Tram, wildlife, XMAS, and sssnnnooowwww...

Well it sure has been a while since I have had a chance to write a post, but I've been really busy and a LOT has happened. Last week the resort thew a $50,000 tram party and unveiled the new 'Big Red'. The unveiling was a really cool local scene, and the energy was great. I was so glad to be a part of it, and it made me feel great about making the decision to move out here. The tram came down from the first tower covered in a big cloth, and then they dropped it, unveiling the new box. To make things even more awesome, they shot fireworks off the top of it and then Santa repelled out of the bottom! It was definitely a night I will never, ever forget.








This past Monday my parents came to town for Christmas. Before they got here, Laura and I took our first ride on the tram! What made this wwwaaayyyyy cooler was that we rode up with Jeremy Jones, which for those of you who don't know, is one of the best snowboarders in the world. We talked to him at the top, and took a picture...he was a really cool down to earth guy. Afterward, we made some turns down the mountain and made it home just in time to meet my parents.





It has been great having them here, I really enjoyed showing them around town and the mountain. The second day they were here we went on a sleigh ride through the Elk Refuge just north of town, and saw thousands of wild elk that migrate to the valley every winter. It was a fun time, and a great opportunity for my dad and I to take pictures.








We also saw some buffalo, moose, coyote and bighorn sheep while taking a ride around Jackson!







The next day it started snowing, and snowing and snowing and snowing. We got 40 inches in three days!!! On Christmas we got almost 30 inches, which was a record snowfall for one day in Jackson Hole. Snow is literally everywhere! I did some of the best skiing of my life on Christmas, the snow was so deep it was rolling over our shoulders when we got speed, and the snow was literally going in our mouths...keeping us from breathing! We had to stop every 50 feet or so to get some air, we needed snorkels! Here are some pictures from around town and the resort of the snow depth, its pretty wild...

Me at my lift, 30" of snow in one night!

Check out the depth of the snow in the middle of the tower.

Some cars in front of my apartment got a bit of snow.

There is a car under there I promise lol.

That lump in front of the cars is a bike rack with a bike at it!

Waist deep at the sidewalk, the ground is usually level with the concrete.

Given that my parents drove all the way out here to visit, presents were not what they usually are. For once in my life though, I think I had a Christmas where I honestly didn't really care about presents at all, and what I 'got' wasn't important to me. This year I received three 'Christmas presents' that money can't buy:

1) My parents coming to visit. After being away from family for so long (which I have never done) seeing mom and dad again was great. Them coming out here to be with me on Christmas was enough to satisfy me, and really meant a lot.

2) 40" of snow in two days, and what was probably the best powder skiing of my life...enough said.

3) A little short story for this one...On Christmas I had to work, and after the huge amount of snow we got, our lift wasn't able to open on time. A bunch of people waited at the lift line for almost 2 hours, and when we told them we might not open, everyone left but the guy and girl in front. The girl asked me what to do. I told her if she didn't want to leave, then to wait 30 minutes and then ask me again. Time went by and still no clearance to open, so I told her to just hike the nearby run and ski it, and that I wouldn't tell on her! She actually did hike it, and then skied down a while later. She came up to me and said, "Thank you SO much for the advice, you just gave me the best ski run of my life!" Being that she is a local, that means a lot! I know this might seem kind of silly, but it made me feel good, and was a nice addition to my Christmas. It feels really rewarding to know you helped someone even if you didn't make that big of a sacrifice... seeing that huge smile on her face and the snow frozen in her hair, made it all worthwhile and meaningful to me in the end.

Me bumping chairs on Christmas, thanks go out to my friend Brad for the finger in the corner :P

Well that's all for now, I really need to get to bed. Next time I will try to blog more often so I don't have to try to squeeze in a ton of info into one post! Some of our friends from college will be coming to visit us this week, and then the next week we are all traveling to Big Sky Montana for the UK Snowcats ski trip. Translation... there will be a LOT of skiing going on in the next two weeks! :D