My old friend Mole said this to me one pizza night at the Glen Eden as he closed up shop.  I’ve thought about it a lot, and my heart, mind, and soul have come to the consensus that it is in fact true.  Find what makes you happy, do it, and then go forth in a good mood and spread it around.  That’s the idea, anyway!

We are living in Jackson, Wyoming currently and aren’t wasting much time lounging on our proverbial laurels.  It has been snowing for nearly two weeks straight with no signs of stopping.  So we did what any powder loving fools would do and headed into the Tetons with our skis under foot.  Judging by the swarms of people out skiing Teton Pass, I assumed that the Park would offer a similar crowded backcountry experience.  But was I ever wrong.  We enjoyed a peaceful day skinning and skiing without seeing anyone else.

The only trace of other skiiers came in the form of a distant “woohoooooo” from up-canyon and the occasional filled in skin-track.  We had to do some soul searching to decide if our powder was up to snuff or if their “woohoooo” was indicative of a deeper, steeper stash.  But then we looked around, beheld the snowy hillsides, and realized that the only true comparison would be not skiing powder at all!  We only encountered these mysterious others as we traversed Tagart Lake to get back to the parking lot a the end of the day.

About 2/3 of the way across the lake we intersected these two like-minded comrades and yapped like giddy schoolchildren about our respective (and respectable!) day’s worth of turns.  It should be noted that it has snowed so much since we’ve arrived that the mountains have actually been quite socked in, and while we have skied in the Tetons we have not actually seen them!

Joey and I have also spent a good chunk of time skinning up “The King,” Jackson’s town hill. If we do this enough we tell ourselves that a 40 mile race will be a piece of cake.  Or not, but it’s better than nothing!  I think it’s such a wise decision for Snow King to continue to permit uphill traffic within the confines of their resort.  It keeps the townsfolk fit, healthy, and hearty, and feeds into the town’s burly self-image!  Plus, it gives people a chance to do their “backcountry touring” when the avalanche conditions are too surly to safely allow out-of-bounds skiing.  Win-win!  We felt like we were really charging the uphill today but then the All-Knowing Universe sent us a sign to the contrary…

Now that I’m back at the chalet and feeling cozy I’ll go drink some gluten free coconut water (some things in life go without saying) and study up on the muscles of the hand and wrist in preparation for an orthopedic pimp sesh tomorrow morning (yes, I am still in school!).  May the odds be ever in my favor, and may I enjoy the passage of my time in clinic so I can ski again tomorrow night!