filled me in a the day’s mission.

All of the cattle, once separated, were loaded into the truck.

After the first round of cattle were loaded and on their way out, we headed out to gather up the horses.

We were given a halter and some horse treats and headed out to the field to try to catch the horses. As we walked out to the field, the horses came running to the fence. They were like golden retrievers ready to play. We each caught our designated horses and walked them back to the stables to saddle up.

It is very important to brush your horse before you saddle it.

Once the horses were saddled and the crew was mounted, we were given our mission. The mission was to round up 200 cattle and bring them back to the ranch. And yes it was important to count them and bring back all 200.

And so we were off to find the cattle. Did I mention that none of had a clue what we were doing.

We found the cattle and were told to ease in slowly so they wouldn’t scatter. Most of the cows stayed together and started moving as a unit towards the ranch. There were a couple that strayed from the group and into the bushes. Ron told us to hussle around to the other side of the bushes and flush them out. I took off, my horse at a full run, and really felt like I was on cattle drive.

We flushed the three cows out of the bushes and ushered them back to the others. This was the most exciting part of the cattle drive for me.

Luckily, the horses knew a lot more about herding cattle than we did. I’d like to think I was driving the horse and really helping with the drive, but
I think my horse was the one in charge.

A HUGE thanks to Crystal Wright and her family. I had a blast on the ranch!

20% Off Everything at Backcountry.com

Use this code to receive 20% off everything! click here

Volkl Kuro Named Outside Magazine’s Pow Ski of the Year

Outside Magazine writes, “Our favorite powder ski, the Kuro just might redefine the class. Whereas most rockered skis are surfy by design, the Kuro effortlessly blasts through powder like a more classically shaped fat boy. Credit Volkl’s elongated low profile design – essentially less rocket in the tip and tail – which lets you put it on edge and power it through turns like a traditional ski. The result; They hold so well at the apex of the turn there’s no longer a speed limit. Only Caveat; You do have to bring the Kuro up to speed before it feels loose. ”

Finally, a magazine gets it right. The first time I skied the Kuro, I fell in love with it. It feels like a downhill race ski that rules in the powder. The Kuro floats high in the snow and likes a nice cruising speed of fifty. The Kuro will make a 3 inch day feel bottomless. It is hard to believe, but it is also rips on the hard pack. I loved skiing along side someone on the Pontoons and watching their tips flopping around their ears as the Kuro rips by them like a race ski. The one flaw with the Kuro is that it is a lot to throw around at slow speeds, but who wants to go slow anyway.

At the end of the day, my friends and I would always have a friendly race down the Hobacks in Jackson. The Hobacks are around 2500 vert of wide open terrain. Before I skied the Kuro, it was a toss up who would win. On the Kuro’s, no one could beat me. My friend Bob would always say, “I don’t want to race if Jess gets to use her cheater skis.” Bob already has his Kuros ordered for this season.

If you ask me, the Kuro is a must have for this winter. I would also recommend buying a Jester binding. The Jester is the strongest, lightest binding on the market and it will make a difference when you are in the backcountry. If you don’t want to wait for the ski shops to open, go to www.backcountry.com and get yours now.

Tram Update

Tram Update: Haul Cable Spliced!!

POSTED BYLauren M. WhaleyONOctober 10th, 2008

Yesterday it snowed. Facebook updates abounded with status updates about getting out rock skis, catching snow on your tongue and watching flakes as big as butterflies.

So, its perfect that crews at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort continue to kick ass on tram construction. Last week, crane operator Hans Burkhart lifted platforms into the sky that Swiss crews from Garaventa affixed to the recently tensioned track ropes. This week, crews stood on those platforms to splice the new haul rope. Resort crews said they took out about 200 feet of rope and spliced it back together all while suspended on the Stairway to Heaven.

Its coming. Get psyched.

Here is the official Teton Village release fromJackson Hole Mountain Resortcommunications manager andCloudveilambassador Lisa Watson:

One step closer to completion of the NEW Aerial Tram at Jackson Hole!(Teton Village, WY. October 7, 2008) Crews have been on top of a temporary bridge nicknamed the Stairway to Heaven, suspended 60 feet above the ground on the Aerial Tram track cables, working to complete a 220 foot splice of the haul rope yesterday and today. Norm Duke, one of the top rope splicers in the United States, who also happens to be a Jackson Hole local, is splicing the haul rope with the help of a crew of up to 15 workers.

Spectators have come out to watch the workers on the bridge and take photos of this construction milestone. Energy is high out here, said Tim Mason, VP of Operations at the resort, People are beginning to realize that there really is going to be a new Aerial Tram ready for this winter.

The splice is expected to be completed by the end of today [Wednesday]. The Tram cars have been delivered to Teton Village and should be hung on the track cables by the end of the month. All construction updates, photos and video can be found atTram-Formation.com,along with your chance to win a spot on the FIRST TRAM this December!

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will begin operations on November 29, 2008 and the new Aerial Tram is due to launch on December 20th, stay tuned for progress atwww.tram-formation.com, or listen to weekly construction updates and chances to win FREE lift tickets for the 2008/09 winter season with Fish on KMTN radio each Friday morning at 8:40am.

The new Aerial Tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will be twice the size of the original, carrying 100 passengers. The sleek, new cabins, and visually inspiring base terminal only add to the faster and more efficient cable to the sky. As well as the journey, it is the destination that captures the spirit of the Jackson Hole Tram. Soaring 4,139 vertical feet in 9 minutes to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain is unrivaled in the ski industry, cresting the Tetons with an endless choice of ski routes below, not to mention incredible 360 views.

We continue to share our excitement through words, images and video capturing the enormity of this project on www.tramformation.com. For a preview of the full Cable to the Sky documentary pleaseclick here.

Wyoming Ski Training

I was recently asked how I train for ski season. I have to admit that I spend some time in the gym, but just getting ready for winter is a pretty good work out.

The first step is finding the dead trees. Big Al Weed Wacker (Alex Weston) was especially impressed when he found and fell this tree.

Once the tree is down, the next step is to limb and buck the tree. After the tree is limbed and bucked, we loaded the rounds into the horse trailer and headed home.

Back home, the fun is over and the real work begins.

We unloaded the horse trailer, chopped all four cords of wood, and stacked it neatly on the porch.

We were pretty proud of ourselves. And it was just in the nick of time. It was snowing when we woke up this morning.

Back In Jackson

I am finally back in Jackson! It is so nice to be home and to see my boys. The leaves are beautiful in Jackson and the mountains have a fresh coat of paint on them. It is starting to feel like winter and yes there will be a tram this year! Yahoo!We have started to get ready for winter. Yesterday we chopped and stacked 2 cords of woods and we are off to get more today. It is great to be home.

Bariloche

After closing down the season in Las Lenas, we headed south to Bariloche to check it out. Bariloche is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever visited in Argentina. The lake is cool aqua color surrounded by white capped mountains. We stayed with Jamie and Shanie, a couple from Squaw Valley who moved to Bariloche two years ago. If you are in Argentina, you must go to Bariloche and stay with Jamie and Shanie in the Casita Llao Llao. The view from the porch of the little house is breath-taking and Jamie and Shanie are wealth of knowledge from where to ski to where to eat. We had an amazing trip to Bariloche and can’t wait to go back.Jamie and Shanie also write a blog www.livinginpatagonia.com. Check it out and start planning your trip down there.

Freeride World Tour Update

NEWSLETTER
Watch the teaser onwww.freerideworldtour.com

Launch of the secondFreerideWorld Tour

Sochi – Squaw ValleyUSA- Tignes – Verbier

3-OCT-2008

Four locations around the world have been selected for the second edition of the Freeride World Tour. On top of it, qualification events have joined as Freeride World Qualifier events making the Tour even more attractive, with more events and more riders. The planet’s top freeride skiers and snowboarders will start in Sochi with theNissan Russian Adventure2009 and then travel to the USA,FranceandSwitzerlandto prove their skills on some of the world’s most challenging faces. The Freeride World Tour has a prize purse of $250,000, the highest sum ever to be paid in ski or snowboard freeride contests.

On March 15, 2008, the first ever edition of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) was completed after five successful events around the globe, finishing with the prestigious Nissan O’Neill Xtreme inVerbier, Switzerland. Elyse Saugstad (USA) and Henrik Windstedt (SWE) in skiing, Ruth Leisibach (SUI) and Xavier de le Rue (FRA) in snowboarding became the first Freeride World Champions in history.

The Freeride World Tour is on for the second edition. The world best professional freeriders are backon the Tour and have all confirmed their participation. A number of 40 male and female riders pluswild cardsare invited to the first three contests: Nissan Russian Adventure in Sochi (Russia), Nissan Tram Face in Squaw Valley (USA), and Nissan Freeridein Tignes (France). The final contest will take place in Switzerland withthe Nissan Xtreme- Verbier 09, on the gruelling north face of the Bec des Rosses, one of the most challenging descents in the world of freeriding.

“It is great to see that the Tour will continue to its second year with all the top riders of last years edition present,said Swedish skier Henrik Windstedt, the sensational FreerideWorld Tour Champion2008.Wi
th the high level of the athletes, the standard of the riding will if possible be even greater than last year. The Tour will also develop and grow to an even higher quality event, which is just great for the future of this sport”, Windstedt further commented.

Founder and organiser Nicolas Hale-Woods (SUI) is very pleased with the progression of the Freeride World Tour to its second edition.The fact that 100% of the top ranked riders from last year have confirmed their participation for this year is really a measurement of success for the Freeride World Tour. We feel that the progression of the sport is strong. With the extensive support of our main partner Nissan, new partners joining in and top resorts like Sochi, Squaw Valley USA, Tignes and Verbier hosting our contests, we are attracting more and more attention of the public, the media and the industry.

Jean-Pierre Diernaz, General Manager of Nissans Marketing Communications in Europe said,As we prepare for the second year of Nissans commitment to the Freeride World Tour acrossEuropeandNorth America, we are very excited by the addition of new Freeride World Qualifier events in countries including Italy,SlovakiaandNorway. This will allow more athletes than ever before the opportunity to qualify for the four Nissan sponsored Tour events. Through these, we hope that the Freeride World Tour will uncover the next generation of male and female international skiers and snowboarders.

In order to allow freeriderswho are notqualified for the Freeride World Tour to participate and score points, the Pro Freeriders Board elected existing international events to be part of the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ). The FWQ is a series of independently organised events around the world. Riders participating in those events collect points in the Freeride World Ranking (FWR), a unique ranking list for both FWT and FWQ events. Riders from the Freeride World Tour and the Qualifier will therefore climb up and down the ranking list throughout the season. Finally the three best results will count to score the 2009 Freeride World Champions who will be crowned in Verbier after the Xtreme.

Visit us atwww.freerideworldtour.com

The four events of the Freeride World Tour 2009 are:

1. NISSAN RUSSIANADVENTURE – SOCHI, RUSSIA
Dates: 20-25 JAN 2009
Contest day: Wednesday 21 January,reserve days: 20-25 JAN 2009
40 riders qualified + wild cards:
- 15 males: 10 best of FWT08 + 4 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards
- 5 females: 2 best of FWT08 + 2 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards

2. NISSAN TRAM FACE – SQUAW VALLEY USA
Dates: 27 FEB-05 MAR 2009
Contest day: Saturday 28 February, reserve days: 27 FEB-05 MAR
40 riders qualified + wild cards:
- 15 males: 10 best of FWT08 + 4 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards
- 5 females: 2 best of FWT08 + 2 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards

3. NISSAN FREERIDE DE TIGNES, FRANCE
Dates: 8-14 March 2009
Contest day: Monday 9 March, reserve days: 8-14 MAR
40 riders qualified + wild cards:
- 15 males: 10 best of FWT08 + 4 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards
- 5 females: 2 best of FWT08 + 2 best of FWQ08 + 1 FWQ09 sister event* winner + wild cards

4. NISSAN XTREME- VERBIER 09, SWITZERLAND
Dates: 20-29 March 2009
Contest day: Saturday 21 March, reserve days: 20-29 March
22 riders qualified + wild cards:
- 8 best males on the FWR09 + wild cards
-3 best females on the FWR09 + wild cards
The final entry list for the Nissan Xtreme – Verbier 09 will be announced at 4pm CET the day of the Nissan Freeride de Tignes

* Four of the FWQ events are called sister events and are directly linked to a FWT contest. The winner of each category of a sister event is automatically qualified for the FWT contest to which it is linked.

Confirmed Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) events are:
(additionnal events to be confirmed by October 15)

THE NORTH FACE MASTERS OF SNOWBOARDING -SNOWBIRD (USA), 30 January-1 February – Freeride World Qualifier, sister events of the Nissan Tram Face Squaw Valley (USA)

SPYDER BIG MOUNTAIN FIEBERBRUNN(AUT), 5-15 February 2009 – Freeride World Qualifier, sister event the Nissan Freeride de Tignes (FRA)

THE NORTH FACE MASTERSOF SNOWBOARDING – CRESTED BUTTE (USA),13-15 February – Freeride World Qualifier,sister events of the Nissan Tram Face Squaw Valley (USA)

WINTER MYSTICXPERIENCE(ITA),19-22 February 2009 – Freeride World Qualifier

THE NORTH FACE MASTERS OF SNOWBOARDING – KIRKWOOD(USA),6-8 March – Freeride World Qualifier

NENDAZ FREERIDE(SUI), 13-18 March 2009 – Freeride World Qualifier, sister event of the Nissan Xtreme Verbier 09 (SUI)

JASNA ADRENALIN(SK), 31 March-5 April 2009 – Freeride World Qualifier

RLDAL FREERIDE CHALLENGE(NOR), 22-26 April 2009 – Freeride World Qualifier, sister event of the Nissan Russian Adventure – Sochi 2010

LIST OF QUALIFIED AND CONFIRMED RIDERS FOR THE FIRST FWT EVENT IN SOCHI ATTACHED

www.freerideworldtour.com

Nissan are proud to be the founding partner of the Freeride World Tour, forming a key pillar in Nissans Sports Adventure programme which aims to support and promoteadventure sportsand an active outdoor lifestyle throughworld class events, media properties and integrated communications.

The Nissan Sports Adventure programme encompasses the NissanUCI Mountain Bike World Cup,UCI World Championships, the Nissan Outdoor Games and theNissan QashqaiChallenge. Nissan Sports Adventure combines the spirit of adventure with the controlled elements and skills of more traditional sports within the context of challenging and ever evolving environments. This sports adventure ethos reflects Nissans passion for adventure, independence and continuous achievement.

For more information on Nissans Sports Adventure programme please visit:www.nissan-sportsadventure.com

Visit us atwww.freerideworldtour.com

The partners of the Freeride World Tour 2009 events are:

UNSUBSCRIBE:click here