I like an early morning...

Besides a free season pass and getting paid millions of dollars......., working at the ski hill on random weekends during big events also as its sunrise benefits too. 

This is for you, girls...

One of my jobs right now is coaching the U14 group of racers for the JH Ski Club. And I have to admit, I love it. These kids, ages 12-13, are ripping skiers and they crack me up, what more could you ask for? The only downfall is how cold it has been lately (-28 degrees was the lowest recorded temp a few days ago!), but that is when multiple down coats come in handy! Some of the girls found this blog and are now "innocently stalking" me, so I thought I would give them a little shout out... : )

 Me and BB at last weekend's ski club race. BB (short for Bettina Betts) has two guinea pigs, Martha and Georgie, and once poured table salt in her fish tank to see if her fish could swim in salt water. It couldn't.

Always a big hit, pretending to be "gapers". 

Zach and my group this last weekend hamming it up at the Village.

Race day huddle with Tait, BB and Emery. Actually, this doesn't seem too out of the ordinary, these girls are always glued to my side (and reading this blog, haha) Hi girls!

And a pic from the race, of me, finding something ridiculous and funny. : )

  A little of what I get to deal with ; )

This is when Emery, BB and Tait hijacked my phone at lunch the other day. Lucky me, I ended up with about 20 amazing photos like this. Hmmm, they actually might be good blackmail pix in a few years...

 

 Oh ya, and they stole my coat too. They don't look guilty at all.

Total rookies signing their ransom note. : ) 

At least they say please(!)

Just a couple of months til....

Dr. Happe and his associates have been operating on my moto down in SLC.  Nice new stabilizer on  the handle bars.  First desert moto trip is just two short months away.  Yahoo.  Thanks Matt!

Never too late....

 To post random ski photo's from last week.  It hasn't snowed in almost two weeks now which kinda sucks.   Ohh well.  Here are a couple of random shots.  I mentioned something about trying to take more ski photos this year right?

The JHMR tram in all its glory.

And me, in the Hobacks, as taken from the wonderful Chelsea's perspective, droppin knee.

The Sled Saga

 Where to even start?  Well, sledding is if anything......., an adventure.  It is most certainly a far cry from corduroy groomers and nearby ski patrol.  Sledding is about being miles from other human being and being out in the boonies, making decisions on your own, and getting freshies.  With that sometimes comes hard times, tribulations, and difficulties.  This past week Drew and I experienced the low's of sledding, but came away with nothing but more love and respect for the pursuit of riding sleds!  Long story short....., my ol (2009) sled is starting to be a liability in the backcountry due to years of hard abuse.  Over time, these high performance machines break down.  And, well, mine did just that, in a catastrophic kind of way.  We were in probably one of the more in-opportune place to experience a massive engine failure and it happened in a big kind of way.  

The ol steed, stranded where we had to leave er for two days in the middle of a massive hill climb.  We tried in vain to tow it out and above the hill in the picture above with two sleds and it didn't happen.  So, Drew and I rode out double and Steve rode out single.  We left it there for two days and pondered out possibilities, of which ranged from....lighting it on fire and claiming insurance money, enlisting a heli to haul it out, and/or using blood, sweat, tears, and good ol engineering to get er out.  

We settled on our own manpower to maneuver her more than 20 miles to the nearest trailhead.  

 Mad props to my good bud Drew.  He is the only one crazy and badass enough to spend two full days trying to help a bud out in a time of need.  Drew's brainchild, a 200ft climbing rope, 30 foot webbing, and 40 foot small cord z drag contraption that managed to work.

Shots are a bit out of order.  We did catch a sweet sunset on the way out the first stranded day.  I promise you it looked a ton cooler out of our goggles!

 So....that was the crux of our massive issue.  That is my primary clutch.  Yep, it is completely sheered off of my crankshaft and engine bulkhead.  Needless to say, that is not supposed to happen and a massive, massive, massive world of pain.

 The crankshaft, right where the primary clutch was once attached to.  WTF

 It was a painstakingly slow and tedious process to set up the z drag pulley system to get my sled up and out of the bad zone that we were in.  

 A whole lotta patience, perseverance, and a lotta love ended up getting the sled out.

 The process involved uncountable "stucks", a lot of swearing, a lot of calories, a ton of coffee, untold amount of strength, a frantic call to Search and Rescue, and minor frostbite...

 Five hours, 5 Z drags, and 400 vertical feel later, we got the sled to the top of the most troublesome hill on the way out... Ugh...  Note, it never reached 0 degrees the whole time we were out there.

The whole reason we were in this zone.  Its out of this world, although, as we always talk about, it is pretty daunting to pull a sled out of. 

 

The Teeters and us before all went pear shaped.  In the end, we got the sled out.  It involved over 24 hours of dedicated hard work.  Was it all worth it, hell yes!  My sled is now in the shop and and I am reaping the rewards of an extended engine warranty.  Chances are that I will be getting a brand new engine in the lil beast.  

Thanks again Drew, words cant describe how much you are the man! 

Idaho and Wyoming Robinsons

Winter visitors are not nearly as frequent as summer it seems.  However, those that do brave the cold are usually rewarded with all that is kickass in Jackson in the winter!  My folks came down for the run up to the New Year and a couple of days after.  It was awesome having them here.  And......., it allowed us to do something new, even for us locals....., take a winter tour of the National Elk Refuge.  It was really cool.  

The WYIDO Robinsons.  

 

 Chels, looking hot, per usual.  

 The ol man in the frozen tundra of the Elk Refuge!  

We toured around on the sleighs.  

Yep, those are really big bulls, just hanging.  Right now there are only about 3,000 elk on the refuge mostly because there is still a lot of forage to be had down low, but once winter hits harder in the coming weeks, the biologist expect there to be upwards of 7,000 elk on the refuge.

 My parents are always up for a good adventure and love to snowshoe, so, we headed up to GTNP and went up Blacktail Butte one day.  I dont go up there every winter, but when I do, I am always amazed at how surreal of a place we are lucky enough to call home.  

I dont share the same affinity for snowshoeing that my parents do, so, I skinned up and skied down.

 Lunch and tea break with a view from the summit.  

 I love you guys!

 Keeping it Real Yo....

 Doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

It hasnt snowed now in ten days, but......when it stays so cold, the snow remains awesome. 

Happy 2013

My new New Year's tradition. My plan is to fill this baby with everything great that comes at me in 2013 and then empty it out and revisit those great moments at the end of the year to remind myself how awesome my life is. We all need a little reminder every once in awhile, right? 

Happy 2013 everyone, hope you fill your jars quickly!