Disaster Strikes

When you live in your car, you are very dependent on that car running.

So when that car breaks down on you it gets scary. Yesterday I quit skiing early just to get the slow leak tire fixed. After buying the new headlight, and getting the tire fixed the Eurovan just died. I thought I stalled it but after trying to jump it I realized it was something way worse… and as always it was going to be very expensive – turns out about $400. The worst part is everything I own is in the van, which is now at the garage until at earliest Monday. I packed a bag and grabbed my skis for the next few days not sure where I would stay or what I would do. Luckily I had met a dude named Dave earlier that day. He’s working at the mountain and lives in a condo in Teton Village (5 minute walk to the lifts). After a short conversation with him about how cold out it was and how I live in my van, he offered me a floor space in the condo for $10/night. So I knocked on the door last night and took him up on the offer.

I’m off for a night time skin tour of JHR’s cross country trails.

Snow Science

Well I’ve been living in the van at various locations in Jackson proper. Because I can easily get snowed in at the Park and Ride I have taken to parking in hotel lots. Although there are signs everywhere about not parking basically anywhere over-night, no one seems to really care. Sleeping is the hardest part of living in the van. It’s so cold at night that I don’t want to move, and getting up to pee (which if you know me happens a lot) is not an option. The worst part though is the split finger tips from the cold. They are killing me.

Since I’ve been here in Jackson Hole I’ve been spending my days in the American Avalanche Institute’s Level II Avalanche Course. Today was our last day. I have to say I’ve learned a TON in this course. Snow science is amazing. If only the teachers in high school could have explained to me the metamorphasis a snow grain goes through after it falls and how it affects the stability of that layer I would have actually liked science. Too bad.

The course is taught by Rod Newcomb, Exum Guide, former snow ranger at Jackson Hole and the Director of the American Avalanche Institute. He's an amazing guy, in his 70s and still sharp as a tack and so many stories your head would spin. All the instructors are Exum Mountain Guides. If you haven't heard about Exum read this article from Outside Magazine.

Anyway here are the basics of what we did in the course (this is for you Copson, Riley and Parker).
Day 1: Review of metamorphosis, plotting snowpack from weather data, litigation, field – full data pit at Phillips Bench on Teton Pass, plotted pit data.
Day 2: Review weather and stability, snow mechanics, review shear tests and shear quality, field – shear tests at Phillips Bench again, review of surface hoar.
Day 3: Toured up and out Snow King Ski Resort, dug 2 pits and did every test imaginable, Rutschblock, all compaction tests, analyzed grains and tested density, then kicked off a few cornices.

Day One - Jackson Hole, Wy

I had been thinking a lot about where I would live when I arrived in Jackson. I knew the "Hostel" at the base of the Jackson Hole (ski) Resort (JHR) was $58/night. This was WAY too much. I also knew that I might be able to find a rental in the town of Jackson for around $700-$1,000/month for the month I will be here. Still too much. I was thinking I would sleep in the van some nights, at the hostel others and maybe meet someone in my Avy II or AMGA Ski Guiding class that would let me crash on their floor. It wasn't until Chantrelle said "you gotta live in the van, like a real ski bum" that I realized that was the answer. She had done this for a summer on the Cape and said that as long as you have access to a gym (shower) it's not that bad. I had already been planning on getting a gym membership for training. So I have decided to live like a "real ski bum" and live in my van. I checked out the two gym options in Jackson today, and will get a month long membership just down the road from the Park and Ride that I call home for $75. This will allow me to train, and to shower.

I felt a bit guilty today as I got out of bed in the Park and Ride at noon, but hell I needed the rest. Being sick and driving for 30 hours took it's toll on me. The Park and Ride is sweet and I'm the only one there. I half expected a cop to knock on my window at some point and tell me to leave. The only noise to bother me was the occasional bus that came through starting at 5am.

Jackson is the the epicenter of this area and the biggest town around. This is where my Park and Ride and gym are. Teton Village is at the base of JHR and is where I would stay if I could afford it. But there are no gyms, no grocery stores, etc... so most of the time I'll stay in Jackson and drive to the resort to ski.

I can't wait to get on skis! It's unreal here and the backcountry appears to be limitless.

The approach to Teton Village

The famous clock tower at JHR

The tram at JHR - this is the last year it will run

Driving Seattle to Jackson

Driving to Jackson, WY - Dec 29-31, 2005
I left Seattle, WA thinking I'd drive my VW EuroeVan to Jackson in 13-15 hours, no problem. I couldn't have been more wrong. Where to begin? Well I left Seattle around 5:30pm Friday. I had planned on a bit earlier but I had to drive up to GI Joe's to get that heater for the van, in rush hour traffic. Once out of Seattle I got stuck in more traffic at Snoqualmie Pass. The storm has shut down the pass for a few hours, so I sat there. What is worse is I started to feel sick. First a sore throat, then a fever, and sore back and neck, and it got progressively worse. While I wait I tried to put my tire chains on for the drive over the pass. Come to find out that the guy at Fred Myer who helped me had no idea what he was talking about and the chains were too small. Long story short, I turn around, buy new chains, and make it over the pass 5 hours later than planned. I had no problem going slow while I drove in the snow because periodically I'd see a semi-truck off the road, tipped over. Somewhere in Idaho I realize how bad I felt. I was full blown sick now. After sleeping at a rest stop for 4 hours I came back to get in the van and I hear the front tire hissing at me. It's a slow leak, but I was super paranoid. I had nightmare visions of being stranded.

The luck I had had thus far in the trip made my mind wonder. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to do this", I thought, "Maybe this is a sign". Pushing those thoughts out of my head I dreamed of the Jackson powder.

The rest of the trip I kept an eye on the leak, the tire doesn't seem to be getting flat, but I convince myself that it was... and that incessant hissing drove my fear. At one point I checked the pressure and it was almost double the recommended pressure. My paranoia was getting the best of me. The two passes in Idaho were snowy, but not bad enough for chains and I had the luxury of daylight.

The last obstacle to tackle is driving over the pass to Jackson Hole itself in the dead of night. I decided to go for it in the dark as the New Year approached. I arrived in Jackson just as the clock struck 12! It was pretty sweet (well as sweet as it could be, alone on New Years in a van). I toured downtown Jackson and watched the party people. I also kept and eye out for a spot to park the van to sleep for the night. Cops followed me multiple times as I slowed and gawked. One of them pulled me over. I tried a jedi mind trick on him saying, "I am not the drunkard you are looking for". He laughed, checked my license and let me go. I luckily found a Park and Ride in town and pulled in to sleep for the night. I slept about 11 hours I was so tired and sick... but I was in Jackson - the promise land.