Last April we bought Mountain Collective season passes, which let us ski at seven locations in North America. Mammoth was our first, then we headed to Utah to ski at Snowbird. We got lucky when a storm dumped half a foot of fresh snow!
Kristina wanted a photo of Pete on the Sneaky Pete run - see the sign above him.
We had a great day skiing at Alta. Here's Kristina with a good view.
After all that skiing we went to Famous Dave’s and ate BBQ.
The next location we went to was Aspen, Colorado. We were so happy our friend Pat joined us there!
We couldn't have timed it better: During the first 24 hours of our stay 19" of fluffy snow fell. Here we are at Snowmass as the snow was falling.
Signage at Snowmass was good, making it easy to get around.
The next day it was cold but clear. Pete's flashing a pose more commonly seen in Asia.
There was so much great, fresh snow. We skied off Big Burn lift, which gave us a variety of long runs. Yes, our legs were burning with all the exertion!
We went to buy some groceries and noticed this old-fashioned Big Burn sign on the grocery store.
That night we ate really well: lamb chops, roast potatoes and asparagus, followed by an endive salad Pat made with dried citrus and blue cheese that was amazing.
We love it when Pat cooks for us!
Here's a photo showing the stove top with all the freshly cooked dishes just waiting to be devoured.
Another nice thing about staying in at night was we got to enjoy a fire in the fireplace. Kristina's Girl Scout skills (or maybe it's just her pyromania) came in very handy.
This is the view from the condo. We liked seeing the trees with beautiful lights across the street at the local church. We weren't sure if they were still celebrating Christmas or Chinese New Year.
We went out one night to a recommended sushi bar called Kenichi in downtown Aspen.
We liked being in our own private rockstar booth. A speaker was in the ceiling directly above the table and we had our own volume control. We did sort of feel like rockstars.
The food there was very good. We especially liked the miso marinated cod.
One afternoon after skiing, we went to the nearby Snowmass Nordic Center.
It was fun to cross country skate a bit.
The trails connect Snowmass Village to the towns of Aspen and Basalt. And they are completely free!
All too soon it was time for Pat to leave. It was cold and icy driving her to the Denver airport.
As we drove up and over the pass, we were awed by the Rocky Mountains we drove through.
This is the dirtiest our car has ever been! The muddy water froze into a pattern that looked like fur.
From Denver we went to Castle Rock to visit Pete's cousins. Here's Pete with his Uncle Les, who likes to tell jokes. He made us laugh.
Cousin Kathy is funny like her Dad. We had fun hanging out, eating and drinking at her and Larry's house.
Here's Pete with Larry, enjoying the beer real men drink.
Kathy and Larry's daughter Diana came over with her two friendly kids, Everett and Bailey.
How many of you have put olives on your fingers like Bailey? Her Mom, Diana, looks on somewhat amused.
Kathy loves being a grandmother. Everett clearly enjoys his time with her, too.
Sam is Kathy and Larry's son. He lives in Denver with his girlfriend Mel. We were happy they came down to join the festivities.
Here's a cute photo of Kathy with her grand niece Aubrey Sue.
Here are Chrissy, Danielle, and Aubrey Sue: Three generations! Chrissy is married to Johnny, Pete's cousin.
Johnny is a purchasing and operations executive with the school district in Castle Rock. Here he's showing us the sophisticated abacus he uses to control inventory.
We had such a great time visiting Pete's relatives, but it was time to head to Wyoming. It was incredibly windy as we drove north and it looked like all the trees had blown away.
Our first skiing adventure in Wyoming was cross country skating at Teton Pines. In the summer it's a golf course.
There Trumpeter swans treated us to a concert of melodic honks as we skated by.
We got a tip to go to Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) for free cross country skiing, so the next day we did.
It was obvious why GTNP is closed during the winter: they get lots of snow.
We had loved GTNP when we visited last summer. It was fun to see it in winter. And the trail was beautifully groomed.
We skied just past the north junction for Jenny Lake, about 10 miles, before we turned around.
On the way back we saw people skiing with their dogs.
This is Slinky. He's a rescue dog. He got his name because he wiggles his hind quarters like a slinky when he wags his tail.
We stopped at the Elk Refuge Visitor Center and saw their impressive taxidermy elk.
Then we drove through the National Elk Refuge to see the live version. There are 6,000-7,000 elk here during the winter.
The elk come from GTNP and other high elevation national parks around here. The National Elk Refuge was established in 1910 and it includes 25,000 acres. But the elk require more food to get through the winter than what can grow on this land, so they are fed alfalfa pellets, too.
In early spring the male elk shed their antlers. They will grow them back over the next five months.
In the Elk Refuge we got close to some bighorn sheep that were calmly grazing by the side of the road.
Then we headed to downtown Jackson. There are four of these elk-horn gates in the town square.
Jackson has a cowboy theme.
We enjoyed staying in the cute downtown area, as it had several nice restaurants. Kristina is in front of Kitchen.
We spent a nice evening in Kitchen's cool interior.
Pete ordered the pork cutlet with fried rice topped with cilantro jalapeño sambal and a fried egg.
At night the elk-horn gates look awesome when they are lit up.
Across from the town square is the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We didn’t go in, but we did like their neon lights.
Jackson Hole Ski Resort also has the cowboy theme.
Rather than a Slow Zone, Jackson Hole has a Whoa Zone.
We took the aerial tram up to the top of the mountain. We learned it can still operate in 70 mph winds. Luckily for us the weather was calm.
Here’s the view from the top of Jackson Hole looking down into the valley.
The height at the top of the mountain is 10,450 feet.
In these photos we’re at the top of Sublette chair lift. It's slightly lower than the tram, but provided lovely views of the summit.
We enjoyed clear skies, mild temperatures and awesome skiing here.
We’ve been adding stickers to our SkyBox as we go to different ski resorts. The new ones are Snowbird, Mammoth, Alta and Jackson Hole. Next we head north to Canada.
Kristina wanted a photo of Pete on the Sneaky Pete run - see the sign above him.
We had a great day skiing at Alta. Here's Kristina with a good view.
After all that skiing we went to Famous Dave’s and ate BBQ.
The next location we went to was Aspen, Colorado. We were so happy our friend Pat joined us there!
We couldn't have timed it better: During the first 24 hours of our stay 19" of fluffy snow fell. Here we are at Snowmass as the snow was falling.
Signage at Snowmass was good, making it easy to get around.
The next day it was cold but clear. Pete's flashing a pose more commonly seen in Asia.
There was so much great, fresh snow. We skied off Big Burn lift, which gave us a variety of long runs. Yes, our legs were burning with all the exertion!
We went to buy some groceries and noticed this old-fashioned Big Burn sign on the grocery store.
That night we ate really well: lamb chops, roast potatoes and asparagus, followed by an endive salad Pat made with dried citrus and blue cheese that was amazing.
We love it when Pat cooks for us!
Here's a photo showing the stove top with all the freshly cooked dishes just waiting to be devoured.
Another nice thing about staying in at night was we got to enjoy a fire in the fireplace. Kristina's Girl Scout skills (or maybe it's just her pyromania) came in very handy.
This is the view from the condo. We liked seeing the trees with beautiful lights across the street at the local church. We weren't sure if they were still celebrating Christmas or Chinese New Year.
We went out one night to a recommended sushi bar called Kenichi in downtown Aspen.
We liked being in our own private rockstar booth. A speaker was in the ceiling directly above the table and we had our own volume control. We did sort of feel like rockstars.
The food there was very good. We especially liked the miso marinated cod.
One afternoon after skiing, we went to the nearby Snowmass Nordic Center.
It was fun to cross country skate a bit.
The trails connect Snowmass Village to the towns of Aspen and Basalt. And they are completely free!
All too soon it was time for Pat to leave. It was cold and icy driving her to the Denver airport.
As we drove up and over the pass, we were awed by the Rocky Mountains we drove through.
This is the dirtiest our car has ever been! The muddy water froze into a pattern that looked like fur.
From Denver we went to Castle Rock to visit Pete's cousins. Here's Pete with his Uncle Les, who likes to tell jokes. He made us laugh.
Cousin Kathy is funny like her Dad. We had fun hanging out, eating and drinking at her and Larry's house.
Here's Pete with Larry, enjoying the beer real men drink.
Kathy and Larry's daughter Diana came over with her two friendly kids, Everett and Bailey.
How many of you have put olives on your fingers like Bailey? Her Mom, Diana, looks on somewhat amused.
Kathy loves being a grandmother. Everett clearly enjoys his time with her, too.
Sam is Kathy and Larry's son. He lives in Denver with his girlfriend Mel. We were happy they came down to join the festivities.
Here's a cute photo of Kathy with her grand niece Aubrey Sue.
Here are Chrissy, Danielle, and Aubrey Sue: Three generations! Chrissy is married to Johnny, Pete's cousin.
Johnny is a purchasing and operations executive with the school district in Castle Rock. Here he's showing us the sophisticated abacus he uses to control inventory.
We had such a great time visiting Pete's relatives, but it was time to head to Wyoming. It was incredibly windy as we drove north and it looked like all the trees had blown away.
Our first skiing adventure in Wyoming was cross country skating at Teton Pines. In the summer it's a golf course.
There Trumpeter swans treated us to a concert of melodic honks as we skated by.
We got a tip to go to Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) for free cross country skiing, so the next day we did.
It was obvious why GTNP is closed during the winter: they get lots of snow.
We had loved GTNP when we visited last summer. It was fun to see it in winter. And the trail was beautifully groomed.
We skied just past the north junction for Jenny Lake, about 10 miles, before we turned around.
On the way back we saw people skiing with their dogs.
This is Slinky. He's a rescue dog. He got his name because he wiggles his hind quarters like a slinky when he wags his tail.
We stopped at the Elk Refuge Visitor Center and saw their impressive taxidermy elk.
Then we drove through the National Elk Refuge to see the live version. There are 6,000-7,000 elk here during the winter.
The elk come from GTNP and other high elevation national parks around here. The National Elk Refuge was established in 1910 and it includes 25,000 acres. But the elk require more food to get through the winter than what can grow on this land, so they are fed alfalfa pellets, too.
In early spring the male elk shed their antlers. They will grow them back over the next five months.
In the Elk Refuge we got close to some bighorn sheep that were calmly grazing by the side of the road.
Then we headed to downtown Jackson. There are four of these elk-horn gates in the town square.
Jackson has a cowboy theme.
We enjoyed staying in the cute downtown area, as it had several nice restaurants. Kristina is in front of Kitchen.
We spent a nice evening in Kitchen's cool interior.
Pete ordered the pork cutlet with fried rice topped with cilantro jalapeño sambal and a fried egg.
At night the elk-horn gates look awesome when they are lit up.
Across from the town square is the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We didn’t go in, but we did like their neon lights.
Jackson Hole Ski Resort also has the cowboy theme.
Rather than a Slow Zone, Jackson Hole has a Whoa Zone.
We took the aerial tram up to the top of the mountain. We learned it can still operate in 70 mph winds. Luckily for us the weather was calm.
Here’s the view from the top of Jackson Hole looking down into the valley.
The height at the top of the mountain is 10,450 feet.
In these photos we’re at the top of Sublette chair lift. It's slightly lower than the tram, but provided lovely views of the summit.
We enjoyed clear skies, mild temperatures and awesome skiing here.
We’ve been adding stickers to our SkyBox as we go to different ski resorts. The new ones are Snowbird, Mammoth, Alta and Jackson Hole. Next we head north to Canada.
