Loving the new...

Living in Jackson has definitely opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to experience a lot of new things. Something I have ALWAYS wanted to do was cut down my own Christmas tree...I'm not talking about from a Christmas tree farm, thats just a facade. I'm talking about cutting down a tree from a forest. When Laura told me that this was possible, I was so excited!! Here in Jackson, you can get a permit for only $5 bucks, and cut down any tree you want under 12' from the Bridger-Teton National Forest. It was a LOT harder than I thought it would be to find a good tree under 12' haha. It was definitely an exciting experience, and is really cool to have and decorate a tree you cut down yourself, knowing exactly where it came from. Here are some pictures from the excursion:


















Another new experience Laura and I got to have, was the company-wide JHMR orientation. We once again got some insider perspective on how the resort works (which is really cool), and also got to see the premier of Cable to the Sky, a documentary about the new tram which will be unveiled in a few weeks. After the orientation, about 1000 of the employees all went to the famous ski resort bar, the Mangy Moose. The resort gave everyone free drink tickets, there was a live band, and the atmosphere was AWESOME. Being around so many people that love skiing and snowboarding, just having a good time and rocking out to some local music is almost about as good as it gets. It was definitely a night I will never forget. Smith and Skull Candy sponsored the event, and gave away tons of free gear...we can home with a LOT of it haha, headphones, goggles, bandannas etc. Working for the resort definitely has its perks.

Another really cool and pretty obscure opportunity recently came my way. Someone who owns a website for mountain employment, came across my blog and liked what she saw. She asked me to write blog entries (much like the ones you are reading here) that she can put on her website, to give people thinking about getting mountain jobs a little insight to local life. Definitely a cool gig! Throw in the fact that its paid, and will allow me to have some extra cash, all while telling people about something I'm passionate about...well I can't complain about that. We all know Jackson is a hard town to survive in with its ski town prices, and this will definitely make things a little more comfortable, and its good web experience too!

Coming up, Grand Targhee just opened their summit chair lift "Dreamcatcher", so we will definelty be heading out there next week. Also, my birthday is next Friday (Dec. 12) which should be a pretty good time (aside from the getting older part). It will be nice to ski on my birthday, and enjoy some snow for once, that's for sure!