This Dude is Heading West

My time in Jackson is done for now. I leave tomorrow morning for a straight shot drive to San Francisco that will hopefully take less than 15 hours. Thank God for cruise control!

With today being my last day in town, I made it special by waking up at 4:45 am and watching the sunrise from the top of Mount Glory. After a 75-minute hike up "Glory", I was reveling in the morning time beauty of this area. It was great motivation to look back and think of how amazing the past five-months have been for me. I feel fortunate that I had and took advantage of this opportunity because it will be one of my greatest accomplishments.

While living here, I've learned alot about myself and the surrounding area and its culture. One particular interesting tidbit is the origin of the word "dude". It was used by cowboys and ranchers to describe city folk that vacationed with them on their land. The cowboys and ranchers found it entertaining to see these relatively well-dressed people participating in the same activities as themselves.

I'll be sure to have alot to write about in the near future. For right now, I'm exhausted from packing my apartment and being on an endless run of errands and work assignments in the past few days. Wish me luck on my drive home.

Sean's Departure from Jackson

Sean has come and gone from Jackson. After being on vacation for three weeks, he arrived in Jackson late-last night and planned to stay for less than a day so that he could pick up his things, help clean the apartment, and say goodbye. Admirably, he stuck to his plan and is on the road to Park City, UT now.

It was tough seeing him go for many reasons. Most of all, his departure means I'm one step closer to leaving here. His leaving also brings our season to a final close, which was incredible for us.

I like to think that we pushed each other in various ways and raised the bar to a newly defined potential. We even made it through the season without incurring a serious injury while constantly skiing like bats out of hell. Thanks in part to Sean, I ski faster and more confidently than ever before.

I'm glad that he chose to come on this ride, which he learned about in a faithful phone call that I made to him last February about a "crazy" idea. I had wanted to only share this idea with him; I had no other provocative. Thankfully, he too saw the great opportunity in it and made it a priority. Without question, he made my experience in Jackson alot better.

It's the end of this chapter for us. Without doubt, we'll ski with each other again soon. Hopefully, we'll find ourselves living and skiing in the same ski town down the road...

The Beginning of the End

I'm restless tonight as the move back to San Francisco on Monday is now one week away. I find myself tossing and turning and constantly stirring the pot about how I should spend my last week here in Jackson. I know that I've had a great ski season and made the most of my time in Jackson. I just want to go out with a bang by taking full advantage of the great outdoors here.

Lately, it's been hard getting out of the house. It's actually border line unhealthy. I find myself being consumed constantly by finding my next great work opportunity in San Francisco. I want to make the move back as smoothly as possible and know that the sole missing piece to the puzzle is a good job.

Surprisingly, the job market in San Francisco is great. There are plenty of jobs out there that will give me good experience and pay well. Yet another example of how San Francisco is in its own bubble. I've received a good response so far as I look for work in .NET Development, User Interface Development, Sales Engineering, or Product Management. If you think you can help me land a great job in the Bay Area, please leave me a comment. I'll gladly use this forum to my advantage.

Day 82!

It was good to be back on skis today. It was the first time since closing day on April 6th. During this time of year, every turn has to be earned by hiking around the beautiful Teton Mountain Range.

The most popular place to earn your turns is on Mount Glory. It's on the crest of the Teton Pass that connects Jackson, WY to Victor, ID. After hiking for 75-minutes, you are in the heart of the Teton Valley that blankets both Wyoming and Idaho. The peaks are still snow covered and are magnificent in their layered depth appearance. When looking deep into the range, it seems like the options for backcountry skiing are endless. It's just about determination and mountain awareness. The great thing about the people in this area is you know that every ski line that you eye has been skiied no matter its steepness or its exposure to cliff bands.

I skiied down a run called First Turn, which I skiied earlier in the season. It was nice to be carving turns and feeling weightless as I connected them. It's the freedom and fluidity that I love about skiing so much. Even though the run down was less than ten minutes, it brought a big smile on my face and made me realize how lucky I am to be living here.

SFO --> SLC --> JAC

I just got home from my trip to San Francisco. The past six days have been great, as I was able to spend alot of time with Laura, Koda and my friends and get a good sense of the job market in the Bay Area. I'll be officially moving back on Monday, April 28th, so it's time to get things in place that will ensure a smooth transition.

After flying from San Francisco Airport into Salt Lake City, I made the 270 miles drive north to Jackson and found myself conflicted. It's interesting how I can so easily adapt to my environments. When in SF, I felt at home. I was soaking up the city life and enjoying the convenience of everything. Once off the airplane and in the middle of the mountains, I stared up and was completely awestruck by their presence. SLC is one of the coolest airports to fly into because of its proximity to staggering tall Wasatch Mountain range. Immediately, I found myself thinking how great it is to live in the mountains.

It's this quick change of appreciation that has me bewildered. Should I be living in a city where life is so exciting and work opportunities are endless? Or should I be living in the mountains where life is slower and my passion is constantly within my grasps? I know that I'm one step closer to figure out the answer by living here in Jackson.

Free Airport Parking

Want free airport parking the next time you fly? Here you go...

Make a reservation with a hotel that provides shuttle service to the airport with some kind of deal for parking and lodging. For my trip to SF, I made my reservation with a hotel close to the Salt Lake City airport. For $80, I could park my car for up to 14 days in the hotel's parking lot and stay one night at the end of my trip at the hotel. The catch is that my credit card wouldn't be charged until I spent the night and checked out of the hotel. When I picked up my car yesterday at the hotel, the shuttle driver didn't know if I had already stayed nor did he care. Because I never spent the night at the hotel, I saved $60 on parking at the airport.

You can all thank Brian Quinn for this posting. Without his encouragement, this blog posting might've gone unpublished. Thanks, Mr. B.J. Quinn.

Slip-n-Sliding in the City

Tonight was a classic night in San Francisco and explains why I've loved my time in this city. It was an unusually warm night, the kind of night that comes around only a few times of year. Everyone was reveling in the great weather by congregating outside on the streets, in the parks, and... on the slip-n-slide.

My friends and I thought it'd be great to have burritos and beers tonight at Dolores Park. It was a picturesque night with friends and got alot cooler when a nearby picnic party of roughly forty people hopped into their bathing suits and rolled out the slip-n-slide. This sight brought me back to my childhood, as I was an avid slip-n-slider. Everyone was laughing, cheering and having a good time as single and group slip-n-sliders made their way down the slippery surface.

It's events like these that make San Francisco unique and vibrant. It's this spontaneity and unpredictability that makes me realize how great it is to be young and alive. I wish that I brought my bathing suit because I would've been in the middle of the fun by pretending that I was sliding head first into home plate.

"Fresh Tracks and Throwing Bombs"

For anyone that really knows me, this blog title speaks volumes about me. As a skier, I'm always looking for the weightless feeling experienced while skiing "fresh tracks" in powder. As an Eagle Scout and a son of a Fireman, I became fond of fire and fireworks at a young age and have never lost my excitement for this natural wonder and man-made art form, respectively.

Since I leave tomorrow for San Francisco, I wanted to catch up with my buddy, Carl, over a few beers at the brew pub (aka the Snake River Brewery). He's a character, like most people that live in Jackson, and has the bug that doesn't allow him to get in enough skiing or outdoor activity, just like the rest of us. He's made living in Jackson a little easier for me by pointing me in the right direction and occasionally sharing his time with me.

It was good to chat with Carl. It's always amusing, but a little more so tonight. At one point, he clearly painted a picture of the life of a ski patroller with the words that comprise the blog title. It's the job of the ski patroller to make a ski resort safe before the public accesses the mountain by triggering avalanches through the use of bombs. In order to complete this task, they have the pleasure of being on the mountain early each day and skiing any new snow. Obviously, his description is a simple view and doesn't mention their heroic acts during times of need. Nevertheless, we both agreed that "Fresh Tracks and Throwing Bombs" sounded like the coolest job description ever... Sign me up!