AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY GAPING- GETTING AFTER IT

this summer i've been learning to surf
im a total Gaper
but a Gaper that gets after it is still better than someone sitting at home
In Grand Targhee, Wy and Pomerelle, ID I found two of my favorite gettin' after it gapers.

WEST RIDE STORIES- GRAND TARGHEE

I got out to Grand Targhee, Wy a couple of times last year. Lil sis lives 45 min. away.  I visit and sleep on the floor. She knows all the secrets. I only got one day at Targhee before Christmas. And in March Mary and I made the executive decision to stop by Targhee on our way back from Breckenridge, CO (other lil' sister's floor) to Sun Valley, ID (desination lil' bro's floor). Hours out of the way- but it had to be done- Targhee is such a sweet little treat.

Mary looking out on the back after hiking Mary's Nipple. Rocking our favorite 80's coat.

Locked and loaded for the descent on top of Mary's Nipple.

The Giant and I went to Targhee for our honey moon in April after we got married on the top of Baldy (Sun Valley). He doesn't look so giant when he's in those bowls.......

coming down from Mary's

I love dropping that headwall; don't care how choppy the landing might be- gnar down those chicken necks.
dropping The Bad

the giant loves it too
smashing The Ugly

sunny days are rare at the Ghee- it's crazy when you can actually see stuff
coming down The Big

Braids flying lil sis leads the way

Oh Targhee, just counting the days till you are in my arms again

GIANT WORDS- NOW SERVING GNARCHOS

GIANT REPORT 

You know where this is right? I have a similar sign in our apartment, it has something to do with high altitude and slipping and falling.....hmmm, not like that ever happens.

Anyoldways, yes that is Jackson Hole..... A trip that began as some sort of adventure with your loyal host turned into an adventure of a different sort...

I will never know why my binding is attached to my boot or why Ramz is enjoying this so much....Thankfully, Robot arrived and organized all of the search the rescues

Later we made it to hill impressing the locals with our East Coast ferocity...

By the way, I have this app that shows all my runs, if I know you I probably have shown it to you 5 or 6 times, if not just ask me, I love watching the little red dot go down the hill, damn I am fast.........

And this run, Dick's Ditch, might be the most fun I ever had with my feet
check this out kids, really click the link, or else
http://jacksonhole.com/activities-events/dicks-ditch-results.html
yeah, there is a race down this badboy and all the legends run it when I'm not there doing rodeo's

Next Feb, word has it we are going to follow Robot to Montana, you should probably come, Ramz will cook up some Gnarchos and we need a test subject.

SNOW? ARE YOU THERE.... ITS ME, RATFACE

my Sun Valley early/late pass

What have I been up to?
I'm sure you are all dying to know.
(No one cares)
Well, I better write it down; I seem to forget things as soon as they happen.








 
 
 

The Giant at Jay

I've got 14 days on the hill.....
should be more but there are a million stupid excesses, like:
(all these should be read in a super whinny voice)
I live in Brooklyn......
More people need to give me money.......
The thing that I put in my binding that is connected to my leg seems to be broken or something......
I have a job.....
I'm old and fat......
My ass hurts........

Mary and the snow-less bowls- Sun Valley

Anyway-
sorry about that
I've had some days in Sun Valley, Targhee, Killington, and Jay Peak.
The lack of snow at the places I have been privileged to frequent could be devastating to some
but I'm just beginning the season of my life.

Me & Andy- Sun Valley

Sun Valley- Idaho
My mecca. Spent eight days riding with my family
and friends.
Most of the hill was open and the trip was filled with sweet Sun Valley bluebird days.
I missed the bowls terribly. 
We discovered the horrors of doppelgapers.
and had some detonating fun.

Mary and the Grand Teton- Targhee

Targhee- Wyoming
Spent two days here with lil sis Mary and there was pow, cause it's Targhee.
but there was a lot of stuff hiding ready to bite
Yeah, I got eight core shots..... 
it was totally worth it-
Team Awesome was born

bare bunny hill- Killington

Killington- Vermont
Spent two days with the Giant
about half the massive resort was open, no stash or pipe, but they've got some new parks.
Was cool to see Killington doing well after hurricane Irene- they got hit pretty hard.
Day two the famous blue stuff came out- I believe it's called ice?
Just suck it up and go straight

Jay Peak- Vermont (they say it's VT but it's like, really Canada)
Spent four days here with The Giant, Zims, and Yuko.
I only rode two, due to my traitor of a foot.

Jay is where it is at in the east.
And the trees are where it's at, at Jay.
Thank goodness they had some snow.
It didn't get warmer than -5, and that was balmy.
Can't wait to return.

                                                 The west is getting pounded.....

                                                    in the east we wait for ours

SANDWICHES IN OUR POCKETS- GRAND TARGHEE

The Toft's visit Targhee for three days last March. They don't stop for lunch.
Andrew Toft
Elisabeth Toft
Mary Toft
Rachel Toft
elevatedlocals.blogspot.com/2011/03/grand-targhee-snorkeling-in-mountains.html
Music: LionDub, Glitch Mob, The Jets, Diplo, and Subswara

A PRESENT, SOME SAVINGS, WIN STUFF, AND PIC.S OF PIGS

Big ups to JR for always sending me killer mash ups (still can't get over that Wu VS Beatles) here is a Fela Kuti meets De La Soul (http://boingboing.net/2011/09/16/fela-soul-fela-kuti-meets-de-la-soul-gummy-soulamerigo-gazaway-mashup.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29) It's nothing but sweetness.

GRAND TARGHEE- WY  
Book three days of lodging or more by 9/30/2011 and save 40%. You have to call 800-827-4433. Warning, they aren't very good at answering the phone or calling you back. Last year I must have called ten times with no response. Then when I finally complained to a real person there was no apology. I am ashamed to say- we still did our annual Targhee trip (http://elevatedlocals.blogspot.com/2011/03/grand-targhee-snorkeling-in-mountains.html). Dealing with incompetence is a small price to pay for no lines, perfect powder, and a beautiful terrain.
Ps- it's already started snowing there

This weekend (9/17 & 9/18) the Road Warriors will be in Syracuse at the NYS fairgrounds. Just show up with your gear on and you can win tickets for Whiteface and enter to win a Whiteface season pass. (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130980356993632) The Road Warriors will be in Westchester on 8/8- 8/9 (das classy).

CONTESTS YOU CAN'T WIN part II

a "Standard bathroom" 

Take the best KAWS picture and win two nights in the Standard (the bathrooms are sweet)
http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2011/09/01/best-companion-picture-contest/
you have until 9/21/11

Win something GoPro everyday. This contest has been going on for a while, but you can enter everyday.
http://gopro.com/daily-giveaway/

Mary and Andy pic taken from Go Pro- Targhee

DISCOUNTS- HEADS UP FOR NEXT SEASON

me- Jay- Valentine's day last year   photo-The Giant

So most mountains sell discounted passes during the fall. Here are some deals and deadlines if you need to save for a bit;  I never have piles of money lying around.

Sun Valley:
So the season pass is a fortune $1,549 (you need to go 23 days to break even), but there are some sweet deals in here: http://www.sunvalley.com/tickets/passes/. I got the early/late last year, and it rocked. The best deals need to be purchased before 9/5/11.

Jackson:
Jackson's season is Nov. 26th- April 8th (135 days) so if you hit the hill 100 times it's like $12 a day with a $1,195 season pass- no working allowed (nineteen days to break even) But seriously, they have sweet college deals (Mary). http://www.jacksonhole.com/season-pass.html

Breck snow sculptures- two years age     photo- The Giant

Jay Peak:
My east coast fav. The Season Pass is $649 until Oct. 11th. Tickets are $69 so you need to go 10 times to break even. http://www.jaypeakresort.com/#/skiing_riding/rates_hours/season_passes/

Targhee:
It's $599 (9 days to break even) for a season pass before 9/11/2011. It's $249 for a college pass (Mary- four times to break even). http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/season-passes.php

Killington:
Their midweek pass is $499 until 10/13/2011. Their lift tickets are $69 so you need to go 8 times during the week to break even. http://www.killington.com/winter/plan/tickets_and_cards/comparison_chart/index.html

Hunter:
A season pass is $849 before 10/15/2011 (http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/tickets-passes/season-passes.aspx). That's 13 days to break even. But the midweek is $299, only five times to break even.

Pomerelle:
A season pass is $316.94 with tax. http://www.pomerelle-mtn.com/lift-rates/season-passes/index.htm
That's nine times to break even. This deal is good until Sept. 20th.

Breck, Vail, Beaver, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, and A-Basin:
The amazing epic pass is $649 and gives you unlimited access to all of these resorts. There isn't a deadline on the website, but I know you can't get this deal after the season starts. http://www.breckenridge.com/plan-a-trip/season-passes/season-passes-explorer.aspx?page=viewall Every time I see this deal I can't understand why I don't live there.

Ok, that's where I know I'm going next season- so that's all that matters- Ahahahahah
not really, I'll do more next Fri.

Targhee- Rach and me last March

GRAND TARGHEE- SNORKELING IN THE MOUNTAINS

MARY AND MARY'S NIPPLE

Grand Targhee is the kind of place where they let you on the chair before 9 AM when it's a powder day. They know how much you want those freshies and they are happy to oblige.  Powder is not rarity- Targhee is known for it's pow; they have 493" this season. They average 500" a year.

Grand Targhee is located in the Targhee National Forest in Wyoming (some of the resort spills over into Idaho). It has two peaks: Fred's Mountain has a 2,212' vert and Peaked Mountain has a 2,270' vert. The resort has 2,500 acres of skiing and riding. Targhee tries to be as green as possible- Hooray!(http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/environment/index.php) It's about 45 min. away from Jackson Hole. It's not as steep as Jackson, but it's got everything; chutes, glades, cornice drops, bowls and I've heard some people do groomers there.

ME AND THE POW

Fred's Mountain is the main mountain. The Dreamcatcher Quad will take you right to the top. Drop off the Headwall and you will find yourself on the Blackfoot lift. This is a old school twofer that will give you a bit of a rest. There is also a sweet little beginner area (little monsters and googly eyes!). I have the happiest memories when I was little of Alley Oop (run of little rollers) and Eyeball Forest (baby tree run with wooden eyes on the trees). My family has been going to Targhee for as long as I can remember. My bro's first sentence was there, "Mama, see snow?". It's a great place to grow up in.

Peaked Mountain is a newer part of the resort. There used to just be catskiing on this hill with no lift access, but then they added the Sacajawea lift. Now you can easily drop the cliffs with little or no hiking, in theory. My cliff drops are never as pretty in life as I imagine they are going to be.

RACH

Then there is the infamous Mary's Nipple. This is within the resort, but it requires hiking. We didn't hike Mary's nipple this trip, there was too much snow to get with lift access.

This year I went to The Ghee with my bro. and two sisters. We were there for three days. We rode with smashed sandwiches in our pockets. It was too good to go in. The first day was clear with a light crust over their latest storm. The second day it pounded. I inhaled so much snow (charlie sheen voice). The third day was a bluebird powder day. This is rare, visibility can be frighting at Targhee. We could see our lines off the cliffs! Andy and I decided to try our luck. I mostly hacked my way over and around the cliffs, but Andy had some beautiful lines. We watched a group of eight come down the Pinkslip cliffs. I heard them cheering for each other and realized it was eight girls! Oh, you know; Just some local girls out for a sweet little powder day- dropping 50 ft' cliffs.

ANDY

DISCOUNTS- ROOTIN' FOR DEALS

OKEMO-
$39 tickets for March 24th, March 31st if you buy them online (http://www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ratesandrentals/specialdeals/onlinedeals.asp)
$39 tickets for Ladies on Tues.
$10 on April 1 if you bring 3 non perishable items

GRAND TARGHEE
$199 Daylight savings pass- valid March 13- April 17th
(http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/daylight-savings-pass.php)
Mon. March 28th- Twofer special- register online a day before and pay $69 for two lift tickets
(http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/twofer.php)

SUN VALLEY
$79 gets you a lift ticket and a stay in the fancy Sun Valley lodge until the end of the year, you need to bring someone or it's $119 for a room and a ticket (http://www.sunvalley.com/trip-planner/deals/)

HUNTER MOUNTAIN
$169 to ride as much as you like till the end of the season
(http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/tickets-passes/march-into-spring.aspx)

GETTIN IT AT THE GHEE

ANDY

I am at Grand Targhee with my brother and two sisters. There is a little bit of snow here.

MARY

ELEVATED LOCALS OF JAY PEAK- THE O'SHEA FAMILY

Introducing the O'Sheas

A truly Elevated Family.
Quinn, their 21 month old little girl runs the show. And then we have Shawna and Eamon. Shawna was raised in CO and learned to ride in Breck. Eamon was raised at Jay Peak; raced as a skier and then began riding in '93. They met at Winter Park in the cafeteria. It's a true ski bum love story. They spent some time in Whitefish, MT and then two phenomenal years in Jackson.
In Jackson they ate off a ping pong table while games were played. They thoughtfully let off fireworks in the house as alarms for their roommates. The second year they spent at Jackson it snowed over 600".

In the summer they would go back to Montgomery, VT. They lived in a tree house on the land that is now Shéady Acres. While they lived in Vermont and Wyoming they built their house at Shéady Acres with the help of friends and family. The O'Sheas kept a stocked cooler of beer and an open tab at the local restaurant, The Belfry (they have banging scallops) to encourage their helpers.



Eamon is a builder who "got bored building vinyl shitbox houses, and wanted to build something creative, functional, and efficient."
Introducing Shéady Acres. Shéady Acres consists of five houses: The Sugar House (Vermont style), The Caribe (Caribbean bungalow), The Tea House (where we stayed! Japanese style), Irish Farm House (Irish without a thatched roof), and The Adobe ( Southwestern style). I heart the tea house.

Do not be deceived, Q is not bigger than the Tea House

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2vw0yEi0_8)
Three of the units sleep two and two of the units sleep four. The least expensive time to stay is in Nov. And April. And the best deal works out if you stay 4-7 nights. Sometimes they will have home-brewed beer waiting for you (Eamon's best is his Obama brew) or sometimes they might give you cereal.
People are welcome to tune their equipment in the O'Shea's garage, but the O'Sheas' recommend First Trax- a local shop in Montgomery. That is if you need a tune in all that powder.

Obama Brew

The O'Sheas play hockey- it's like a law when you live so close to Canada. Shawna plays in the first women's hockey league to play at the Jay Peak Ice Haus.

Eamon also designed and built a disc golf course on their property and in the summer they have crazy tournaments. He writes the variety show in the spring that is a fundraiser for the town. I've heard this is an insane event that should not be missed. The people of Montgomery are really what make Jay Peak such a magical place.

On our last day at Jay I watched wistfully as Shawna and Eamon began the hike for some epic turns on Big Jay. One might say, this family gets it.

Jeremy Jones' Deeper- Teton Gravity Research

I really respect Jeremy Jones. He loves the mountains (POW protect our winters http://protectourwinters.org/why-join-pow/). I like what he stands for. Two years ago my dad and I were in Targhee for a week and so was Jermey Jones with his family. I was too nervous to say hi, so I just creepily followed him around the hill. This time when I saw him I just creepily filmed him.
Jeremy Jones' Deeper- Teton Gravity Research from elisabeth toft on Vimeo.

I was born in Wyoming, but when I was six we moved to Idaho. We would go back to Wyoming every year before Christmas and ski Grand Targhee.  Sometimes I would see the Jones brothers (the guys who started TGR) drop the crazy cliffs  on the side of Targhee from the lift. Little did I know what and who they would become (http://www.tetongravity.com/) .

Deeper is Jeremy Jones's project.  It covers two seasons of monstrous mountains.  Deeper is BIG mountain riding.  All the lines are reached on skins or by climbing. All the riding is done on splitboards. They camp in the mountains for weeks and spend many days snowed in their tents (crazy eyes). They go places where people have rarely been and do some really insane stuff. I kept wondering if  they were going to come out alive or if they even really knew what they were doing. The guys turn back when they have to, knowing the mountain is in charge. It was beautiful to see a snowboarding film that wasn't about tricks. It was about truly riding and the love of the mountain.
My final thoughts: I need a splitboard.


Thanks Sugarbush (http://www.sugarbush.com/) for the tickets!