The Hole – Chewed me up and spit me out – but it was fun!

So, CM Man wrote a previous post sharing his version of Jackson Hole, here’s my (aka Mountain Girl) take on the wild ride that was Jackson Hole…

Anyone who has ever been to Jackson Hole says things like “steep mountain,” “just beautiful,” “animals everywhere.” I will tell you that everything that you have ever heard is true…there are animals, literally everywhere! The mountain is steep and NOT for beginners, and it is, in its own unique way, like no place I have ever laid eyes on (and in case you haven’t noticed from this blog, we visit a lot of places)! To be fair, it did not help that the hotel we were staying at was under complete reno, the parking lot was a sheet of ice, and CM Man lost his wallet.

I am pretty biased as I LOVE Colorado – the vibe, the mountains, pretty much everything (shocking, I know) but I thought I would like Jackson Hole ( “JHole” or the “Hole” as ski bums refer to it as). I truly thought it was one of the strangest places. The Hole seemed to me to be confused as to whether it was a hillbilly sort of town or whether it was a laid back ski bum area. Strange, strange mix in my opinion, but hey, you know what they say about opinions – they are like butts (I really wants to use the three-letter-word there but there are young people reading this, no cursing allowed), everyone has one!

Anyway, here are some of my pics. Enjoy the views…

THE MOUNTAIN

WOW! Yep, it is steep and we happened to go at a time when the snow was deep, heavy, and non-stop. Great for skiing, usually, but no visibility mixed with steep skied over, ungroomed runs – not so fun for me! The mountain had a decent amount of blue runs/not-too-difficult black runs. BUT halfway through the day, they either become totally skied off or crazy moguls! So I tried – not once, but twice – to put my big girl panties on and take the tram to the top (where the best skiing is apparently – I wouldn’t know).

I mean starting out seeing this sign made my eyes pop!

The tram comes, they pack you in like ski sardines, they pump up the crazy music, then – when you are almost at the top – they tell you “If you don’t know, don’t go”

I get out, ready to pass out – CM Man wants to take me to Corbet’s Canyon (pic directly below) – just look at it, he says. Isn’t that crazy – yep, people ski that, he says. Then, he tells me to keep skiing into the abyss of the unknown to the right of the canyon.

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Well that didn’t happen! I took the tram down. Look at my pretty pictures from the ride down!

I tried again to suck down my fear – you can tell that I did not go as you see CM Man ski away – into the abyss!

THE TOWN

The town screams “Wild West” but instead of men in cowboy hats with big belt buckles, there are a mix of ski bums and tourists with children running around. Cute downtown, a few blocks long with loads of tourist souvenir shops and restaurants. They have pretty decent public transportation as well, easy to use, and will take you from mountain to town to nature areas. On one side road there was nothing but houses, me, and this lovely little deer…

THE WILDLIFE

The animals, by far, were my favorite part of this trip (mostly because I was way too chicken to ski that mountain). As our friend said when we sent him some pics…that’s nat geo material! It sure was, literally AMAZING!

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To sum it up…the Hole, although not my favorite place, is worth a visit if you like anything related to the great outdoors. Despite my dislikes of this place, CM Man insists that we will try it again next year (you know he can’t help himself when it comes to skiing). I am hoping he means that we will visit next year DURING THE SUMMER!

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Thanks for reading this blog – as CM MAN always says…

Until next time, love one another and be kind to each other. Get out there, The Thrill of the Mountain is waiting for you. Ski ya.

MOUNTAIN GIRL

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