B757

B757
Originally uploaded by krughb

Flew in to JAC on a Delta flight with 175 seats with 25 passengers. It has been a while since I had such an empty flight.

I wonder how much money Delta lost on this flight? It was full today on the return to SLC which helps balance out the loss.

B757

B757
Originally uploaded by krughb

Flew in to JAC on a Delta flight with 175 seats with 25 passengers. It has been a while since I had such an empty flight.

I wonder how much money Delta lost on this flight? It was full today on the return to SLC which helps balance out the loss.

Breaking News -- This Blog is Moving!

You heard it here first, Triple Winter is on the move. Check out the new homepage for your favorite blog.

I have entertained a tremendous number of complaints from the global reader base about my meaningless URL and I finally decided to upgrade the site name. As of March 11th, Triple Winter will now be found at this site:

http://broadbandcowboy.blogspot.com/

Check out the new site, send some feedback or suggestions, sign up for an RSS feed, click on an ad to support your author and enjoy.

Ramblings on the Economy - Part 1

I spent the past few days in Seattle where the current changes to our economic environment are more pronounced due to the size of the metropolitan area. During my visit I stayed in downtown Seattle and traveled to Bellevue to work on Thursday and Friday. This involves a commute over I-90, one of the two floating bridges spanning Lake Washington. A few years ago, this trip would be stop and go - bumper to bumper traffic after 7:30. A simple 12 mile commute would often take 45+ minutes between 7:30 to 9:00. Last week, I made the journey at 7:45 and 8:05 in the morning and both trips were under 20 minutes. The traffic literally disappeared.

A few friends mentioned that traffic has lightened up across the greater Seattle area in the past few months. I was astonished to see the difference first hand and it was unsettling to know that job losses were the major reason for the reduction in traffic.

4 Pines & A Flip Camera

We received a flip camera and put the device to use on 4 Pines, a backcountry ski and snowboard run at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The flip is a well designed and easy to use camera, it captures video at 720p resolution (DVD quality), charges and imports video through a USB connection, and is the size of a cell phone.

Why live in Jackson?

Occasionally, I ask myself this question. Living in a resort town has benefits and downsides, especially when dealing with Tourons (tourist & morons lumped into 1 body). After skiing 3 waist deep laps on Cody yesterday, I reminded myself why I live at the foot of this mountain range.

Cutter Races

Every year the Shriners host Cutter Races in Jackson Hole. The races are the Cowboy States' equivalent of NASCAR and keep the rodeo boys active during the cold long mountain winter. Two horses pull a person standing on a tin can sled with wheels as the horses sprint down a 300 yard snow track while the audience bets $1 per race.

Crazy Headlines

Surfing the internet is a great way to find interesting news headlines. Still, I was surprised to find this headline on the NY Times:

With elections looming, Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, is giving Viagra away to poor, older men.

Do you think this will be one of the most popular stories by Friday morning?

Cell Phone Fact

4 billion people on planet earth own cell phones. The total population of the planet is 6 billion people.

In Jackson, many of my friends do not have land lines and thus rely solely on cell phones. I wonder if any other personal electronic devices have been adopted by this large of a percentage of the overall population? It's astonishing when considering that 13 years ago, hardly anyone owned a cell phone (one girl in my high school had a car phone).

Ten - A sweet Ski Movie

I watched a great online ski movie yesterday called Ten. The movie was produced by Guido Perrini and uses footage from his last ten years of filming. The movie is a cross between a documentary and standard ski movie, and answers the questions:

- What is Freeriding?
- Why Freeride?

As a skier and snowboarder, I enjoyed how both activities were intertwined into the movie, without requiring a specific ski or snowboard section. In the end, we are all ripping turns down a mountain, if you leverage 1 or 2 planks, its still the same process. Bottom line, this guy understands how to make a great ski movie.

You can learn more about the movie at Guido's website. Also, make a donation if you view the movie so that we have future editions to view. A streaming ski movie, what could be better?


TEN ski snowboard film www.guidoperrini.com from guido perrini on Vimeo.

Idaho Falls - Ponzi Schemes?

In late December I rode the lift with a plastic surgeon from Idaho Falls who mentioned that her practice was slowing down due to the difficult economic conditions. It sounded logical, people will cut cosmetic costs as incomes and savings decrease. During the conversation she mentioned that an alleged Ponzi Scheme was being investigated in Idaho Falls and the information should hit the newspaper in the next few weeks. Well, I am sorry to say that she was right.

Man ordered to halt alleged Ponzi scheme in Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls is a small city with a blend citizens focusing on agricultural and research at the Idaho National Laboratory (nuclear engineers). It's remarkably similar to other ordinary small city's in the rural West. This would be the last place that I would identify with Ponzi schemes. If a $50 million scam grew in IF, watch out, because they must be everywhere. Apparently, the NY Times agrees with my theory.

My New Kiva Loan

NY Times: Ski Area Avalanches

Check out this article by the NY Times which highlights the recent inbounds avalanches at ski resorts North America. The author focuses specifically on Jackson Hole and describes our recent avalanche activity.

50+ Calls

We recently placed a classified ad in the paper for a part time babysitter. During the past 8 days we received 50 voicemails and our phone has been ringing non-stop. I get the feeling that jobs in Jackson have dried up, a large number of people are looking for work and people are very excited about picking up a few shifts watching an 8 month old baby.

Cloudveil and Wells Fargo recently announced a few entry level retail positions and the word around the valley is that each company received over 150 applications for the positions. How do you narrow down a field of 150 applicants for one entry level position? Now consider that 90% of the applicants have a college degree and are overqualified for the position. Where do you start?

I wonder how this will shake out during the next few months - will people be forced to leave the valley? Will this force duress real estate sales?

Everyone is safe - Jackson Headwall Avalanche

Miraculously, no one was hurt in the massive avalanche at Jackson Hole on the Headwall today. The avalanche caused extensive damage to the new lodge at the top of the mountain. The building houses a cafe, ski shop, a high end dinner restaurant and a fancy lunch cafeteria; all of which have been opened for less than 1 year. Everyone on the hill was surprised about the original plan to construct this building in an avalanche zone. Check out the pictures from TetonAT - a local search and rescue member who was called to the scene.

The pictures with the tables and chairs on his site are taken from the 2nd story -- think about how much snow is piled up outside!

Jackson Hole - Headwall Avalanche

It appears that the headwall at Jackson Hole slid shortly before 10am on Monday (12/29/08). I do not think that the Gondi was open and I hope that people were not caught in the slide. You can watch the action live on the Jackson Hole webcam: http://www.jacksonhole.com/webcam/br.jpg

1st Hand Account of the Alta 2 Avalanche at Jackson Hole

I found this comment on my blog today - it was left in response to the post on the avalanche on Alta 2 at Jackson Hole. This was the inbounds slide that occurred before the larger event on a similar aspect in the Paintbrush/Toilet Bowl/Tower 3 area which killed a local skier.

It is interesting to hear the perspective of this skier, especially considering he is an out of state visitor.
______________________________________________________
Hey,
I am the skier you described in the avalanche. I'm 18 and 6' 4" and this was the first avalanche I have ever been in. I got very lucky with my height to avoid getting buried and somehow I got carried in between a set of 4 or 5 trees without hitting any of them.

I have had many people ask me if I had an avalanche beacon with me. Unfortunately my response was "no" because I am from the east coast and have never even thought I would ever witness an avalanche let alone be in one.

Unfortunately someone told me that a skier named Dave was searching for his ski in the deep powder and was killed from suffocation and a broken neck as an avalanche came crashing onto him off of Thunder Lift.

Jackson Hole got too much snow and they couldn't control it, but they wanted to open the mountain for the Christmas crowds. It was a huge mistake and everyone should learn a lesson from this. Any person skiing/riding that day could have been killed like Dave and we should all take this into consideration.