Savor it

At 1:45AM, I got out of bed after trying my best to fall asleep at 8PM the night before. A true alpine start. Usually I dread these early mornings (if you can even call them mornings) both because of the deep cold you feel being in the mountains in the middle of the night, and also because usually waking up this early means I’m about to ski something seriously terrifying.

This day however, is a different story. On this day, I was just excited to get going, because I was heading out with my friends Lily and Max Ritter, and I knew they were bringing THE BEST snacks for us.

Photo by Max Ritter

It might seem silly to get so excited over food, but I’m a firm believer that good food is something to get excited over. Especially when we’re so used to eating science cubes and frozen cliff bars in the mountains. I grew up watching Anthony Bourdain travel around the world and explain how wherever you are, if you have good food and good people around you, that is the ultimate happiness in life. I couldn’t agree more, and that’s why I was so excited to ski with my friends Lily and Max this day.

They even made a menu for our ski day. I loved it. Photo by Max Ritter

Lily and Max co-wrote “Beyond Skid: A Cookbook For Ski Bums” and will be releasing their second cookbook this Fall. The cookbook specializes in the most delicious snacks for your long days in the mountains. I can’t give away all of their new recipes yet but I can say my favorite snack that day was a cinnamon butter mochi cake we ate at the end of the day (that cake is so good that now whenever Lily and I get invited to the same dinner party, I call her separately and ask if she can make a butter mochi cake. It’s always a hit at the party and I’m not the only one in our friend group that is now obsessed with that cake).

Besides the food we were about to enjoy, I was also excited to experience my first bike to ski objective. Biking to ski is a classic Teton spring activity. They plow the national park road one month before they open it to cars, making it the perfect time to bike to those northern objectives in the national park that are too far to reach in the winter.

We saw a porcupine crossing the road during our bike ride. A perk of being out at night is seeing all the nocturnal critters. photo by Max Ritter

This day our objective was Rock Chuck Peak. The route there would require an 8 mile bike ride and a combination of skinning and bootpacking to ascend 4,200’ in roughly 3 miles (if these numbers mean nothing to you, just know that means we will be hiking almost straight up the entire way).

Something I didn’t anticipate was how cold the bike ride out would be. Our route took us directly next to some frozen lakes, and the road still had high snow banks on either side so it felt like biking through a refrigerator.

PRO TIP #1: If you’re biking out in the middle of the night, bring your comfortable shoes to bike back in at the end of the day, but for the way out just put your ski boots on. They’ll be a lot warmer than any shoes and it really isn’t any harder to bike in them. I also recommend a fleece beanie and some thick mittens, maybe even some hand warmers in the event that you get a case of the “scream-y barf-ies” (if you don’t know what those are, I sincerely hope you never have to find out). Don’t worry about the extra weight of these layers, you can stash all of these items at your bike so you don’t have to hike up with them.

PRO TIP #2: Strap your shoes for biking back securely to your bike. Some mountain critters are known shoe thieves! Don’t leave any food with your bike for the same reason.

Photo by Joey Sackett

Due to the steepness of the route we ended up bootpacking more than we skinned. While bootpacking is more direct, it often ends up taking a lot more energy. At every rest point I could hear my stomach growling and was excited to see what Lily would pull out of her pack for us next. At sunrise we drank some of her homemade electrolyte mix and got a much needed boost with her chocolate espresso energy balls. Just enough for us to refuel and keep moving.

PRO TIP #3: To catch the corn at the right time, you usually need to hike up while it’s frozen. Make sure you have a good pair of ski crampons and don’t be afraid to just click out and boot pack if things start to get sketchy. 

PRO TIP #4: However much water you bring on a big hike is different for everyone, but stashing a full Nalgene of water in your car is a pro move! That way when you inevitably make it make to your car tired and thirsty, you can chug water before your drive home.

Enjoying some mini quiches while we plan our route to the summit. Always bring enough for the whole crew! Photos by Max Ritter

In classic Teton fashion, every person we ran into on the mountain was a friend of ours. At our next stop, transitioning into our crampons for the steepest part of the hike, we had some bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese. These put me into shock with how good they were, they tasted like candy! It’s something I could definitely see myself making for any ski day. Our unexpected friends lamented that they had only brought a bag of almonds to snack on, so of course Lily fed them as well. That’s just the kind of person she is, if you’re lucky enough to see Lily in the Tetons, chances are she’ll offer you some amazing homemade snack.

Our last scramble to the most scenic picnic spot. Photo by Max Ritter

We sat on the summit enjoying a turkey, brie and apple baguette sandwich, watching the ravens play in the wind above us. It was sunny and beautiful, and having a delicious sandwich up there made all the difference.

Knowing the amazing food we had in our packs that day made the hike up so much more enjoyable. The whole day became a journey to enjoy every step, rather than being singularly focused on reaching the summit.  The goal of the day was to ski something cool, and eat well along the way. This mindset set us up for one of the most relaxed and enjoyable ski days I’ve ever had in Grand Teton National Park.

Mandatory summit high five photo. Photo by Max Ritter

So there we sat, on the top of a mountain, stomachs happily full and with four thousand feet of perfect corn to ski. I hate to break it to you, but this is what it’s all about. This moment right here could very well be the meaning of life. Work hard, eat well, take care of your friends.

The first turn of our 4,000 foot descent. Photo by Max Ritter

PRO TIP #5: If you plan on tailgating through the spring, get yourself one of those camp chairs that can recline and elevate your feet, or one of the low chairs where you can extend your legs on the ground. On hot days it’s always your feet that hurt first and being able to kick your legs out at the end of the day feels so good.

PRO TIP #6: A lime can make any cheap light beer delicious and I stand by that.