Off-season activities

Jackson Hole Ski Swap

Jackson Hole Ski Swap

The Jackson Hole Ski Swap is such a deal – not only are the prices hard to beat, most of the time, but you get into that kind of party atmosphere and excitement as part of a large, anticipating crowd. Correctly called the Jackson Hole Ski Club Ski Swap, it is a fund-raising effort for the Jackson Hole Ski Club – 25% of the sale price goes to help those young athletes train and compete against regional competition.

Jackson Hole Ski Swap 1

The Jackson Hole Ski Swap is an annual fundraising event hosted by the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club.  Local and regional vendors as well as local ski enthusiasts will be selling new and used Alpine, Nordic and Snowboard equipment and clothing.  Please come along if you have gear to sell or need something for the upcoming season.   The Jackson Hole Ski Swap is an annual event, always held the last weekend of October. Hundreds of people line up at the doors on a frosty late October morning – all in down jackets, wool hats and Sorrel boots – yes, another Jackson Hole ski season is on the horizon and the tempting ski flicks by Teton Gravity Research and Warren Miller have already made the rounds – amping-up the excitement.

Jackson Hole Ski Swap 4

Memberships to the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club are $30 and provide hundreds of benefits and discounts at local businesses throughout the winter season. Jackson Hole Ski Swap 2

Here’s the address for the Jackson Hole Ski Swap:

Heritage Arena- At the Rodeo Grounds

305 West Snow King Avenue Jackson, Wyoming

 

Jackson Hole Ski Swap 3

Here’s the schedule: Here’s the schedule for the Jackson Hole Ski Swap:

Friday, October 24, 2014 12-7pm at the Jackson Hole Heritage Arena

Vendors drop-off 12pm-2pm Public drop-off 12pm-7pm

Saturday, October 25th 7:30am – 1pm at the Heritage Arena

6:30am – Coffee from Elevated Grounds and burritos from Pica’s on site!  All profits to benefit the JHSC Scholarship Fund 7:30am -The Early Bird gets the Worm!  Come early to get the cream of the crop at the Swap!  Early Bird admission is ten dollars or five dollars with your Ski Club Membership Card. Paying for early admission is definitely worth the price because you get the pick of the good stuff and a relatively uncrowded experience. 8:15am- Doors open for the public.  General admission is one dollar or free with your Jackson Hole Ski Club Membership Card.   Please bring your membership card or purchase one at the door.

Saturday, October 25th 2-4pm at the Heritage Arena

Items not sold during the Ski Swap must be picked-up between 2pm and 4pm.  Please bring your paperwork to retrieve unsold items. Items not picked-up by 4pm will be considered a donation and taken to the Sublette Ski Swap.

5:00pm – 7.00pm – Get a massage at Jackson Hole Massage Professionals.

Be well,   Hamish and Rochelle.

in Blog / Jackson Hole / Jackson Hole Parties / Off-season / Off-season activities / Uncategorized  by 23 Oct 2014 0 comments

Hot Springs near Jackson Hole

Hot Springs near Jackson Hole

This is the third in a series of three articles about hot springs near Jackson Hole. Of course, ‘near’ is a relative term – so I’m talking about drives of ninety minutes or so from the town of Jackson, Wyoming. And this all started with the question: what do Jackson Hole Massage Professionals do during the off-seasons? – And just about any other local who gets to stick around for the slow times.

To find the third hot springs near Jackson Hole  we’re moving on to Granite Hot Springs

Granite Hot Springs near Jackson Hole

– which is South of Jackson Hole off  Hoback Canyon on the way to Pinedale. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the Granite Creek Junction, deep within Hoback Canyon (Granite Creek is a tributary of the Hoback River). From the junction there, it’s ten miles east on a well-graded (mostly) dirt road to the hot springs. It’s a bumpy, dusty, stunningly beautiful drive up there – deep into the Gros Ventre Mountains which are massively high in the background behind the hot springs camp site. The camp site itself is lovely – not to do with the hot springs themselves…no – this just happens to be a Forest Service camp ground nearby – and it’s a great value at $14 per tent site. (Last time I looked.) Anyway – great spot of you’ve got a pop-up camper and want to spend some fun time in the out-doors, surrounded by Pine forest. In winter it’s a popular snow mobile destination – but in my view that kills the whole idea. It’s a long way on skate or classic Nordic touring skis – but do-able and the hot springs afterwards is a treat.  You don’t have to pay to go into the hot springs pool itself – there’s another hot spring in a rock wall and there are pools below to catch the hot water – which mixes with Granite Creek itself to cool it down. This is a neat spot because a major waterfall roars right beside you. Not bad for hot springs near Jackson Hole.

Image showing waterfall beside Granite Hotsprings

The hot springs pool is different from the other two mentioned. It’s completely open with just a short fence around it – and it’s curved outer wall hugs a mountain alcove – down whose slippery walls runs this steaming hot spring water.  Where the water falls into the pool – is where it is hot. The further you move away from the source of the spring – the cooler it gets. So it’s fun to cruise in and out of warm and cooler zones that circulate the pool. Right in against the cliff is where you hand out for warmth. There’s no specific temperature set for this pool as it is affected by snow-melt. The pool is an azure, milky blue and of course it’s just dreamy to be there like all the rest of them.

Image showing Granite hot springs 3

Be well,

Hamish and Rochelle

 

 

in Blog / Hot springs / Jackson Hole / Jackson Hole Parties / Off-season / Off-season activities / Uncategorized  by 21 Apr 2014 0 comments

Hot Springs near Jackson Hole

Hot Springs near Jackson Hole

We’re deep in the off-season now in Jackson Hole. And the weather can be ‘iffy’. What do massage therapists and other seasonal workers in Jackson Hole do with themselves in the off-season? One of our favorite things  is to go to hot springs – all of which are about 90 minutes from Jackson.

 

Rochelle and I paid our first visit to Green Canyon Hot Springs recently, This is on the way to Rexburg, Idaho. To get to it from Jackson Hole, you have to drive over Teton Pass to Victor, north to Driggs and then towards Rexburg. The Green Canyon Hot Springs is about half-way between Driggs and Rexbuirg – four miles south at highway mile marker 116 on Hwy 33 in the northern foothills of the Big Hole mountains – which flank the western edge of Teton Valley, Idaho. I can’t believe I’ve lived in Jackson Hole for thirteen years and never been there before. It’s an absolute delight. There are two pools – one is an Olympic sized swimming / playing pool with temps of about 96’F, the other pool is pure relaxation with temps at about 105’F. These are fed from a spring that emerges from the ground at 115′. The hot springs have been run by the same family since 1953 – the present building was built in 1947. It’s definitely showing its age and needs some TLC – but then there’s just tons of character.

 

The hot pool area itself is what one might imagine as ‘Heaven’. It’s like a greenhouse and all painted a light blue. There’s a surreal feeling of peace and well-being. (Hence relevant to this massage blog.) The temperature of 105’F is a little much to stay in for long – but steps emerge from the pool and you can submerge yourself in there as little or as much as you like – and of course take a dip in the cooler pool when you need to. Speaking of which…there’s a ‘Plunge Pool’ at 55’F – quite a shocking quick dip in there will do much to cool you down, that’s for sure.

 

The drive to Green Canyon Hot Springs is really quite delightful – through potato fields that are typical of Idaho, it’s nice to see this way of life and the farms laid out. And the views of the Tetons on our return Journey towards the Teton Valley…stunning:

 

 

Overall, an afternoon there (or a day – take a picnic – or a couple of days – go camping with the kids) is relaxation defined. Ahhh…we love off-seasons on Jackson Hole.

Next week I’ll talk about the other two hot springs near Jackson Hole – Granite Creek, up Hoback Canyon, and Heise Hot Springs – also in Idaho but on the way to Idaho Falls.

Be well,

 

Rochelle and Hamish

 

in Blog / Jackson Hole / Jackson Hole Parties / Off-season activities / Uncategorized  by 16 Apr 2014 0 comments