Jackson Hole Summer Travel & River Trip Blog

 

However, our two o’clock crew had a different approach.  They came out of our dressing rooms like a bunch of dancers taking the stage at a Beyonce concert shakin’ their tushes and posing in their saucy booties.

 

And let me tell you something- I have never seen wetsuits look so good. 

 

They worked those tight spandex-ed unforgiving pieces of rubber like Tyra (Banks) had just placed them in Jackson for an ANTM* photo shoot. (*For those of you who aren’t as obsessed with the CW as I am, I’m speaking of America’s Next Top Model- a show that tugs at my heartstrings and makes me want to practice my runway walk.)

 

After crushing it in an impromptu photo shoot in front of the Dave Hansen Bus, the crew loaded up and took off on an excellent whitewater adventure.

 

2pm trip- I like yo style.

OK…is it fair that Dave Hansen Whitewater’s first big group of the year on the whitewater section could also be our best group of the year?  Not only was the average age of this group 68 years old.  Not only did this group of adventurous seniors want to go on a whitewater trip rather than a scenic float trip.  But they wanted to go on a whitewater trip that left town at 8am…when the temperature in the morning was 32 degrees and the high for the day was going to be 42 degrees!   We were half expecting a call at 7:15 from the group leader after they stepped out of their hotel that they had decided to switch to a scenic trip. 

 

But no, this group was ready to go on a whitewater trip down the Snake River.  We picked them up at their hotel at 7:15 and took them to our office to get outfitted with wetsuits and booties.  Our guides had donated all of their extra fleece to this group and they were ready to go to the river. 

Though there were flurries of snow throughout the trip, this group had a great time laughing and paddling through the waves.  One of the adventurous rafters, Patty (age 72) even declared after getting soaked by a big wave at lunch counter and laughing it up with her other mates, “I think this is the most I have ever laughed in my life.”  Our guide Matt Lynn, said it was one of the most memorable trips that he has ever been on.  It definitely make us feel lucky to be apart of a company that allows us to interact with spirited people like this. 

 

That’s right folks, Dave Hansen Whitewater is open for business! We ran our first scenic rafting trip of the season on Saturday, April 18th. Two customers and two guides, Cristina and Matt boarded a boat under the Wilson Bridge on this beautiful sunny day and floated all the way to the South Park bridge. Not only was it a beautiful sunny warm Saturday, but there was plenty of wildlife to be seen.  We saw eagles, osprey, a red tailed hawk, a falcon, and many American white pelicans.  And the wildlife was not sitting around either, the osprey were diving for fish, the pelicans were herding fish to eat, and we even saw an eagle and a red tailed hawk fighting over hunting territory! We even had our first junior guide for the season! Twelve year old sean got to try his luck on the oars, andhe learned a thing or two about the wildlife we saw.  Whether you live in Jackson or are just visiting, a leisurely float down the Snake River is a great way to spend a day!

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is closing down for the season today, Sunday April 5th.  The mountain will be open from 9-noon tomorrow for employee appreciation ski day, but will not be open to the general public.  We have had some of the best skiing and riding of the season here this spring, with over 100 inches of snow falling in the last three weeks of the season. Many members of the Dave Hansen Whitewater and Snake River Park team have been out enjoying some last great powder turns while they still can (without hiking for it anyway).   The total snow depth has reached 502 inches, which is well above the average of 459 inches a year over the past 10 years. After tomorrow the lifts will be done bringing skiers and snowboarders up the mountain until next December, and we will finally be able to give our full attention to the preparations for the upcoming 2009 summer rafting season. while the hardcore skiers and snowboarders amongst us are sad to see the ski season ending, the excitement is growing for the upcoming summer season.  The recent large amounts of snowfall are setting us up for some great rafting this year!

That’s right folks, if you bring your kids down the Snake River with us they could be granted the position of a Jr. Guide! All the guides at Dave Hansen Whitewater love the energy that kids can bring to a river trip, and also recognize the fact that not all kids want to sit still and be quiet through an entire 2 hour river trip. We have come up with some ways to engage your children, while educating them about guiding rivers and about the wildlife that we might see.  Kids on a scenic river trip will receive an activity booklet with a word search, a wildlife bingo card, and a tally sheet for animals spotted.  They will be taught how to spot eagles, and as our official eagle counters they will tally how many eagles we see on a trip (last year’s record was 23 eagles in one trip!).  And then, as if all that is not exciting enough, kids will be encouraged to have a go on the oars, with the guide’s help of course.  And for the more adventurous kids who are going on a whitewater trip, they will get a chance on the oars on the mellow mile and will learn a lot about safety on whitewater rafting trips.  At the end of the trip, the guide will award those who participated a Dave Hansen Whitewater Jr. Guide patch that the kids will get to bring home as a memento of their river trip. Kids of all ages and abilities, come join us!

Thats right folks, our guides are so excited for the upcoming 2009 rafting season that they could not wait! Two of our guides, Carsten Stuhr and Cristina fenner, along with a group of other river lovers floated the 13 mile scenic Wilson to Southpark streach of river on Tuesday March third.  At around 1400 cfs, the flow was a lot less than is seen during out normal boating season, but people who go rafting when there is still a lot of snow on the ground are far from normal.  Instead of launching from a beach like we do in the summer, the rafts entered the river with a splash by sliding down a steep snowy bank – with people in them!  What is usaually a 2-3 hour trip took around 5 hours, and everyone involved loved every minute of it. Sure, everyone was a little chilly in the end, but that is to be expected when the temperatures are below freezing. Hawain shirts were worn in celebration of the start of the 2009 boatin season. A couple of young men who were wearing full dry suits even swam alongside the boat for awhile! Jackson Wyoming, where you can ski in the summer and raft in the winter if you try hard enough, or do both in the same day!

Jackson Hole, with the surrounding Tetons and the Snake River is absolutely one of the most beautiful places in the country.  During our whitewater trips and scenic trips, we get so many customers that take great pictures that we thought we would do a photo contest this year.  People from our trips can post them on our blog and at the end of the season, all of the DHWW employees are going to vote for the best one.  The winner will get a gift certificate to Rendezvous Bistro in town for $100, a definite local favorite.  By entering the contest, you are also telling us it is cool for us to post your picture on our website and promotional materials!