Jackson Hole Aerial Tram
Jun 13, 2012Hi! Told you I'd update soon! Luckily, I have some fun things to share. Yesterday, William and I both had the day off. (Advantages of working at a small company- very flexible!) We decided to go take advantage of a deal happening at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort- free aerial tram rides for locals until June 15th! Usually, tram rides are $23 for adults (50% off for locals, but still...) The tram is pretty crazy and takes you up to the very top of the mountain, which is a little over 10,000 feet. In the summer, there is a lot of hiking around and great views of the valley. In the winter... well, you better hope you are a good skier! Or, be glad that you can take the tram right back down to the bottom, unlike other ski lifts. I wish I had taken a picture of the sign, but there are 4 choices of ski runs when you get off the tram: 2 black diamonds and 2 double-black diamonds. It looks like I'll only be riding the tram in the summer! There is also a warning sign when you get off:
"Our mountain is like nothing you have skied before. Its terrain offers everything from groomed slopes to dangerous cliffs. And its weather is just as variable. You could become lost. You could make a mistake and suffer personal injury or death. Give this special mountain the respect it demands!"
Well, I'm listening loud and clear and will not be skiing from the tram! (Also, just to make it clear, there are many other lifts and gondola options you can take to ski other areas of the mountain that are not nearly as treacherous. And yes, I think "treacherous" is the appropriate word here.)
Tram loading station
The ride to the top lasts 12 minutes and goes up about 2.5 miles. The tram can carry 100 people! Luckily, there were not that many people when we rode. Once we got to the top, the temperature had dropped probably 15-20 degrees and it was super windy. There were definitely great views of the valley, though!
View from the tram... I don't normally think of cliffs being part of a ski resort, but there were plenty of them!
View of the valley. There were also lots of views of Yellowstone, etc.
Rendezvous bowl, one of the skiing areas people hike over to and ski. I won't be one of those people.
The picture right above was taken on the way down in the tram and is Corbet's Couloir, one of not only Jackson's, but America's, most famous ski runs. I read that it is #4 on the list of top 50 things skiers must do before they die. (Or it could be what you're doing when you die!) It is also known as "America's scariest ski slope." And this picture doesn't even do it justice- you actually start by dropping 20-30 feet, then ski at a 50 degree angle (if you've landed on your skis) while dodging rocks. Needless to say, you either have to be crazy, suicidal, or a legitimate expert to attempt this run. From what I've heard, there are typically a lot of people standing around near the edge of it, but not quite as many actually gather the courage to go down! This is probably for the best. After looking at the trail map, I was happy to find an area on the opposite side of this where there are mostly greens. I think I'll stick to this area in the winter!
That was pretty much it for the aerial tram experience. The tram itself is pretty cool- definitely not a standard feature at ski resorts! We did go to the little lodge at the top, Corbet's Cabin, to eat one of their "famous" waffles. It was really good and had some delicious brown sugar butter in it. I can see how they would be really good in the middle of a long ski day! Maybe I will take the tram up once in a while for a waffle... and then ride it, not ski, back down!
After riding the tram, we decided to give Sammie some attention and take her on a hike. We went to the Cache Creek trail, which I have talked about before. It is close by and has lots of different trails you can take, so it's always a good option. It was nice as usual! The weather has been great lately and typically in the low 70s and sunny. Perfect for outdoor activities!
View from Hagen's trail on Cache Creek
I have started to get accustomed to the different types of plants out here and sometimes I think I forget to appreciate how beautiful this area really is. It is harder to appreciate where you are when you are living there as opposed to being on vacation. There are so many amazing wildflowers and even though it is a dry climate, it is also lush and green! Even the sagebrush can be pretty. The wildflowers really are pretty, though. Yes, there are dandelions, but there are also purple, yellow, orange, and all other kinds that have very pretty flowers. Maybe I will take some close-ups of these sometime and share them on the blog. There are also huge lavender bushes all around town right now and they are in full bloom- they smell amazing!! I have been meaning to sneak some home for a nice air freshener!
On our hike, we also saw a chuck wagon tour! They go nightly during the summer and have some building they go cook dinner in off the trail. The wagons are pretty authentic looking! I do feel bad for the horses, though. We always pass by the chuck wagon company on the way to Cache Creek and they are just too crowded! I guess it isn't as bad as Charleston, where the horses only had a choice between a stable or walking on hot pavement, but it seems sad here when there are other horses all around getting tons of space. Oh well, I guess I won't be participating in a chuck wagon tour, so it doesn't matter much. One funny thing about the chuck wagon was that we saw some guys riding horses dressed as Indians on the trail. They must do some dramatic act during dinner.
Some other fun news is that we got a treadmill! We were walking Sammie one night and saw it on the side of the road with a sign that said "free." The person who put it out happened to be outside, so I asked about it. He said there was something wrong with the belt, meaning the belt that you run on. We decided to take it home anyways and William checked it out. I know it can be very handy to have a man around the house, but it is even more handy to have an engineer! I don't know if the guy who put it on the street even looked at the motor, but William quickly found that the problem was the belt that was attached to the motor, not the belt that is used to run on. He did some fixing and it's working pretty well now! I did order a new motor drive belt to help get it into perfect condition. I looked it up and apparently it retails for $600-700. Definitely worth some work and a $19 belt to have it! I have run on it once and it seemed to work just fine. Maybe now that I've told everyone about it, I'll be more motivated to use it. We'll see... I think it will really come in handy during the winter! Maybe I will train Sammie to walk on it, too. (Yeah, right!)
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