2010 Trip Reports

Jackson Hole , Wyoming

Feb. 27 – Mar. 6, 2010

          A fantastic group of CFSS members ventured out to Wyoming to the neat western town of Jackson Hole for a great snow week. We stayed in town at a perfect location, the 49’er—a short walk to all kinds of restaurants, shops, and neat “hang outs”. We rode our bus for a beautiful 20 minute ride to the mountain and stored our skis at the base of the gondola so we could practically ski in/ski out each day.

          Our trip included a wonderful welcome party with reps from Jackson Hole Resort and Grand Targhee Resort on hand to answer any questions and give any assistance we needed. Many people went on free mountain tours of Rendezvous Mountain . Our expert skiers had the challenge of skiing off the top of the new tram at 10,450 feet while others enjoyed the “blues and greens” taking off from the Bridger Gondola, Teewinot, Casper, and Apres Vous lifts. We skied under beautiful blue skies most of the week. Many of us enjoyed the breathtaking ride over to Grand Targhee Resort to ski for the day. Though Fred’s Mountain at Grand Targhee is smaller, it allowed every level of skier to come down from the 9852 foot summit on this beautiful mountain. A few of us skied right up to a huge porcupine walking across the snow on one of the trails.

          Besides the draw of skiing, there are many other things to do in Jackson Hole and we took advantage of all of it. We had groups go dog sledding, snowmobiling to Granite Hot Springs, visit the Elk Refuge, go on Wildlife tours, enjoy the spas, snowmobile through Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, and much more. Ron Thompson and Sonia Gibson were the daredevils of our group, each going paragliding from the 9095 foot summit of Bridger Gondola to the base below.

          As we traveled to different locations we encountered many forms of wildlife in the area—moose, coyote, trumpeter swan, long horn sheep, eagles, elk, and bison. One of our group snowmobiling in Yellowstone near Old Faithful stopped on one lane (of the two lane road) to watch a bison walking down the other lane only a few feet away from them—what an amazing up close experience!!

          We enjoyed a delicious Elk BBQ one evening and then a terrific banquet at the Cadillac Grille the next night. Many of us visited the Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon and slung a leg over the saddles at the bar for cool drink or enjoyed the atmosphere of the Silver Dollar Bar and Grille. The Snake River Brewery, a quick 5 minute walk from the 49’er, had many varieties of beer brewed on the premises, as well as delicious food. It was fun venturing to the town square with its four tall arches made from elk antler which were lit at night.

          All in all we had a wonderful trip providing many lasting memories and friendships.

                                                Karen and Don Lenz

Taos Ski Valley

Feb 20-27, 2010

Our group arrived in Taos Ski Village on Saturday evening, and the blizzard began!  We had almost “white out” conditions for our first two days of skiing.  Taos Mountain is very steep and challenging under any circumstances, so skiing was definitely for the brave.  But, experiencing several feet of fresh powder was fun and exhilarating.

The sun finally came out on Tuesday in time for “Crazy Hat and Boxer Shorts Day”, the ski races, and an excellent lunch on the mountain.  Later, the Florida Ski Council held its own version of the Winter Olympics.  Thanks to Ron Hartle and Steve Sovich for doing a great job of representing CFSS!

What really made our trip outstanding were the many activities for non-skiers.  The Ski Council provided regular transportation into the town of Taos (about ½ hour away from the Ski Village ).  Shopping in Taos is awesome!  The selection varies from cheesy souvenir shops to galleries filled with authentic Southwestern Art and clothing.  The many museums are wonderful!  There was a casino at the Taos Pueblo. Thanks to Ron Peeper for offering free rides into Taos & other sites In his rented SUV . Ron is a non-skier but provides a valuable asset to our trips and he really enjoys going on these trips with Ann & our ski club.

It was also fun to hang around Taos Ski Village .  There are several excellent restaurants and cute shops in the vicinity.  There was a great spa at one of the hotels that offered a discount to Ski Council Members.  Many from our group went snowmobiling.  Several took a Southwestern cooking class and loved it.

Jim Johnson, our trip leader, may have had more fun than anyone else!  He won a NASTAR medal and a Florida Ski Council award for “Fastest Man On the Mountain” (for a certain age range.)  He and his son, Brian, our only snowboarder, also distinguished themselves with their costumes at the Mexican Fiesta Party.  We were all so proud!

Seriously, thanks to everyone that went with us.  You were an amazing and fun group and made our trip wonderful.

Jim & Louise Johnson