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“Madison Range” by Mike Cramer.  The Madison Mountain Range stands above Ennis Lake, Montana in early spring.  To view more of Mike’s photography, please visit his Flickr photostream.

See more photos on the New West Images photoblog.

Snowblog Essay

Teton Bicycle Rally Marks End of Winter

Winter in the Rockies is long. After six months of the white stuff even the most avid boarders and skiers are ready for a change of season by the time the month of May rolls around.  Idaho Falls resident Matt Stanger has spent the past twelve years making sure Old Man Winter knows he’s no longer welcome by organizing a rite of spring event enthusiastically known as the Grand Teton No Motor.

This homage to better weather began back in 2000 when Stanger was an Ecology student working his way through school at a bicycle shop in Southeast Idaho. He used to ride with a group of hard-core cyclists that did 60-mile loops through Yellowstone Park each spring. Fun for Stanger, but his regular crowd of friends weren’t up for a marathon ride through steep mountain terrain. His crowd was more about marathon rides across town to the bar.

In the hope of getting his friends more involved with cycling, Stanger worked up a short ride into Teton National Park that would provide the most beautiful scenery the West has to offer while keeping the physical challenge at a level even a 49-year-old fat man could handle.  It should be noted Stanger wasn’t entirely selfless in creating this ride; he was also trying to entice his girlfriend to get out with him. It worked; he’s now married to said girlfriend.

Who knew bicycling could be used to pitch woo?

Skiing & Snowboarding

Snowboarder Inspires Donation

Last Fall, I had the opportunity to meet Chris Klug, an Olympic medalist, professional snowboarder and organ recipient. Inspired by his story, I am now volunteering for the Chris Klug Foundation during the month of April, Donate Life Month.

While I am donating my time during a monthlong student challenge at a local college, I am also signed up to be an organ donor. Did you know that a single organ and tissue donor can save and enhance the lives of more than 100 people? While none of us really wants to think about coming to a tragic end, how much less tragic is that end if you can save or improve someone’s life? Currently more than 110,000 Americans are waiting for organs. There is clearly a need. 

Skiing & Snowboarding

The 2010-11 Ski Season: Great Powder and Even Better Memories

Living in a ski resort town, my family vacation stories are beach stories, so I like to hear the other point of view.

Then I met Scott Oldham.

Scott grew up in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver. His parents , Mike and Sara, took him and his brother, Kirk, on ski vacations in Grand County.

They would ski at what in the ‘80s was called the Silvercreek Ski Area. Scott was 10 and Kirk was 12 when they started. Scott recalls winter weekends skiing as many runs as possible, hitting bumps and jumps all day long. Their parents skied too, and the boys remember distinctly how their dad was a great skier. They would come up for a weekend and stay at Snow Mountain Ranch (YMCA) or the Silvercreek Inn. They also brought along family friends who had boys the same ages; I can imagine the trouble these teenage boys would get into.

Skiing & Snowboarding

Toward the Last Ski: Come Again Soon, La Nina

Nothing says the end of ski season like corn snow, sunshine and costumes. April is a time of closure as Forest Service leases expire and chair lifts are turned off.  The mechanisms that run each resort operation will stop to gather dust. Sadly, the shoulder season is very near.

But first, let us revel in the year that will forever be known as…. drum roll.. 2010-2011! A season of maniacal weather patterns and 100-plus bases. We skiers made a new best friend and her name is La Niña. Here’s hoping she bucks the pattern and comes calling next year. La Niña kept it snowing. La Niña brought the inches of delight. Our powder-filled smiles are still wide in reminiscence.

Old School

VIDEO: From the Alta Archives, Awesome Powder and Awesome Pants in 1974

A classic powder day from the archives: It’s what happened when three ski bums suspended an awesome quest (100 days for a $135 season pass) briefly picked up the 8-mm to capture the action during just two runs on Jan. 5, 1974.

Lowell (Rock) Nelson, Mark (Stein Erikson) Johnson and Wes (The Bird) Lindahl carve major moves while sporting stylish ski pants and a look today’s bums can only copy. “Shambala” from Three Dog Night is a servant to the feel of that great day.

Resort Town News

Winter Ebbs None Too Soon in Breckenridge and Crested Butte

At about 9,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies, a longstanding belief among old-timers was that the pivot between winter and spring occurred on St. Patrick’s Day. Before that, snow piles kept growing. Afterward, new storms only added to the snow depths temporarily. The longer-term trend was melting.

That we’re into the spring melt is probably a good thing in many mountain towns, including Breckenridge, which has a base elevation of 9,600 feet. There, impatience set in during early March with icy sidewalks, rising road-side berms and alleys lost under the winter coating.

Part of the annoyance had to do with reduced snowplowing service. While the network of roads has expanded in recent years, the amount of staffing devoted to clearing them has declined. Town officials say they have reduced their Cadillac-level services to those of a Subaru.

“When we go back and look at what we think is sustainable financially, those are some of the realities that have come about in trying to be financially responsible,” explained spokeswoman Kim DiLallo.

Snowboarding and Skateboarding

Lamenting Laramie: Why Colorado Has More to Offer Boarders

In Laramie, you only have one option for a ski area to ride: Snowy Range.

The same can be said for skate parks. Summit County has Silverthorne and another in Breckenridge, just a 15-minute drive apart.

Denver and its suburbs offer even more possibilities. 

If this same person were to stay in Laramie, they would only be able to skate at the town’s sole park. If they want to skate another park, they have to drive east to the nearest park in Cheyenne, which is 45 miles away.

But, it’s not just the fact that there are more ski resorts and skate parks in Colorado than Wyoming that draws some Laramie skaters and boarders south. They’re also lured by how much more terrain there is available at Colorado resorts and skate parks.

Whether you look at the amount of terrain available at the individual resorts of Keystone, Breckenridge or Copper Mountain, they all stand as colossal giants in comparison to the dwarf that is Snowy Range.

Snowboarding

Welcome to Laramie’s Other Ski Area, the One That Hasn’t Been Open for 30 Years

The go-to for skiers and snowboarders in Laramie, Wyoming, is clearly the Snowy Range Ski Area. But there’s another ski area in the region you can ski or ride—it’s just that it hasn’t been operational for decades.

What now constitutes the Happy Jack Recreation Area, a favorite location for local campers just 15 minutes west of Laramie on Highway 210, was once a fully operational ski area.

According to Colorado Ski History.com, the ski area at Happy Jack ran from the early ‘60s to late ‘70s. It had two T-bar lifts and even featured night skiing.

Yet, even though the small ski area has not been in business for decades, that does not mean local skiers and boarders don’t make use of Happy Jack. They just have to put in the work of hiking to get their runs. Still, riding Happy Jack has its advantages.

Advantage One: It’s free.

Resort Town News

$100 Lift-Ticket Barrier Passed by Vail, Aspen

Quietly this winter, a milestone was surpassed in the ski industry.

Two ski areas have now charged more than $100 per day for lift tickets. Vail was the first, during the Christmas holidays, charging $108. Then, on the Presidents’ Day Weekend, Aspen came in with a $104 price.

“It’s been looming there for a long time,” David Perry, senior vice president of the Aspen Skiing Co., referring to the $100 threshold. “Had the recession not occurred, the barrier would have been cracked more rapidly,” he told the Aspen Times.