Planet JH Best of JH 2016

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VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 11 | MARCH 23-29, 2016

15 COVER STORY THE BEST UNDER THE BIG TOP Welcome to The Planet’s Best of Jackson Hole.

Cover illustration by Nate Bennett; cover design by Cait Lee.

4 OPINION

70 MUSIC BOX

6 THE BUZZ

72 GET OUT

10 FOODIE FILES

74 WELL, THAT

68 CREATIVE PEAKS

78 SATIRE

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March 23, 2016

By Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey

I

’m not really sure what that old saying means, “If March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”, then what? What if it comes in like a lamb, and then got angry like a lion mid-month, and goes back out like a lamb again, right after it gets more lionlike? Which seems to be the way this March has gone, and we still have another whole week to flop back and forth between winter and spring, lion and lamb-like weather.

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We got a little cool the end of last week, the morning low temperature on Friday, March 18th in Jackson was two-degrees below zero.

Not even close to the record low on that date of 17-degrees below zero from 1971.

And that’s way shy of the all-time record low temperature for this week in Jackson of 27-degrees below zero, set back on March 25th, 1965. That’s the coldest we’ve ever been this late in March.

The high temperature in town last Friday was only 26-degrees. Whereas the week earlier we had a high temperature of 54-degrees.

That’s quite a swing. There’s nothing shocking about that, its just March in Jackson Hole.

But when you talk “hot” in March, you’re talking about March of 2004. Eight of the last twelve days that March were in the 60’s, with the hottest day on March 24th, 2004 with a record high of 68-degrees in town.

NORMAL HIGH NORMAL LOW RECORD HIGH IN 2004 RECORD LOW IN 1965

43 19 68 -27

THIS MONTH AVERAGE PRECIPITATION: 1.23 inches RECORD PRECIPITATION: 4.2 inches (1995) AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 11 inches RECORD SNOWFALL: 33 inches (1938)

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 3

Jim has been forecasting the weather here for more than 20 years. You can find more Jackson Hole Weather information at www.mountainweather.com

WHAT’S COOL WHAT’S HOT

THIS WEEK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JH ALMANAC

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4 | MARCH 23, 2016

GUEST OPINION Sick Of It Blue Cross, Blue Shield, red tape.

BY PETE MULDOON

L

ast year, I hurt myself at one of my jobs. Or, more accurately, a chronic injury I got from working that job got bad enough that I decided to report it and get it looked at. There’s a system in place that’s theoretically designed to protect workers who are hurt on the job: the worker’s compensation program.

My employer sent me to the emergency room to get it screened. They referred me to an orthopedist who examined me and ordered an MRI, after which they told me I had medial epicondylitis. It’s a condition otherwise known as golfer’s elbow, but mine is definitely not from playing golf. It’s a pretty common injury for people who load luggage onto airplanes, as I do.

I had the initial worker’s comp claim approved and was referred for physical therapy. After racking up a few thousand dollars in bills, I was told that my claim was being denied because I couldn’t prove that the injury was a result of work.

I clearly think that it was, but I’m not going to try to argue that here. What I want to talk about is what’s happened since.

My claim was denied by someone at the state level—not a doctor, nor someone who ever examined me or discussed the injury with me.

I was told I could appeal. I did. I was told I would be scheduled a hearing, but it wouldn’t be for five months. I was told I had the right to representation, so I applied for that. That’s a lengthy and time-consuming process. I’ve been sent documents regularly. These are documents that I have to read carefully or risk losing my appeal. They are long, technical and full of legal language. I’ll have to attend an appeal hearing somewhere, probably out of town. And after doing all of this, I’ll probably lose because the burden of proof is on me, and last time I checked, I’m not a medical expert.

I’ll probably just pay these bills and move on at this point.

Luckily, I’m a single white male with a decent job and a relatively stable income, and while it’ll hurt, it’s not going to keep me from eating or paying the rent.

But think about how insanely stupid this whole process

is. The state is going to spend more money fighting this claim than they would if they’d just pay it. And I’m going to forgo physical therapy, which I need to keep the injury from getting worse.

So why do they do it? Well, there’s a lawyer somewhere (two, actually) who will get paid. But maybe, and most importantly, our society gets to keep insisting that working class people jump through hoop after to hoop to get any kind of help.

We set up these complex systems so that no one ever gets something they didn’t work for. (Or rather, so that working class people don’t ever get things they didn’t work for. It goes without saying that this doesn’t apply to the wealthy.) And the costs imposed on people are real and much higher than people realize.

How is a person without a law degree or a medical degree, who is working three minimum wage jobs to support a family, going to find the time to go through this appeals process? How would they find an extra $3,000 to pay the bills if they lose?

They aren’t. If they get treatment, they might end up with their credit ruined. More likely, they’ll realize this and just never report an injury in the first place. And never get treated.

The idea for this column came from a Facebook post from a friend, who wrote: “I’ve been dealing with Blue Cross of WY for the last two weeks trying to get a prescription filled. It’s been perhaps the single most infuriating experience of my life. I’ve spent over 10 hours on the phone over [the past] two weeks and been given seven different numbers to have my doctor call with a pre-authorization. They are also demanding decade-old medical records that may not even exist. Could be worse, I wonder how many people are at home dying of cancer or AIDS right now without medication? We need single payer [health care]; put all the insurance companies out of business.”

What’s the point in all this? How much time do we waste on both ends of this conversation, multiplied by a hundred million people? How is any of this helping anyone get what they actually need, which is health care?

One of the most frustrating things about Obamacare is the sheer amount of time and complexity involved in both getting coverage and using it. It’s almost like the people who

designed it assume that every American has free time to burn or is an expert in the complexities of the insurance business.

It also makes the assumption that everyone has an accurate idea of what their future health problems will be, and that they are thrilled to spend their evenings browsing through a wide range of healthcare plans with no meaningful ability to choose between them. Time is money for working people, but you’ll never see that factored into the cost of these plans.

This isn’t because this is a government program, either. Private insurance is worse, and if you think government can’t be efficient, you should probably go apply for title and registration at the county treasurer’s office. (That’s a welloiled machine right there.)

No, this is the result of an economic system that sees working people as disposable profit centers. The purpose of our working class health care system isn’t to deliver health care; it’s to extract as much money as possible from its customers who have nowhere else to go. One way of doing this is to keep piling up the transaction costs until people just give up.

It’s not just healthcare. The Home Affordable Modification Program promoted by the Obama Administration in 2009 was essentially designed to string homeowners along and extract a little more equity from them while getting banks off the hook for the fraudulent mortgages they sold to working class Americans. The complexity in these programs is not a bug, it’s a feature. The same could be said for the tax code.

Those with the time, education, and professional assistance take advantage of these systems; those without just get taken advantage of.

Again, this is not because these are government programs. There is no reason things need to be so complex except that we choose them to be that way. Let’s choose better. PJH

“This is the result of an economic system that sees working people as disposable profit centers.”

SNOW PACK REPORT

SPONSORED BY HEADWALL RECYCLE SPORTS

MARCH MANIA

T

he first day of spring, a melancholy day for many pow hounds, came on Sunday. But never fear—we have at least one or two susbtantial storms on the horizon.

Last week, for example, over a three-day period we saw a snowfall that totaled more than 40 inches. According to the most recent forecast, we are in for another exciting week of snow, maybe not as big as last week but a possible 20 inches of snowfall is predicted Tuesday through Friday at 9,000 feet and above. Expect higher totals as you get into higher elevations.

New snow coupled with 30 mph wind means more wind slabs forming similar to last week.

Ineed, the new snow last week was incredibly fun until it was drastically heated by 45 degree temperatures causing a plethora of wet slides. Please do not downplay wet slides, especially if you are skiing in high consequence terrain like couloirs, chutes, above terrain traps, etc. There was a skier

recently caught in a wet slide skiing the Son of the Apocalypse, a couloir in GTNP. The snowpack is creating interesting scenarios. We have a high amount of new snow that has turned into a wind slab, carrying enough weight to be easily triggered as is. Then it gets heated by a noticeable temperature change consolidating the slab, which creates even more dangerous hangfire.

This week, if we do get roughly 20 inches of snow, get on it early and get off early before the sun and temperatures ruin it and create wet slab conditions.

Yes, it is nowhere near time to put the gear away friends.

Stay safe and pray for more snow.

– Steve Weiss

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ENCLOSURE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

T H R E E LO C A T I O N S T O S E R V E Y O U !

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

6 | MARCH 23, 2016

CODY DOWNARD

THE BUZZ

Feeling the Bern Despite media blackout, Sanders movement gains steam in Jackson Hole.

BY NATASHA HODUSKI @NatoshaHoduski

I

t was well below freezing when Molly Zimmer arrived at Skyline High School.

After hours standing in the dark, Zimmer saw the sun rise. Under its light, a line of Bernie Sanders supporters was illuminated.

Zimmer left her home in Victor, Idaho, at 5 a.m. to get a good spot at the Sanders rally on March 18. When she finally arrived a little after six, there were already 40 people in queue. By the time doors opened three hours later, that crowd had swelled to thousands.

Approximately 3,200 people attended the Idaho Falls rally, with showings from Idaho’s panhandle, Montana, and Jackson Hole.

While the Teton County GOP is seemingly divided over a 21-19 vote that named Donald Trump the party’s chosen one (prompting GOP county chair JuliAnne Forrest to resign last week), local Democrats are coming together in the name of Sanders.

12-year resident Marcus Stauffer, 38, is the front office manager at a local hotel. He was among the Jackson contingency in Idaho Falls to see Sanders. “Bernie seems completely different [from other candidates],” he said. “By not having to answer to special interests, he can focus on doing good to improve the lives of average Americans.”

Boots on the ground The Sanders campaign has relied heavily on grassroots organizers. According to statistics released by The New York Times, Hillary Clinton has enjoyed more than double

Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally in Idaho Falls Friday. The Vermont senator attracted more than 3,000 supporters to Skyline High School, including some Jackson Hole residents. the media coverage than Sanders. Trump, meanwhile, has received almost five times as much. Sanders’ lack of coverage in mainstream media is so blatant it has been termed the “Bernie Blackout.”

Despite the lack of major media coverage, the Sanders movement is gaining traction in Jackson Hole. According to Wyoming voter registration data from the Secretary of State’s website, from January to March of this year, 42 people registered as Democrats in Teton County, nearly double the number of Republican registrations in the same timeframe.

Dr. Justin Vaughn is Boise State University’s resident expert on political institutions, specifically the presidency. He has been following the Sanders campaign very closely. “I think in some ways, the fact that there is this media blackout has reinforced the enthusiasm the younger voters have for [Sanders],” he said.

The Bernie campaign’s Wyoming director, Shelby Iseler, says Sanders’ magnetism has less to do with him and more to do with the movement itself. “I noticed this when I first started supporting the senator: it’s not about him,” she said. “It’s about a grassroots movement, a political revolution. He sends a very inclusive message. Whoever you are, you have a right to be a part of this Democratic process.”

Democratic Party members in Jackson are on the front lines of this word-of-mouth campaign as the deadline to register for the Wyoming caucus nears. After March 25, residents who have not registered to vote as Democrats cannot participate in the Democratic caucus on April 9.

Artist Aaron Wallis is part of the bootson-the-ground Sanders campaign team in Jackson. As a volunteer, he is going door-todoor, calling people who have shown interest in the campaign, and spreading his passion for Sanders by word of mouth. “I certainly feel that Bernie is the first candidate in at

least my lifetime that has the courage to take on the banks and corps that made America unlivable for so many people,” he said.

Last weekend, Teton County’s Sanders campaign organizers Nathaniel Greene and Curt Allain took over the community room at the Jackson Whole Grocer. Through their efforts, the grocery store has become campaign headquarters, facilitating hands-on training for volunteers and public information distribution. Their goal is to inform the public about campaign platforms, to make the caucus system more digestible, and to promote the absentee ballot process.

Because the Democratic caucus happens in early April when many folks will be out of town, the absentee ballot has become critical to the campaign.

Wren Fialka, a massage therapist who works in Teton Village, has been carrying absentee ballots with her everywhere she goes. “This is the most important election we’ve ever had,” she said. “I’ve always been pretty active in getting people to vote because I think we have all of these rights and privileges, and we’ve become pretty apathetic.”

Greg Epstein agreed. The head of production at Teton Gravity Research fears people are disenfranchising themselves. “Voter suppression is happening enough in our country, we don’t need to implement it by apathy,” he said.

Ensuring people have the opportunity to be heard is a key goal of Sanders advocates.

The caucus system is not an easy process and Stauffer hopes to remove voting barriers through an informed electorate.

“I am doing my best to get the message out,” he said. “Mostly with people at work and with friends. I think my goal is to help people understand the confusing nature of the Wyoming caucus process in order to help people be enfranchised, or to keep them from being disenfranchised based on work schedules in the seasonal industry. For a lot of people, they leave town in April, or they work, or

they just can’t afford to give up two-thirds of their day. If they’re not aware of the absentee ballot process, they’ll miss out.”

Social media: the aid and the blade

Epstein is actively encouraging the absentee ballot process as well. His venue of choice has been through social media. “You look at social media where Bernie Sanders is winning the war, and you have to look at the demographic that uses social media. It’s the younger generation. That generation is the future of this country,” he said.

Sanders couldn’t agree more. As he pointed out Friday in Idaho Falls: “We have received more votes from people under 30 than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined.”

As the Sanders campaign proves, mainstream media does not dictate the newsworthiness of a candidate. Instead, social media has become the heart and soul of grassroots movements.

However, those without high-speed Internet access are left in the dark. Epstein thinks that in areas where broadband is not as accessible, there is a very obvious trend away from the Sanders campaign. “You don’t get the same access to high speed broadband in rural areas that you do in places like Jackson. There are a lot of parts of [Wyoming] that don’t get it. So are they getting their information through social media? No. Are they watching Fox News? You betcha.”

Unsurprisingly, Fox News recently published the article “Does Sanders Really Want to Win?” It questioned whether Sanders was even actually interested in becoming president. In the article, author William Whalen said that if Sanders wanted to be the future POTUS, he would need “to call out Clinton in more glaring terms. Otherwise, he’s gum on her shoe.”

Mainstream media campaigns like this make it seem like Sanders does not have

a chance at the nomination. However, as Vaughn pointed out, “Bernie has won more states than Ted Cruz, but you don’t hear the media trying to get [Cruz] to drop out. There is this irony that younger Sanders enthusiasts are aware of and maybe it motivates them more.”

One percent and dissenters

Today, many middle class folks continue to struggle to pay their health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Worse yet, even with health insurance many are still

pjhcalendar.com

For all MEETING AGENDAS AND MINUTES WEEKLY CALENDAR JOB OPENINGS SOLICITATIONS FOR BIDS PUBLIC NOTICES AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION

Visit our website

TetonWyo.org The public meeting agendas and minutes for the Board of County Commissioners and Planning Commission can also be found in the Public Notices section of the JH News and Guide.

MARCH 23, 2016 | 7

All pay, no product

left with staggering medical bills. Now back to Molly Zimmer, 54. She can attest to this firsthand. Recently, a member of her immediate family had what doctors classified as a panic attack. Unfortunately for the Zimmer family, however, the symptoms seemed like a heart attack. After tests and a single night of observation in the hospital, the Zimmer family accrued more than $25,000 in medical expenses not covered under their current healthcare plan.

“This was for a non-life-threatening procedure. No surgery, no stitches, just him in a bed with a heart monitor,” Zimmer said. Even with a monthly health insurance premium of $1,000 for a family of three, Zimmer will have to pay up. “I wouldn’t raise the issue if I thought [healthcare affordability] only concerned me, but nearly every family I know faces a similar situation. We’re not an isolated occurrence. It just seems like everyone on both sides of the hill is on the brink, thinking one major medical occurrence could cripple them.”

If Sanders’ healthcare reforms are passed, the senator’s goal is that, “millions of people will no longer have to choose between healthcare and other necessities like food, heat and shelter.”

According to Zimmer, many people are afraid electing Sanders will cause astronomical tax hikes. But U.S. citizens are already paying into the system through taxes currently collected. The only thing that needs to change is how those tax dollars are being spent, she said. “We understand it’s not ‘free college’ or ‘free healthcare.’ It’s our tax dollars that are being spent, but we want a better return on our investment.”

She would like to see her tax dollars used on Sanders platforms like single-payer universal healthcare and education, rather than on massive international wars and government subsidies for mega-firms like Wal-Mart.

Boise State’s Vaughn is not particularly enthused by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“It’s an incredibly compromised, flawed piece of legislation,” he said, “and either we will abandon it in favor of a single-payer system like most of the wealthy, developed world; or abandon it in favor of market-driven healthcare, similar to what we had before.

Right now we have the worst possible combination of those things.” Vaughn also noted that ACA forces people to buy insurance without actually being provided healthcare.

“People are just tired,” Zimmer said. “They are tired of feeling like they’re not getting any return on their investment. They’re tired of being afraid a chisler bite will set them back $2,300 for a rabies shot. They’re tired of poor education—Idaho has some of the worst schools in the nation—, and Sanders wants to give them a better return.”

Stauffer thinks that voters in Jackson have a key role to play in the election cycle. “In [sparsely populated areas] like Wyoming, you have such a significant voice. Whether you’re voting for Sanders or Clinton, hopefully its Sanders, this is the time to let your voice be heard.” PJH

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Even with media blackouts haunting the Sanders campaign, Stauffer thinks the movement is finding good footing in Jackson partially because of the area’s economic disparities.

“We are in an area where you have to see firsthand the kind of obscene amount of wealth that has been generated over the last couple decades for only a select few,” he said.

With so much wealth in the area, Stauffer sees tax dodging as a flagrant abuse of the political system. “We see these people every day with multimillion dollar homes in dozens of places, but they claim residency here in Wyoming just trying to avoid paying taxes somewhere else—even though their tax load would probably be more than you and I make in a year.”

Stauffer believes the Sanders’ platforms that advocate single-payer healthcare and public universities are not impossible. There is plenty of money to make those things a reality, he said, but without the campaign reforms Sanders is demanding, the people with money will continue to be the only people with influence.

“The only way we change America,” Sanders said in Idaho Falls, “is if millions of people stand up and fight back, and that is what the political revolution is about.

Conservatives as well as progressives can agree that we have a rigged economy when there are so few with so much, and so many with so little.”

Jackson is no stranger to one-percenters. Christy Walton, one of the heirs to the Walton fortune, listed her Jackson home with Jackson Hole Real Estate a few years ago for $12.5 million. In contrast, the average employee of Wal-Mart makes about $8.81 per hour, according to IBISWorld Industry Reports. Based on Wal-Mart’s full-time status of 34 hours per week, it would take an average employee more than 806 years to earn enough money to afford Walton’s Jackson home.

Sanders has made Wal-Mart itself a campaign platform. The Vermont senator sees it as the poster boy for a rigged economy. WalMart, Sanders explained to the Idaho Falls crowd, does not pay its employees a living wage, leaving the middle class to pick-up the check on food stamps, Medicaid, and subsidized housing for its employees. “On behalf of the wealthiest family in America, thank you for paying their welfare,” he quipped.

the latest happenings in jackson hole

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

8 | MARCH 23, 2016

THE BUZZ 2 Fire Union Hosed Contract talks halted, headed for lawsuit.

BY JAKE NICHOLS

“I

don’t think it ever crossed my mind,” Keith Gingery admitted to the town council Monday afternoon. “I didn’t even know we paid our volunteers.”

The deputy county attorney explained a speed bump in the town/county negotiations with the newly formed Local 5067 Jackson Hole Professional Firefighters. New revelations caused town and county officials to break off talks with the union formed under the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). The two sides had met on three occasions and were working toward a new two-year contract for Fire/ EMS. What Gingery had not considered—or anyone else for that matter—was the idea that Local 5067 might be formed illegally, according to state statute, and therefore did not have exclusive brokering power to enter into collective bargaining with elected officials.

At issue is an opinion rendered by the state attorney general back in November while weighing in on a dispute between Campbell County government representatives and the fire union serving Gillette and other muncipalities in that county. According to the AG’s interpretation of state statute, any union formed in Wyoming must include a majority vote

Can You Hear Me Now? Verizon warns town it is headed for a coverage crisis.

BY JAKE NICHOLS

W

ireless carriers have been at odds with government leaders for years over placement of cell towers they say are necessary but electeds fear are unsightly.

Policy roadblocks and outright application denial have frustrated both Verizon and AT&T representatives. The latest development in the cell saga is Verizon’s hardline pitch to add towers in downtown Jackson, where the carrier’s representatives say they have been unable to meet demand.

“Verizon is extremely concerned about the very urgent need to improve coverage in Jackson,” Irene Cooke said. Cooke performs site acquisition for Verizon Wireless. “We started this process in 2013 and still don’t have an additional site.

Jackson is a world-class resort and it needs world-class service to meet the needs of visitors and users in the 21st Century.”

Acknowledging coverage gaps throughout the valley, Verizon reps are more concerned with peak load demands in downtown Jackson. Cell towers were pounded last summer by Verizon customers, causing laggy speeds and spotty service.

This summer will be even worse, they said.

Verizon’s Travis Griffin explained that 3G and 4G-LTE service is not like the coverage of old where a cell tower could cover a 10-mile radius. “4G means you have to get closer, often within a mile or even within a quarter-mile,” he said. “We are completely reacting to customer demand. Cell sites in Jackson are maxed out today.”

of all paid members of any organization. This presumably would include volunteer firefighters who are paid on a per event basis and also receive some pension, benefits and workers’ comp in the event of injury.

In the case of the formation of 5067, only 18 full-time salaried members were allowed to participate in a vote to unionize—14 of those fire fighters opted to join. Both Gingery and town attorney Audrey Cohen-Davis advised the council to sign off on a letter hastily drafted by Gingery Monday morning, which informed the fire union that town and county officials were choosing to walk away from the collective bargaining process.

“We would disagree with that stance and will continue with a lawsuit,” said James Powell, who represents Local 5067. “The union took the same action in Campbell County.

This specific situation is unique to Campbell County and, now, it would seem the Town of Jackson and Teton County have joined that challenge. It’s extremely troubling to IAFF national leaders.”

Union attorneys believe the AG’s opinion on the issue is nothing more than that. Cohen-Davis said it seemed to her it was stronger than that. “Sometimes AG opinions are more of the recommending-type language, but this one seems pretty clear: It doesn’t appear that 5067 is the proper entity to enter into exclusive bargaining,” she said.

The union suit is not unexpected. It appears the only way to get clarification on statute is to take the matter to the state supreme court.

“There will be a lawsuit in Campbell County, and probably here in Teton County,” Gingery said. “That might be a good thing. It will help define law. In my opinion it may be best to wait and join this lawsuit and get resolution on this

issue. If the court says the AG is wrong we just go back to negotiations.”

If local electeds are simply jumping at a chance to bust the union by walking away from the table, they weren’t tipping their hand. Most elected officials expressed their satisfaction with the bargaining process to date. Gingery pointed out, “You are very close to concluding negotiations; you need to weigh that also.”

But a meeting with union reps scheduled for Tuesday forced electeds to act fast. Town administrator Bob McLaurin said any agreement struck with the union could be legally challenged by volunteer firefighters who felt disenfranchised by the union.

Other unions, like the IAFC, allow for volunteers to join.

Powell said volunteers are specifically prohibited from joining the IAFF, according to their charter. “If the volunteers wanted to get together and form a separate organization, they certainly could,” Powell said. “But our intentions are to represent the full time members of Fire/EMS in protecting fair wages, benefits, and working conditions.”

Gingery said he became aware of the situation in Campbell County only after fire chief Willy Watsabaugh sent him a story on it published in the Gillette News Record last Sunday.

Gingery called county attorneys in Gillette and decided to advise electeds to halt contract talks.

Powell called the decision disappointing and expected litigation to take one or two years. In the meantime, he promised the usual high level of dedication from Fire/EMS personnel will continue. “We remain committed to our mission of protecting the citizens of Jackson and Teton County,” he said. PJH

Demand is expected to increase 650 percent between 2013 and 2018, according to Verizon estimates. Users’ expectations for services like real-time mapping, video streaming, and teleconferencing are creating a strain on bandwidth to the point where Verizon is asking for not just one additional tower site in town, but three.

Verizon spokesperson Meagan Dorsch said, “Demand for wireless voice and data service is growing rapidly—between 25 and 50 percent each year. CTIA, the wireless industry association, released a study that showed Americans used three times as much wireless data service in 2014 than they did in 2012.”

“Capacity is beyond maxed between June and September,” Griffin said. “Growth has outpaced our capacity. We can’t meet demand today. Some users are already experiencing trouble loading webpages. It will be very bad if you won’t be able to make a phone call or use 911.”

Police chief Todd Smith said his department, as well as the Sheriff’s Office, relies on Verizon for their communications and onboard computer links with the dispatch database.

He said he has not noticed a degradation in service but on occasion, like at the recent JHMR concert where an estimated 15,000 gathered for the event, speeds are noticeably slower.

Anthony speculated Verizon lawyers were probably looking into their options, viewing local ordinances and regulations here as “relatively strict.” He added that recent changes in town regs drastically reduced the areas where potential cell towers could be built.

“The FCC requires reasons for denial in writing,” Griffin explained. “Essentially a town cannot prohibit a provider from building cell sites but you can direct where you want them.”

Griffin suggested town officials get their act in gear while they are still able to exercise some control over where towers go and what they’ll look like. New zoning regulations in town have created PSP (Public, Semi-Public) zones where the mostly government-owned parcels would make suitable locations for tower construction.

Verizon reps said they have been talking with Ryan Stanley about a site at the base of Snow King. They would also be extremely interested in revisiting a site on top of the parking structure where they were previously rebuffed.

Councilors Bob Lenz and Jim Stanford have opposed cell towers in the past on the grounds that RF emissions are harmful to humans. Stanford, in particular, is still adamant about conceivable threats to public health.

“I continue to have reservations about putting a cell tower on virtually every block. I didn’t move to Wyoming to be bombarded by 18 sets of radio waves at every second,” Stanford said. “I know the Federal Communications Commission says I’m safe, but I don’t like being boxed in [on all sides by towers].

We are gaining the convenience of being able to stream anywhere, but I really feel the appetite here is insatiable. Maybe we need to temper our level of demand and expectations.”

Stanford also questioned whether service was truly being affected by volume. He said he has never experienced any problems downloading Nathaniel Rateliff videos in HD, for instance.

Lenz and Mayor Sara Flitner seem amenable to looking again at the parking garage as a potential site for a Verizon tower. Meanwhile, Anthony is working with Verizon reps to find suitable locations for temporary mobile tower sites called COWs (Cell on Wheels) that will need to be in place for this summer while permanent locations are being identified. PJH

Where and when?

Jackson principle planner Paul Anthony has been working directly with Verizon authorities to help them find suitable locations for towers. AT&T was denied a permit two years ago for a tower to be hidden in a church steeple in Indian Springs by the neighborhood’s HOA. Verizon was shot down by the Center for the Arts board for a proposed tower atop that building. They were also shut out from sharing AT&T’s new rodeo grounds tower.

“At some point we will have to say yes to some of these facilities. We can’t continually say no,” Anthony said.

Wireless carriers have federal clout. If push comes to shove, and communities like Jackson Hole continue to make life difficult for them, they may eventually play their ace card: FCC regulations.

Glaciers and Gender

NEWS OF THE

University of Oregon professor Mark Carey produced a 10,300-word journal article in January proposing a new sensitivity to Earth’s melting icecaps: A “feminist glaciology framework” to “generate robust analysis of gender, power and epistemologies” with a goal of more “just and equitable” “human-ice interactions.” The jargonized, densely worded tract suggests that melting icecaps can be properly understood only with more input from female scientists since, somehow, research so far disproportionately emphasizes climate change’s impact on males. (The New York Post reported that the paper was funded by a National Science Foundation grant of $412,930.)

WEIRD

Chutzpah!

Trying to put (as a critic charged) “lipstick on a pig,” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder boasted in March that the lead-in-the-water crisis plaguing the city of Flint for months now had actually spurred job growth. Though Snyder has been heavily criticized for tight-fisted bud-

By CHUCK SHEPHERD geting that enabled the crisis, 81 temporary workers have been recently hired—to hand out bottled water so that residents would not have to hydrate themselves with poisoned municipal water.

Can’t Possibly Be True

A senior federal administrative law judge recently claimed (and then, for good measure, repeated and emphasized) that, in his experience, “3-year-olds and 4-year-olds” do not need the help of lawyers to advocate for them in immigration proceedings. Teaching those kids their rights, Judge Jack Weil said, “takes a lot of time” and “a lot of patience,” but there is no need for government to provide lawyers. (Weil, a U.S. Department of Justice employee, was contesting an American Civil Liberties Union claim at a recent deposition in an immigration case in Seattle.)

n Homeless people frequently store their few possessions in commandeered shopping carts, but New Yorker Sonia Gonzalez, 60, became a legend recently on Manhattan’s West Side by maneuvering a stunning, block-long assemblage of more than 20 carts’ worth of possessions along the sidewalks. Among the contents: an

air conditioner, a laundry hamper, shower curtain rods, a wire shelving unit, wooden pallets, suitcases and, of course, bottles and cans. She moved along by pushing carts two or three at a time, a few feet at a time, blocking entrances to stores in the process. (The day after a New York Post story on Gonzalez’ caravan, Mayor DiBlasio ordered city workers to junk everything not essential, leaving her with about one cart’s worth.)

Questionable Judgments

Mexico’s latest female accessorizing craze is shellacking tiny dead scorpions onto fingernails, using the second-most venomous species of the arachnid, selling briskly at the Miss Unas parlor in Durango. In fact, while in town (according to a London Daily Mail dispatch from Durango), shoppers may check out the Raices restaurant, which pioneered tacos filled with still-wriggling scorpions (that had been soaked in surgical alcohol to neutralize the venom).

Latest Religious Messages

Businessman Induvalu Suresh cut off and donated the little finger of his left hand recently at the Hindu pilgrimage site Tirupati, India, as homage to the gods for the granting of bail to prominent India leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul

Gandhi, who are charged with fraudulent business practices in a case heavily politically weighted. n In October, a regional court in Nizhegorodsky, Russia, decided that the Russian Orthodox Church could pay off part of a debt for its new boiler spiritually. According to an Associated Press dispatch from Moscow, the church can settle the remaining debt, equivalent to $6,585, to the boiler company by paying $2,525 in rubles and the remainder by prayer.

Awesome!

In a suburb of Newcastle, Australia, in February, workers using a crane extracted a 1-ton snake-like mass of sewage (mostly “wet wipes” unwisely flushed down toilets) from an underground pipe—with the gummed-together sludge reaching a height of more than 20 feet when the crane finally yanked the whole thing up. Said a representative of the water company, “(Y)ou’ll flush the toilet, and the wet wipe will disappear,” and you think (wrongly) it’s therefore “flushable.”

Thanks This Week to Gerald Sacks and Pete Randall and to the News of the Weird Board Editorial Advisors.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 9

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

10 | MARCH 23, 2016

ANNIE FENN,MD

THE FOODIE FILES

For the Love of Local Among valley chefs, Wes Hamilton is leading the charge on sustainable food.

BY ANNIE FENN, M.D. @JacksonFoodie

F

rom the waffles at Corbet’s cabin to the revamped healthy lunches at Kids Ranch, executive chef Wes Hamilton oversees food top-to-bottom at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. While locals love Hamilton for creating great food, those involved in the sustainable food movement know him to be a tireless leader in our community. As Penny McBride, co-founder of Vertical Harvest, said: “Wes creates this bridge between running a business and connecting to the community. It’s holistic.”

How can a chef be considered holistic? First, Hamilton is primarily focused on creating great food for his restaurants and taking care of his employees. But he also understands how his food service impacts the community. By striving to source ingredients locally, he supports our farmers and reduces the amount of food trucked in from afar. By joining forces with Hole Food Rescue, he aims to reduce food waste and minimize the trash stream that ends up in the landfill.

And by getting rid of the fryers at the Kids Ranch, and replacing sugary snacks and fried foods with fruits and veggies, he is having a direct impact on the health of kids in this community. For this and so much more, the editors of The Planet chose Hamilton as Best Chef Championing Sustainability.

Recently I had a chance to sit down with Hamilton to learn more.

Planet JH: I can’t imagine how busy you are as executive chef at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, overseeing nine kitchens and a staff of 110. Yet you make time to volunteer for Vertical Harvest, Hole Food Rescue, and Slow Food in the Tetons. What motivates you to give back to the community?

Wes Hamilton: I guess I just feel an immense responsibility to give whatever support I can to these great projects. JHMR is a very large operation with a lot of influence and I guess I want to make sure that whatever part I can play

One of Jackson’s busiest chefs, Wes Hamilton almost never sits down long enough to enjoy lunch from Piste Mountain Bistro. in that influence is for a positive impact on our community. I’m also in a very cool position, in that my company and the Kemmerer family fully support my time and energies that go into these great projects, and push me to use every opportunity that I have to make these concepts work. It also helps that I personally have such belief in these local solutions to tackling global problems, I just want to play whatever part I can.

PJH: Is it true that you were considering medical school when you took a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant? What was it about the food world that seduced you away from medicine?

WH: True. I was considering the medical field, which I think was totally due to the show ER when I was younger. I always knew I wanted to work in a fast paced, stressful, high-energy environment; it’s just the way I am. So when I got a dishwashing job during Christmas break one year, I got a glimpse of the speed, camaraderie, and precision of a real professional kitchen and the light went on. I called my mother the next day and told her I was closing my college career at an AA of Liberal Arts, and moving to work in a real professional kitchen. There was at least a full minute of silence on the other end of the line. I guess I looked at it as, If I could find all the excitement and pressure in an environment that feeds people and makes them happy; that has to be better than what I would find working in the ER with some of its tragedy.

PJH: Since you opened Couloir in 2007, the restaurant has received many accolades, including being dubbed “Manliest Restaurant” by the Travel Channel. Although that’s not the term I’d use, I’ll take a stab at defining your cuisine: Refined comfort food, clean, not-too-fussy flavors, beautifully plated, made from ingredients that invoke a sense of place. How would you describe your unique style of mountain cuisine?

WH: I have always had trouble with this question and now after nine years, I guess I just look at it as “ingredient driven.” That really sums up everything we do. I have never really looked at the “usual suspects” that chefs sometimes feel they have to have on their menus. I have always just looked for new local ingredients or producers, and tried to figure out a way to support them and give them a stage for their products. I think it is this challenge that has kept Couloir and other restaurants relevant to the high level of dining in Jackson Hole. A great case in point would be Café 6311 this season. We basically found an entire line of deli meats that were both Never/Never

products and from northern Utah, from a family ranch, and decided to ditch the wraps at that restaurant and go with a deli concept just so we could use these products. Add bread from Stoneground Bakery, and I have a very casual lunch spot that still adheres to the ethos of “local, ingredient-driven” menus.

PJH: What inspires you when you sit down to write a new season’s menu? Do you get to eat out much in Jackson? How about over in Teton Valley? And do you get inspiration from your fellow chefs?

WH: For everything except Couloir and Piste, I basically sit down with the teams that run those restaurants and we discuss what worked, what didn’t, and [whether we are] missing things that our guests would want to see. We use a little bit of data from what sells (or doesn’t), but we also just have a lot of discussion about what we can put on a menu that would satisfy our guest expectations. For Couloir and Piste, these menus are actually written by the entire culinary team. We essentially lock ourselves in a room with a case of beer, a bunch of pizza, and a giant dry erase board. Everyone has been out on vacation and such, and comes back with ideas and dishes they would like to try. Four to six hours later, we have a conceptual menu that the guys then go do testing on for three or four days.

I have been doing a lot of eating this winter in Jackson, but a lot of my thoughts come from reading or pictures of food.

Really they come from all over the place. The trick is to have a notepad around so I can write them down. Otherwise I forget.

I sometimes call somebody if I’m in the car, just to explain an idea and have them write it down to remind me what it was.

PJH: Locally and nationally, improving the quality of school lunches has proven to be a difficult issue to tackle. How have you transformed the ski school lunches at JHMR and how are the kids doing with less soda pop and tater tots?

WH: Well, it is a tough nut to crack. First thing I did was get rid of the fryers. They can be a “layup” for cooks when they get in a pinch, and I didn’t want the kids eating tons of fried food. We do still have tater tots (unfortunately), but we bake them in the oven so we don’t have a ton of fat in them. The other things we did were put in a large garden bar with tons of raw fruit and vegetables. The instructors now go to the garden bar and load up a plate with raw veggies and fruit and bring that back to the kids before they get to any of

ANNIE FENN, MD

the hot food selections. We also looked at hydration and got rid of the high sugar “bug juice” type products and replaced them with a low calorie Gatorade product. Other things were getting rid of chocolate milk and so many sugar snacks. They now get graham crackers or fruit juice gummies in between meals. Really we had to look at what the actual caloric needs were and find the best possible foods to meet those needs.

PJH: How old are your children? Has it been difficult to get them to eat healthy food? What foods do you cook for your kids that they love?

WH: I have three kids that aren’t so little anymore. My older two are 20 and 23, but my youngest is 7. With all of them, it really came down to involving them in the process of the meal. Whether letting them cut the vegetables, stir the pasta, etc., I found that they were much more open to trying new things if they were part of the process. We have always wanted them to make good choices as well, so we used to play the “which is better” game when they were young: Which is better, an apple or a bowl of ice cream? We also stick with a lot of things they can eat raw and by themselves. Things like pineapple, cucumbers, apples, oranges; all three loved to snack on things, we just made those things available instead of tons junk food.

PJH: Tell us about Vertical Harvest and how you got involved in the project. How do you see a year-round vertical greenhouse impacting the community?

WH: Great story. Four years ago now, I had been hearing about the concept of VH from Anna Olson, our brand director. She eventually approached me about possibly hosting a fundraiser at Couloir. I said, in partial jest, that if the greenhouse was next to the parking garage, they should throw a “roof top party” at the actual parking garage. She looked me dead in the eye and said, “You can make that happen, right?”

So, two roof top parties and four years later, I just picked up my third round of test greens and now sit on the board of directors. My own personal vision for VH is for it to replace as much of the product trucking into our valley from as far away as Mexico. Sadly, almost all of our fresh veggies in the winter come from Mexico, are picked unripe, and driven here from the LA terminal market. It is sad, because one, that is a ton of trucking; and two, due to being picked unripe, most of it is junk. VH will never replace the amazing growers we already have here in the area; it’s really to replace all the other stuff we have to truck in from everywhere else all year long. I think VH will be the tide that rises, raising all the “ships” we have

here in the valley and bringing awareness about all the local producers we have here.

PJH: You are known for being committed to sourcing ingredients within a 250-mile radius. Perhaps you were the first chef in Jackson to truly practice locavorism? Has this gotten easier over the last nine years you’ve been at JHMR, and what are some of the remaining challenges?

WH: Well, it didn’t start out at 250 miles. It was originally 500 miles. But over the years we started to have access to more and more things, and got more savvy about how we source things. Nowadays, it’s great. Producers now know how we purchase and a lot of times come to us about being part of our program. Winter is still the biggest challenge to the JH locavore. We do a fare bit of preserving of the summer bounty and with some cagey menu engineering, we still keep everything close to home, but it does take some things away that you may want to use. Partnering with Cosmic Apple Gardens and now Full Circle Farms has always been a huge gain for us. And now leveraging our buying power with Sysco Intermountain to find everything we might want has also kept us close to home. I don’t know if I was the first, there are a lot of great and responsible cooks here in Jackson Hole, but I do remember fighting over the squash blossoms at the Farmers Market in 2001 back when I was at Jenny Lake Lodge.

I just always figured that should be the way it was done.

PJH: Recently you have taken some flak for food price increases at the Village. What do you say when locals complain about paying a few more bucks for their pho?

WH: Building and retaining staff is extremely important too. Modest increases have let us make greater investments in our staff and program. PJH

After delivering babies and practicing gynecology for 20 years in Jackson, Annie traded her life as a doctor to pursue her other passion: writing about food, health, sustainability and the local food scene. Follow her snippets of mountain life, with recipes, at www.jacksonholefoodie.com and on Instagram @ jacksonholefoodie.

MARCH 23, 2016 | 11

PJH: I understand that you are committed to recycling,

composting, and repurposing food from your JHMR restaurants, even the ones that require numerous gondola or tram rides to transport things to and fro. How would you advise a restaurant that wants to start doing the same?

WH: Really, this one is just a ton of work. The amount of labor that we put into our recycling program alone is staggering. Some of it is also very capital intensive. We are currently looking at purchasing our own composter that we could pelletize and use to heat our warehouse, but the cost alone is $40,000. It’s really about finding out what resources are available to you, partnering with them and figuring out what other opportunities are out there. Groups like Hole Food Rescue do an amazing job with this and have been diverting thousands of pounds of food each week from our waste stream. You really just have to be committed to it and do the work. The other thing I am looking at is the “source reduction” side of things. Looking at all of our products and seeing if there is an alternative with less packaging. We have done that with sour cream (moving to 32-pound tubs instead of 8-pound containers) or going to olive oil out of a bulk container that we then move to reusable containers. Less waste is always a good thing.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

PJH: What do you see as the next big issues our community will have to deal with when it comes to food/sustainability/ health? What do you think is the best way to get kids involved in the food movement?

WH: Waste! This needs to be the next “locavore” movement. We really need to get a grasp on exactly how much trash we produce and what are better ways of buying the things we need while still being cognizant of the output of those products. This is one of the big reasons I chose to work with both Vertical Harvest and Hole Food Rescue One is a concentration on the “input” of my business and one will be the “output” of my impacts. I think education is really the biggest key to this. Having everyone—kids and adults alike— really understand what our trash stream looks like, and how much edible food, packaging, overproduction, really ends up in the dump. It would horrify some people. We need to get everyone involved. Everyone needs to begin to understand what composting is and what we need to do to pull this off on a macro level. [For example], how important it is going to be to get the county transfer station to include a composting facility. These are our newest problems, especially in a place that ships its trash to another state.

Left: Hamilton makes ramen noodles in-house for the pan-seared Scottish salmon, ponzu glaze and pickled vegetables. Right: Local greens color the chromatic Crispy Salad at Piste.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

12 | MARCH 23, 2016

BEER, WINE & SPIRITS

The Art of the Wine List What would you serve at your restaurant?

BY TED SCHEFFLER @critic1

R

ecently, a Cape Cod-based friend and colleague of mine asked for my input in creating a wine list and inventory for a new restaurant. Naturally, my hedonistic instinct was to suggest loading the list up with first-growth Bordeaux, the best Burgundies, costly vintage Champagne and such. But that road is one less-travelled for the majority of restaurateurs. They, after all, must deal with reality, not fantasy. And most have limited budgets, limited storage facilities and aren’t going to sell very many $8,000 bottles of Petrus 1982.

Many folks, including me, enjoy beginning dinner with a glass of bubbly. So I recommend having at least two or three options available for customers. In my restaurant, I’d offer an interesting domestic sparkling

wine such as Roederer Estate Brut, as North Fork does, or maybe Gruet Brut, from New Mexico. I’d also have a non-vintage French Champagne on the menu, like Moët Impérial.

Even on the tiniest of wine lists, you must include the four most common white wine varietals: Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris. I’d put Chardonnay on my restaurant’s list, but not a lot of it and not big, bombastic, oaky Chards.

Chardonnay is overrated as a food wine. So, put a domestic, oaky Chardonnay on the list for those who enjoy it, but offer some unoaked Chardonnays, as well. A mixture of Chards from the United States, France, Australia and Chile would be nice. Include a minimum of one dry and one off-dry Riesling, a domestic Sauvignon Blanc and one from New Zealand, and a mix of Italian Pinot Grigio and Alsatian Pinot Gris, with perhaps a Willamette Valley Pinot Gris for good measure. If you can branch out and include lesser-known whites such as Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer and white blends like Conundrum, that would be even better.

I can’t even imagine a restaurant in France—no matter the size—not offering a good dry Rosé. The French drink it by the bucket. Well, kudos again to North Fork for including Domaine Serene “R” Rosé from the Willamette Valley on its list. I’d recommend also including a solid Rosé from Provençe

IMBIBE such as Caves D’Esclans Whispering Angel.

As with the white wines, you’ll want to offer guests the most in-demand reds. Those are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz/Syrah and (in this country) Zinfandel. I’d give customers a choice of a domestic Cabernet and a French Bordeaux, along with an Oregon or California Pinot Noir and one from Burgundy.

Ditto Merlot from both the United States and France.

Then, I’d turn to Australia for Shiraz and to France for Syrah.

If you’ve got room, mix in an Argentine Malbec, Sangiovese and Chianti from Italy, Spanish Tempranillo and such.

Now, which wines would be essential for your list?PJH

THE LOCALS

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Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom and pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves!

ASIAN & CHINESE TETON THAI Serving the world’s most exciting cuisine.

Teton Thai offers a splendid array of flavors: sweet, hot, sour, salt and bitter. All balanced and blended perfectly, satisfying the most discriminating palate. Open daily. 7432 Granite Loop Road in Teton Village, (307) 7330022 and in Driggs, (208) 787-8424, tetonthai. com.

KIM’S CORNER

Use the code “Planet” and get

15% off your order of $20 or more Order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com or via our app for iOS or Android.

11am - 9:30pm daily 20 W Broadway 307 - 201 - 1472

Best ski food in the area! Korean and American style, from breakfast sandwiches, burgers, chicken tenders, Philly cheese steaks to rice bowls and noodles. Something for everyone!

Open Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. At base of Snow King between the ski patrol room and the ice rink. 100 E. Snow King Ave. Order ahead (307) 200-6544, facebook. com/Kimscornercafe.

THAI ME UP Home of Melvin Brewing Co. Freshly remodeled offering modern Thai cuisine in a relaxed setting. New tap system with 20 craft beers. New $8 wine list and extensive bottled beer menu. Open daily for dinner at 5pm.

Downtown at 75 East Pearl Street. View our tap list at thaijh.com/brews. 307-733-0005.

CONTINENTAL ALPENHOF

Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally FRESH FOOD at reasonable prices, is a always a FUN PLACE to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel RIGHT AT HOME and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit.

www.mangymoose.com

Lunch 11:30am Monday-Saturday Dinner 5:30pm Nightly

HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-6:00pm

307.201.1717 | LOCALJH.COM ON THE TOWN SQUARE

SCOOP UP THESE SAVINGS

1/16TH COLOR AD • FREE PRINT LISTING (50-75 WORDS) • FREE ONLINE LISTING ON PLANETJH.COM • 6 MONTH MINIMUM COMMITMENT • $25 A WEEK CASH OR $40 A WEEK TRADE ON HALF OFF JH

CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TODAY TO LEARN MORE

SALES@PLANETJH.COM OR 307.732.0299

Trio is located just off the town square in downtown Jackson, and is owned & operated by local chefs with a passion for good food.

Our menu features contemporary American dishes inspired by classic bistro cuisine. Daily specials feature wild game, fish and meats.

Enjoy a glass of wine at the bar in front of the wood-burning oven and watch the chefs perform in the open kitchen.

Dinner Nightly at 5:30pm 45 S. Glenwood Available for private events & catering For reservations please call 734-8038

THE BLUE LION A Jackson Hole favorite for 37 years. Join us in the charming atmosphere of a historic home. Ask a local about our rack of lamb.

Serving fresh fish, elk, poultry, steaks, and vegetarian entrées. Live acoustic guitar music most nights. Open at 5:30 p.m. Early Bird Special: 20% off entire bill between 5:306:00pm. Reservations recommended, walkins welcome. 160 N. Millward, (307) 733-3912, bluelionrestaurant.com.

CAFE GENEVIEVE

ELEANOR’S Enjoy all the perks of fine dining, minus the dress code at Eleanor’s, serving rich, saucy dishes in a warm and friendly setting.

MARCH 23, 2016 | 13

Serving inspired home cooked classics in a historic log cabin. Enjoy brunch daily at 8 a.m., dinner nightly at 5 p.m., and happy hour daily 3-5:30 p.m. featuring $5 glasses of wine, $5 specialty drinks, $3 bottled beer. 135 E. Broadway, (307) 732-1910, genevievejh.com.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Reservations at (307) 733-4913 3295 Village Drive • Teton Village, WY

Serving authentic Swiss cuisine, the Alpenhof features European style breakfast entrées and alpine lunch fare. Dine in the Bistro for a casual meal or join us in the Alpenrose dining room for a relaxed dinner experience. Breakfast 7:30am-10am. Coffee & pastry 10am-11:30am.

Lunch 11:30am-3pm. Aprés 3pm-5:30pm.

Dinner 6pm-9pm. For reservations at the Bistro or Alpenrose, call 307-733-3242.

Local is a modern American steakhouse and bar located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Serving locally raised beef and, regional game, fresh seafood and seasonally inspired food, Local offers the perfect setting for lunch, drinks or dinner.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

14 | MARCH 23, 2016

Cafe

- Snow King Mountain -

KOREAN & AMERICAN

Eleanor’s is a primo brunch spot on Sunday afternoons. Its bar alone is an attraction, thanks to reasonably priced drinks and a loyal crowd.

Come get a belly-full of our two-time gold medal wings. Open at 11 a.m. daily. 832 W. Broadway, (307) 733-7901.

BREAKFAST & LUNCH BURGERS • FRIES RICE BOWLS • NOODLES

FULL STEAM SUBS The deli that’ll rock your belly. Jackson’s newest sub shop serves steamed subs, reubens, gyros, delicious all beef hot dogs, soups and salads. We offer Chicago style hot dogs done just the way they do in the windy city. Open daily11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located just a short block north of the Town Square at 180 N. Center Street, (307) 733-3448.

Tues-Thur 9:30am-7pm | Fri-Sun 9:30am-4pm 100 E. Snow King Ave

(at Snow King Mtn between Ski Patrol & Ice Rink)

307.200.6544

LOCAL Local, a modern American steakhouse and bar, is located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Our menu features both classic and specialty cuts of locally-ranched meats and wild game alongside fresh seafood, shellfish, house-ground burgers, and seasonally-inspired food. We offer an extensive wine list and an abundance of locally-sourced products. Offering a casual and vibrant bar atmosphere with 12 beers on tap as well as a relaxed dining room, Local is the perfect spot to grab a burger for lunch or to have drinks and dinner with friends. Lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am.

Dinner Nightly 5:30pm. 55 North Cache, (307) 201-1717, localjh.com.

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT PIZZAS, PASTAS & MORE HOUSEMADE BREAD & DESSERTS FRESH, LOCALLY SOURCED OFFERINGS TAKE OUT AVAILABLE Dining room and bar open nightly at 5:00pm (307) 733-2460 • 2560 Moose Wilson Road • Wilson, WY

LOTUS CAFE

A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965

Serving organic, freshly-made world cuisine while catering to all eating styles. Endless organic and natural meat, vegetarian, vegan and glutenfree choices. Offering super smoothies, fresh extracted juices, espresso and tea. Full bar and house-infused botanical spirits. Open daily 8am for breakfast lunch and dinner. 145 N. Glenwood St., (307) 734-0882, tetonlotuscafe.com.

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Good between 5:30-6pm • Open nightly at 5:30pm

733-3912 160 N. Millward

Make your reservation online at bluelionrestaurant.com

POLKA NIGHT FEATURING THE

HOF POLKA BAND

Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally fresh food at reasonable prices, is a always a fun place to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel right at home and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit. Teton Village, (307) 733-4913, mangymoose.com.

SNAKE RIVER BREWERY & RESTAURANT America’s most award-winning microbrewery is serving lunch and dinner. Take in the atmosphere while enjoying wood-fired pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. $9 lunch menu. Happy hour 4 to 6 p.m., including tasty hot wings. The freshest beer in the valley, right from the source! Free WiFi. Open 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 265 S. Millward. (307) 739-2337, snakeriverbrewing.com.

SWEETWATER

THURSDAY, 7PM-10PM GERMAN BEER SPECIALS

Breakfast Lunch & Dinner

307.733.3242 | TETON VILLAGE

WWW.TETONLOTUSCAFE.COM

••••••••• Open daily 8am 145 N. Glenwood (307) 734-0882

Satisfying locals for lunch and dinner for over 36 years with deliciously affordable comfort food.

Extensive local and regional beer list. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. features blackened trout salad, elk melt, wild west chili and vegetarian specialties. Dinner 5:30 to 9 p.m. including potato-crusted trout, 16 ounce ribeye, vegan and wild game. Reservations welcome. (307) 7333553. sweetwaterjackson.com.

TRIO Owned and operated by Chefs with a passion for good food, Trio is located right off the Town square in downtown Jackson. Featuring a variety of cuisines in a relaxed atmosphere, Trio is famous for its wood-oven pizzas, specialty cocktails and waffle fries with bleu cheese fondue. Dinner nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations.

(307) 734-8038 or bistrotrio.com.

ITALIAN CALICO A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965, the Calico continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the Valley. The Calico offers the right combination of really good food, (much of which is grown in our own gardens in the summer), friendly staff; a reasonably priced menu and a large selection of wine. Our bar scene is eclectic with a welcoming vibe. Open nightly at 5 p.m. 2560 Moose Wilson Rd., (307) 733-2460.

MEXICAN EL ABUELITO Serving authentic Mexican cuisine and appetizers in a unique Mexican atmosphere. Home of the original Jumbo Margarita. Featuring a full bar with a large selection of authentic Mexican beers. Lunch served weekdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nightly dinner specials. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 385 W. Broadway, (307) 733-1207.

PIZZA DOMINO’S PIZZA Hot and delicious delivered to your door. Handtossed, deep dish, crunchy thin, Brooklyn style and artisan pizzas; bread bowl pastas, and oven baked sandwiches; chicken wings, cheesy breads and desserts. Delivery. 520 S. Hwy. 89 in Kmart Plaza, (307) 733-0330.

PINKY G’S The locals favorite! Voted Best Pizza in Jackson Hole 2012, 2013 and 2014. Seek out this hidden gem under the Pink Garter Theatre for NY pizza by the slice, salads, stromboli’s, calzones and many appetizers to choose from. Try the $7 ‘Triple S’ lunch special.Happy hours 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. Sun.- Thu. Text PINK to 71441 for discounts.

Delivery and take-out. Open daily 11a.m. to 2 a.m. 50 W. Broadway, (307) 734-PINK.

PIZZERIA CALDERA Jackson Hole’s only dedicated stone-hearth oven pizzeria, serving Napolitana-style pies using the freshest ingredients in traditional and creative combinations. Five local micro-brews on tap, a great selection of red and white wines by the glass and bottle, and one of the best views of the Town Square from our upstairs deck. Daily lunch special includes slice, salad or soup, any two for $8. Happy hour: half off drinks by the glass from 4 - 6 daily. Dine in or carry out. Or order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com, or download our app for iOS or Android. Open from 11am - 9:30pm daily at 20 West Broadway. 307-201-1472.

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016

THE BEST

under the

WELCOME TO THE PLANET’S BEST OF JACKSON HOLE.

ISSUE 8

– Robyn Vincent, editor

MARCH 23, 2016 | 15

of our readers’ poll, which thousands of readers voted in, and editors’ choice awards, dreamt up by a diverse team of scribes—allows us a moment to celebrate some of the people who make Jackson Hole a place worth living in.

People like Danny Collins, the readers’ choice silver winner for Best Nurse. Collins’ road to becoming a nurse was long and arduous, and this is perhaps the reason he pours so much love into what he does today. People like Wild Bill Bowen, editors’ pick for Best Ski Hill Personality, that emobody an undying love for this place. After sharing the same tram with Bowen even once, you’ll never forget him, or his fiery onesie. And then there are folks like Dr. Annie Fenn, readers’ choice gold winner for Best Blogger. One day the good doctor decided that food is really the best medicine. Today she spends her time writing about people in the local food scene making strides toward sustainability, both on her blog, JacksonHoleFoodie.com, and in her bi-weekly Planet column, The Foodie Files.

The secret may be out about Jackson Hole—when I reveal where I live to people in other parts of the country, and the world, sighs of envy have become de rigueur. But these are folks gushing over the aesthetics. Just imagine if they knew even a modicum of the people we proudly call our own. Here’s to some of the Best of Jackson Hole.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

T

here’s a telltale indicator of how long someone has lived in Jackson Hole.

If you ask a recent pilgrim her favorite thing about the valley, chances are she’ll point to an affinity for the outdoors. She loves laying fresh tracks in the Crags, pounding Putt Putt on her mountain bike and summiting peaks in the Tetons.

Yes, us Planetoids are fully amped on all of these activities, too. But we’re more excited about the answer that comes from someone whose roots are planted just a little deeper. Because these are the people who recognize that one of the most unique aspects of Jackson Hole is its community.

It takes some time and effort to arrive at this realization though. Those who spend only winters or summers here, who invest their energy into one particular sphere —whether it is skiing or real estate or fishing—those who do not cheerfully suffer through the soggy off-seasons with the rest of us, who do not have the opportunity to savor Jackson at a slower pace, miss out on getting to know some of the remarkable people who make Jackson Hole a community like nowhere else in the world. A place where strangers, whether on the street or the trail, still look each other in the eye and exchange easy pleasantries. A place that, after some time, softens even the hardest of former city dwellers (this author included).

That’s why each year we at The Planet forfeit plenty of sleep and endure painstaking powderless days for our Best of Jackson Hole issue. BOJH Issue 8—comprised

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

16 | MARCH 23, 2016

17 27 37 49 JACKSON HOLE,

thank you for the best year yet!

AN INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO NOW BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

307-733-8582 | 307-690-5452 DWELLINGJH.COM

DIANA EDEN

GOLD

Diana Eden buzzes like a hummingbird as she sorts through her to-do list. The Teton County Library is her passion.

With a wry sense of humor, she reflects on how the library might be her favorite enabler. Eden has become an accumulator of quirky vintage items over the years; the library has given her access to hundreds of books on collections and has given her solace that she is not alone in her idiosyncrasies.

But that’s not the only thing Eden loves about the library. With her vast knowledge of books, contemporary and classic, Eden relishes in finding

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

TETON COUNTY LIBRARY

BEST LIBRARIAN

the perfect book for anyone that walks through the door.

Being a librarian might resonate with a certain type of person. Eden’s coworkers seem to have a penchant for dressing alike, whether it is Christmas sweaters in the summer or year-round plaids and stripes. Even when they aren’t inadvertently dressed alike, their opinions on Eden remain the same across the board: She is an awesome delight.

One of her coworkers described her as a dual threat—she is creative and artistic with the brains to back it up. Eden beautifies things everywhere she goes, from her collections at home to the library displays she presides over.

Indeed, if you’ve walked through the doors of the Teton County Library, you’ve probably been subconsciously influenced by Eden’s eye for style and good taste in books.

- Natosha Hoduski

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Readers’ Choice

MARCH 23, 2016 | 17

BEST TEACHER

GOLD BEST NONPROFIT

KRISTA STEVENS

Gold: Habitat for Humanity Silver: PAWS Bronze: Animal Adoption Center

(Colter Elementary, Fourth Grade)

Some of The Planet’s Best of winners are a reflection of candidates who campaign hard for votes. Not in this category. In order to get enough votes to be Best Teacher, one would have to assume a true winner. In the case of Krista Stevens, gold medalist for her work at Colter Elementary with the fourth grade, Stevens’ influence had to reach one step removed from her kids to their parents.

Sure, the average 10-year-old is savvy enough to work the interwebs and navigate their way through our online poll. But we generally don’t count 10-year-olds as factoring too significantly into our demographics. Likely, these students were so taken with their beloved teacher that the “shine” spread to their parents.

Mom and dad noticed how well their kid was learning, and they were moved to vote about it.

In these days when PAWS testing and Common Core dominate headlines, it’s easy to forget what it’s really all about: The boots on the ground. These unsung heroes shape our future one kiddo at a time. Their inspiration lasts a lifetime. They sacrifice time, talent, and often their own money. As the meme goes: Teachers don’t teach for the income, they teach for the outcome.

Krista, we are honored to give you this recognition for your eight years at Colter. Someone has noticed your efforts. A lot of someones. But your kids already knew that.

– Jake Nichols

BEST CHARITY EVENT Gold: Old Bill’s Fun Run Silver: Bras for a Cause Bronze: Fireman’s Ball

BEST TEACHER

Gold: Krista Stevens Silver: Heather Harrington Bronze: Kelly Kaiser

BEST LAWYER KRISTA STEVENS

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

18 | MARCH 23, 2016

Readers’ Choice

Gold: Doug Schultz Silver: David DeFazio Bronze: Dick Stout

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 19

BEST SKI HILL PERSONALITY

WILD BILL BOWEN

BEST DENTIST

Gold: Scott Larsen Silver: Catherine Tebay Bronze: Tyler Bergien

Has local legend Wild Bill ever clipped your pack to the tram pole because you left a few buckles undone? Have you heard his hilarious remarks when the tram loads, as he playfully pushes you into a corner? For a veteran athlete at JHMR, Wild Bill tram pranks are pure entertainment.

Wearing his signature orange ski suit, with his long hair blowing, Bill Bowen always has a look of childlike wonder on his face. “I don’t know what to do with my hands on the tram,” he admits.

“There is so much time.”

Bowen has nailed S & S twice this season, gone out to Pandora, traversed from the tram to Housetop to Baldy Knoll to Victor, and roped his way through Bird Brain twice over. Back when he was new in Jackson Hole 37 years ago, he already knew what was up. “The overwhelming power of the mountains here. People are hardy. There is so much opportunity.”

Well known for his colorful personality and insatiable appetite for adventure, he is frequently seen exploring with his old school ski buddies Brian Rutter and Jason Steigelmeyer, or close friend and fellow athlete Meredith Edwards. But he says, “I ski by myself with everybody.”

A purist to the end, Bill’s one request of his ski peers: he wishes “people would drink less and ski more.”

– Jessica Flammang

BEST NURSE

Gold: Mary Ness Silver: Danny Collins Bronze: Tessa Enright

BEST BANKER

Gold: Jacob Stark Silver: Pete Lawton Bronze: Frank Lyons Bronze: Lance Ash

BEST ATHLETE JASON STEIGELMEYER

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

20 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

Gold: Travis Rice Silver: Crystal Wright Bronze: Jimmy Chin

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Editors’ Choice

BEST BACKCOUNTRY TOOL (BESIDES A BEACON)

When in doubt, check it out. Ready to rock and fully updated by 7 a.m. every day, the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center chugs right along through the winter with morning and evening updates to assist backcountry enthusiasts in staying apprised of the snowpack. Thanks to avalanche forecasters like Mike Rheam and Bob Comey, the morning snowcast makes planning for a day outside pretty simple, summarizing mountain temps at different elevations, as well as the forecast for the day. The avalanche information tab serves as a nice avenue that allows people to share avalanche events, observations and snow pit details. One of the wonders of jhavalanche.org is the instant database for weather and snow data. This allows one to check Teton, Togwotee Pass, and Grey’s River area raw data directories. So, if the day is changing fast and you get a late start, updated temps, and wind are also available anytime with the swipe of a smartphone. BTAF has worked hard to contribute to community safety and communication. This resource is a great place to keep snow safety in the minds of the masses. And let’s admit it, when late spring comes around and we see that last message saying the daily forecasts will no longer be updated, a little bit of sadness trickles into our hearts.

– Elizabeth Koutrelakos

SARGENT SCHUTT

BRIDGER TETON AVALANCHE CENTER

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 21

Dr. Norene Christensen, PT, DSc, OCS

Editors’ Choice

KARILYN BRODELL

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

22 | MARCH 23, 2016

THANK YOU JACKSON FOR THE VOTES! I AM VERY HONORED AND HUMBLED!

BEST TASTE IN BOOKS

KARILYN BRODELL A book slinger at Valley Bookstore for 23 years, Karilyn Brodell is a literary tastemaker.

She always has her finger on the pulse of new releases and up-and-coming authors, going out of her way to challenge her tastes and worldview with new voices. Customers know to come into the store to ask for Karilyn’s recommendations, because she never defaults to a dusty classic. She’ll always surprise you because she allows books to surprise her. Her taste is impossible to nail down and richer for that very reason.

With more Staff Picks around the store than any other employee, Karilyn is known to put an unknown title in your hands months before the book becomes a trendy bestseller. I can only wonder how many Jacksonites read “All The Light We Cannot See” specifically because she recommended it long before it won a Pulitzer.

Karilyn has a respect and love for the bookstore that is unmatched, as evidenced by the store decorations she installs on her days off. She is emblematic of a caliber of local customer care that is slipping out of seasonal Jackson’s fingertips.

– Andrew Munz

SPECIALIZING IN: Orthopedics • Sports Medicine • Neck and Back Pain Surgical Rehabilitation • Fall Prevention • Headache TMJ • Chronic Pain Prenatal and Post partum musculoskeletal disorders Pelvic Pain • Urinary and Fecal Incontinence Bladder Pain Syndrome • Overactive Bladder Oncology Rehab • Lymphedema 1090 S Hwy 89, Jackson, WY • 307-733-5577 No Physician Referral required except for Medicare, Medicaid and Worker’s Compensation

BEST ATHLETE (UNDER 17)

Gold: Daniel Tisi Silver: Theo Dawson Bronze: Hazel Brooke Davis

BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT

Gold: Katie Colbert Brady Silver: Mack Mendenhall Bronze: Marybeth Hansen

BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL Gold: Sara Flitner Silver: Jim Stanford Bronze: Barbara Allen

BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO DOESN’T HOLD OFFICE Gold: Mark Barron Silver: Bob Morris Bronze: Jesse Rezin

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

BEST BLOGGER

ANNIE FENN, MD (JacksonHoleFoodie.com)

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 23

With tens of thousands of food blogs to choose from, Jacksonites gravitate toward Annie Fenn’s JacksonHoleFoodie.com. In fact, her blog posts are what turned the head of Planet editor Robyn Vincent, who asked Fenn one year ago to pen a bi-weekly food column, The Foodie Files (turn to page 10 for this week’s installment). Today, the column is well loved by readers across the valley.

Not only are Fenn’s blog posts intimate and well written, her photos and recipes are drool worthy. Plus, there’s a loving focus on homegrown businesses and local products, which is refreshing compared to other run-of-the-mill food blogs.

Jackson Hole Foodie has been active for about five years, and Fenn’s viewership remains loyal and constant, with views reaching as high as 2,000 per day in the summer season.

“Is that a lot?” she asked me with a nervous chuckle. Fenn’s unpretentious approach to food and blogging is rooted in her passion for the experience food can deliver. Her more than 500 subscribers are constantly treated to her insights and tips. She insists, however, that she’s not a food critic, and would rather highlight a restaurant’s culinary feats than criticize its downfalls.

When it comes to Jackson’s food scene, she loves that there’s an emphasis on food production. “People here are do-it-yourselfers,” she said. “Jackson has a real down-to-earth Western perspective on food. When I meet those people, I get really excited, and I want to write about them.”

– Andrew Munz

SARGENT SCHUTT

GOLD

Readers’ Choice

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Editors’ Choice

BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO JACKSON HOLE

THE COMING CLIMATE (The Charture Institute) A seminal report released last summer—The Coming Climate— has already proven prophetic. The first scientific study to solely focus on how climate change will affect the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem warns, among other things, that winters in the Tetons will begin and end earlier and winter storms will be warmer and wetter. Cue the winter of 2015/16, and the winters of recent memory.

Commissioned by the nonpartisan think tank Charture Institute and conducted by the Teton Research Institute of Teton Science Schools, the report reveals a warming trend across Teton County, where the annual average minimum temp has risen 1.3 degrees since 1948. The annual average maximum temperature has climbed 1.6 degrees. Most of this warming occurred since 1980, explain the study’s co-authors Corinna Riginos, PhD, and Teton County Commissioner Mark Newcomb.

As more people acknowledge that climate change is the most significant threat facing humanity, community dialogue is becoming increasingly important. That’s why in a place with one of the most diverse and intact ecosystems in the world, where the economy hangs on the health of the environment, The Coming Climate is the Best Thing to Happen to Jackson Hole.

“The first step is clearly identifying the issue and raising consciousness,” said Charture Institute’s Jonathan Schechter.

“You can’t solve the problem unless you can identify it.” Read the full report at www. charture.org.

- Robyn Vincent

Gold: Joe Rice Silver: Gavin Fine Bronze: Park Dunn-Morrison

BEST LIBRARIAN

Gold: Diana Eden Silver: Byron Tomingas Bronze: Jess Johnson

BEST DRESSED

Gold: Blake Morley Silver: Dana Sanders Souther Bronze: Albie Robertson

BEST INTERIOR DESIGNER Gold: Kate Binger Silver: Kristin Fay Bronze: Jen Visosky

BEST KNEE DOCTOR Gold: David Khoury Silver: Angus Goetz Bronze: Bill Neal

BEST PHYSICIAN

Gold: Bruce Hayse Silver: Mark Menolascino Bronze: Brent Blue

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

24 | MARCH 23, 2016

BEST BOSS

Gold: Best Coffee Shop Bronze: Best Locally Roasted Beans

125 N Cache St, Jackson, WY 83001 | 307-733-7392

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Editors’ Choice

BEST NEW LEADER OF THE REDCOATS

JAY GOODRICH

MARCH 23, 2016 | 25

New this spring to the leadership triage at JHMR, Jen Calder is the first female to hold a management position among the 80 patrollers in the ski area’s 50-year history. As the new assistant ski patrol director, and a veteran ski patroller on her 19th season, she works side by side with Drew Kneeland and Tom Bartlett to strategize each day’s safety on the ski hill. She jokes that she can’t remember the last time when she skied for herself was, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she said.

Each morning Jen is out of the house at the 6 o’clock hour. Commuting from Teton Valley to the ski hill, she nibbles on a granola bar and looks forward to patrol’s second breakfast at 9:30 or 10 after the mountain is open.

When Jen arrived in the valley in 1990, it wasn’t just the resort’s backcountry gates that were closed, but the gates for women in many outdoor spheres were seemingly shut down. Today, however, Jen’s brave yet lighthearted demeanor has opened the minds of the good old boy network. The mountains are for everyone, she often proclaims. And for the [insert age] skier, “Patrolling at JHMR, and being promoted to a leadership role has been very liberating.”

– Jessica Flammang

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JEN CALDER

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

26 | MARCH 23, 2016

Readers’ Choice

BEST MOUNTAIN GUIDE

ZAHANExumBILLIMORIA Mountain Guides Growing up in Switzerland, when Zahan Billimoria turned 18 his parents did something that would forever shift the trajectory of his life. They sent him out skiing with French guide Christophe Profit.

Zahan was already passionate about skiing and mountaineering. But having a sensei that built a career around a love for the mountains inspired Zahan to do the same.

Today, Zahan has been a professional guide for 11 years with an impressive alpine resume. He says his favorite part of guiding isn’t the glory of first ascents, but rather the relationships he builds with his clients. He considers them his close friends.

In many ways, Zahan’s humility plays just as big a role in his success as a guide as it does his ability in the mountains. When asked about his most noteworthy achievements, Zahan recalled long days in the park with a client now in his 70s. “As a guide the most impressive things you do might not be what you accomplish, but what you enable others to accomplish,” he said.

Zahan also points to his colleagues as the reason for his guiding success. Exum and other Teton guides are among the best in the world, he said, and working side by side with them inspires him to be better.

Though not boastful about his mountaineering accomplishments, Zahan did confess that filming and riding the Otter Body on The Grand Teton with TGR athletes Jeremy Jones and Brian Iguchi was something he will never forget. Everything about the day was perfect: the crew, the weather, and being able to ski such a cool line on his home mountain. Skiing routes in the Tetons with TGR athletes opened Zahan’s eyes to what big mountain skiing can look like at the hands of the pros.

- Park Dunn-Morrison

Readers’ Choice

DANNY COLLINS

SILVER

BEST NURSE

DANNY COLLINS Danny Collins, 44, did nursing the hard way. Danny contemplated a radical career change as he approached 40. The 22-year pastry chef was ready to trade in his pies and tortes for thermometers and bandages. He wanted to become a nurse. Danny began working at St. John’s Medical Center in 2010 as a CNA. While paying his dues in the Living Center and PCU, Collins also hit the books. For six years he studied before applying to Central Wyoming College’s nursing program. He didn’t get in.

So Danny moved to Lander where he was accepted into a CWC program in Riverton. Then Danny’s wife—Rona Ferguson—experienced health issues that forced the couple back to Jackson.

Danny had to drop out of the nursing program. Friends and family drew in close to support the couple. Rona recovered, Danny had to start over from scratch but he wouldn’t give up. His new application was finally accepted in April 2013. Danny’s dream was realized last June when he and Rona were returning from Ogden, Utah, where Danny took the NCLEX. They got word on the way home that he passed. Rona pitched her man on February 1. Her Facebook post read: “Just throwing it out there … If you’re doing the best of Jackson Hole survey, don’t forget Danny Collins for best nurse!!” Whether or not you’ve experienced his TLC, you’ve got to admire his TCB. Congrats on the silver, Danny.

– Jake Nichols

BEST YOGA/FITNESS INSTRUCTOR Gold: Ariel Mann Silver: Niki Sue Mueller Bronze: Neesha Zollinger

BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST

Gold: Hayden Hilke Silver: Francine Bartlett Bronze: Norene Christensen

BEST ALTERNATIVE BEST MASSAGE MEDICINE PRACTITIONER THERAPIST Gold: Mark Menolascino Silver: Kevin Meehan Bronze: Taug Boschen

Gold: Rena Trail Silver: Dan Hady Bronze: Allison McKeehan Bronze: Kim Young

ZAHAN BILLIMORIA

GOLD

BEST HAIR STYLIST

Gold: Jenny Bragg - Jackson Parlour Silver: Rob Hollis - Frost Bronze: Tori Jo Carson - Tori

BEST RIVER GUIDE Gold: Lily Shipley Silver: Hunter Verde Bronze: Jim Stackhouse

BEST MOUNTAIN GUIDE Gold: Zahan Billimoria Silver: Tim Cohn Bronze: Brendan Burns

BEST VALLEY ADVOCATE Gold: Mark Barron Silver: Bob Morris Bronze: Craig Benjamin Bronze: Pete Muldoon

Readers’ Choice

BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Gold: Jamie Farmer Silver: John Carney Bronze: Nona Yehia

SILVER

JIMJackson STANFORD Town Councilman

Being a good elected official is a difficult and thankless job. It requires in-depth knowledge on a wide breadth of convoluted topics, the ability to actively listen and the wherewithal to know when it’s time to compromise and when it’s time to stand your ground. In order to be effective, you have to do your homework and understand not only your position, but that of your adversaries too.

And if you’re going to represent all of your constituents (not just the wealthy and powerful, but also those without money or political power), you’re going to have your work cut out for you. Jackson Town Councilman Jim Stanford has consistently stood up for working class residents. He is oftentimes the lone voice willing to speak out against special interests and powerful valley fixtures.

In 2014, he was the sole town councilor who voted against giving the developers of the new Marriott Hotel an exemption to the zoning rules. He was also the only councilor to stand firm against increased commercial development throughout the new LDR process. He opposed the license plate surveillance system for parking enforcement and has fought to preserve the character of Snow King as a community amenity, not an amusement park.

Those are tough positions to take if you’re looking to cash in after you’re out of office, but they’re the kind of votes Stanford makes regularly. Thanks for representing the people, Jim. – Pete Muldoon

DAVID STUBBS

BEST ARCHITECT

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 27

BEST STOKE IN THE SKY

RICHARD GROVE For Richard Grove, happiness is flying. The Jackson-based commercial airline pilot is an all-seasons accomplished athlete.

But being in the sky is what gets him most high. His professional flying passion is piloting Boeing 767s around the world. When he’s not manning commercial aircraft, you can find him paragliding in the Tetons. And in winter, Grove combines his life-long love of skiing and paragliding for some speed riding.

Consulting airline weather apps every day for work, Grove also uses

BEST BLOGGER

Gold: Annie Fenn Silver: Meagan Murtagh Bronze: Scott Anderson

BEST BUS DRIVER

Gold: Jeff “JC” Cunnington Silver: Greg Smith Bronze: Marc Loebe

BEST LOCAL SCANDAL Gold: Walgreens Silver: Budge Drive Landslide Bronze: The Legend of Dave

BEST REASON TO DRIVE TO DRIGGS/VICTOR RICHARD GROVE

Gold: Victor Emporium Silver: Music on Main Bronze: Big Hole BBQ

Editors’ Choice

BEST FEMINIST OF THE WEST

LYNN SHERWOOD

When you think of feminists, images of burning bras and protest signs quickly come to mind. But you won’t find Lynn Sherwood burning her bra any time soon. What Lynn is burning most of the time, however, is gunpowder. A self-described serial entrepreneur, Lynn is no stranger to running a business in Jackson Hole. High Caliber Woman is Lynn’s newest baby; providing courses in self-defense, body language, firearms training, etc. exclusively to female clients.

Watching Lynn on the range, you’ll notice her enthusiasm, her confidence, and her comfort in handling even the biggest guns. She can take a female student from a place of debilitating fear to a place of joyful empowerment. It is obvious she is along for the ride every step of the way. That’s because Lynn herself had a life-long fear of guns. When she and her husband, Shepard Humphries, started Jackson Hole Shooting Experience in 2010, Lynn realized that her fear was of the “bad guy behind the gun,” rather than the gun itself.

When she took a pistol course to demystify the object, firing those first shots that day was hard. But she quickly realized shooting could be safe and fun. She knew at that moment she wanted to share this with other women and thus High Caliber Woman was born. Today Lynn is helping women to recognize and overcome their own perceived limitations, one shot at a time.

– Gloria Courser

LYNN SHERWOOD

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

28 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

that professional know-how to anticipate what the conditions will be for speed riding when he gets home. “Heaven is when I see light winds and fresh powder in Jackson,” Grove exclaimed with a huge smile.

Grove’s Swing Mirage 13.5 meter wing fits in a small backpack, so he can hike up a mountain, fly and ski down, pack it up and walk home. And of course there’s the rush from flying south of the JHMR boundary off the Rock Springs Buttress or the Powder 8 launch over Breakneck (his two favs). From these launches, he is typically airborne for about a mile and averages anywhere between 25 and 50 mph before his skis land on the snow.

When asked to describe the thrill of flying with skis affixed to his feet, Grove sighed wistfully. “The thrill of it is…indescribable.”

– Carol Mann

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

GOLD

Readers’ Choice

BEST RIVER GUIDE

LILY SHIPLEY

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

LILY SHIPLEY

When she’s not chasing after her dog, Ranger, whose favorite part of river trips is jumping out of the boat, Lily Shipley is running float trips for Dave Hansen Whitewater.

“It’s hard not to make going down the Snake River fun,” Lily said.

Originally from Maine, she grew up on the ocean, but fell in love with the river.

Now in her fifth season of guiding, Lily’s love for kids and her passion for wildlife shine through. She loves hearing the question from children, “Do moose and elk mate with each other?” And she always gets a good laugh when they ask if they will be paddling back up the river for their return mission.

She knows how special it is for guests, whom she estimates are in the hundreds, since it is often their first or second time on a river. Lily appreciates watching the migration cycles of elk and moose, and cherishes when she saw a mountain lion on the river.

It is “having the opportunity to help folks understand and appreciate our ecosystem and Jackson lifestyle that drives me back to guiding each season.”

For Lily, the river symbols a form of rebirth: “Every day is a new day on the river,” she said.

– Jessica Flammang

MARCH 23, 2016 | 29

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: PEOPLE & LIVING

Readers’ Choice

BEST VALLEY ADVOCATE

CRAIG BENJAMIN & PETE MULDOON One of the most meaningful categories in the Readers’ Poll, Best Valley Advocate recognizes people who are a voice for the voiceless. They are the watchdogs of the valley, the folks who hold elected officials accountable and place public policy under the microscope.

The two people tied for bronze in this category— Craig Benjamin and Pete Muldoon—both happen to be some of The Planet’s most well received opinion columnists. But it isn’t just their writing acumen that landed them this award.

BRONZE

SARGENT SCHUTT

30 | MARCH 23, 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

SARGENT SCHUTT

CRAIG BENJAMIN

BRONZE

When asked about the impetus for a career in advocacy work, Craig Benjamin recalled his former life as a Jackson Hole ski bum. How he had a penchant for complaining about the impending perils of climate change. His girlfriend-now-wife, Stacy, told him to quit his bitching or do something about it.

So he left Jackson to get a master’s degree in public administration focused on environmental policy and sustainability. Three years ago Craig returned with new purpose.

Today, as executive director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, he has transformed the nonprofit into an organization that is waging a dogged battle to protect the people, wildlife and character of Jackson Hole. While the Alliance has always advocated in the name of conservation, under Craig’s leadership its outreach efforts have expanded exponentially.

“This is not your grandmother’s Alliance,” joked Skye Schell, civic engagement director.

Indeed, Craig’s effective advocacy work in other places—from pedestrian and bicyclist initiatives, to helping shutter a coal-fired power plant while managing to inject millions into local economic development—has helped him in Jackson Hole to mold the Alliance into an organization that empowers locals.

The Alliance’s Conservation Leadership Institute is a free program that grooms citizens to be agents of change in the community. Participants glean effective strategies to tackle Jackson’s most pressing issues du jour, from housing and transportation to wildlife and the local economy.

Rallying hundreds of people to speak out against commercial development, the Alliance demonstrated to citizens the power they

have in the political process. Town leaders heard the roar and eventually acquiesced, agreeing to freeze commercial development potential in the downtown core.

A gifted storyteller with a useful anecdote for just about every situation, Craig pointed to this quote as a source of his inspiration: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PETE MULDOON

Sixteen-year Jackson resident Pete Muldoon has long been wielding the power of his pen to illuminate important issues in Jackson Hole. Today he ignites community dialogue with his blog, Outside the Hole, and just about every time he steps up to the podium at a town or county meeting.

Pete is not one to shy away from contentious issues. In fact they are the very problems that he relishes dissecting. Pete broke the news on Blair Place Apartments’ 40-percent rent increase, highlighting yet another aspect of the valley’s housing woes. He has weighed in on several local economy discussions, and most recently challenged the decision of certain Cowboy State lawmakers to reject Medicaid expansion in the state of Wyoming. Rife with well-researched information, his unpaid words help folks grasp the convoluted issues that comprise the local political and economic spheres.

Recognizing the efforts of myriad people fighting for Jackson Hole, Pete was hesitant to call himself an advocate. But we were at least able to squeeze this out of him: “I think I’ve contributed a little towards helping people see how they are affected by politics and policy, and trying to remind them that they do have power if they’ll exercise it. That things will always be this way until one day they aren’t. I think a lot of people have been taught to be cynical, but we can actually change things. We have agency. We need a better imagination, and the courage to re-examine ideologies and belief systems we were given years ago but that were never revisited.”

We see a future in politics for Mr. Muldoon.

— Robyn Vincent

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

Readers’ Choice

BEST SHOP TO BUY BLING

GOLD

MARCH 23, 2016 | 31

Jan and Jeter Case were Jackson Hole high school sweethearts. They married in their early twenties and their love for each other and for jewelry has been shining through at J.C. Jewelers since 1988.

They are together almost 24/7 and according to Jeter, this works well because it is the ultimate form of commitment; the success of both their marriage and their business are tied together. You can see the comfortable collaboration by watching the way they share their story—neither one interrupts the other as they both lean into each other’s words. If that isn’t cool enough, their jewelry store is housed in a 1930s cabin with decades of creative energy swirling through it. Famous local painter, Archie Teater, once used it as an art studio.

Whether shopping for bling while Jan stands by ready to answer your questions or simply wanting to gaze at gemological art, a visit to this old cabin won’t leave you wanting. Jeter’s designs are married exquisitely to Jan’s impeccable taste in gemstones. His style is unique and without rival in the valley. It’s almost as if the gemstone had a destiny all its own and Jeter was simply the medium to bring it to life. His elk ivory pieces are crafted by shaping themselves around the ancient tusks.

He does not cut them to size to fit a piece. Each piece is customized to the ivory itself. Jeter is an artist—he doesn’t make jewelry, he creates art.

– Gloria Courser

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

J.C. JEWELERS

J.C. JEWELERS

BEST HEART OF GOLD

BEST HOTEL

MICHAEL RATLIFF

Gold: Hotel Terra Silver: Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole Bronze: The Wort Hotel

Four years ago, retired nurse and cancer survivor Michael Ratliff gave away all his belongings in attempt to lead a simpler life focused on service. For two years, he has served hot breakfasts to hungry folks in Jackson Hole, including 15 residents at the Good Samaritan Mission. The Mission’s kitchen manager considers breakfast a fresh start for those who end up on his doorstep. After his new kitchen remodel this summer, Ratliff says he is set on feeding more than 50 mouths at breakfast and 75 at dinner. That will increase the free breakfasts he serves from 5,000 to 10,000 per year. With donations from Hole Food Rescue, Albertson’s and other valley orgs, last year Ratliff served 16,000 meals in total. This year he expects that number to increase to about 20,000.

Troubled that “single mothers cannot afford to work,” Ratliff is seeking to partner with local nonprofits to provide a daycare solution for moms. Of course he already has the ball rolling in other spheres with an overflowing food box donation program, free community breakfasts, gospel music mornings, and managing a homeless and women’s shelter.

Ratliff revels in the new addition to the mission: a threeweek-old baby named Tyduce, son of a resident at the Mission.

“Just holding him changes everything—big construction worker guys just melt,” he said.

Rising at 5 a.m. each day to churn out another breakfast spread for needy folks across the valley, Ratliff insists, “Giving is its own reward.”

– Jessica Flammang

BEST FULL SERVICE SPA Gold: Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole Silver: Chill Spa Bronze: Spa Terre

BEST HAIR SALON Gold: Frost Salon Silver: Champu Salon Bronze: Jackson Parlour

BEST SHOP FOR DROPPING OBSCENE AMOUNTS OF CASH Gold: Terra Jackson Hole Silver: Altitude Bronze: Teton Mountaineering

BEST RAFTING COMPANY Gold: Dave Hansen Silver: Mad River Boat Trips Bronze: Jackson Hole Whitewater Bronze: Barker Ewing SARGENT SCHUTT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

32 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

It’s an award for the whole “pack”.

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

Thanks for your vote!

24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE .................

ANIMAL CARE CLINIC

Longest running veterinary clinic in Jackson Hole!

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

415 E. Pearl Jackson, WY • 733-5590

MARCH 23, 2016 | 33

BEST PHYSICIAN Gold: Bruce Hayse, MD Silver: Mark Menolascino, MD Bronze: Brent Blue, MD

GOLD

BEST KNEE DOC Gold: David Khoury, MD Silver: Angus Goetz, DO Bronze: Bill Neal, MD

BEST NURSE Gold: Mary Ness, RN Silver: Danny Collins, RN Bronze: Tessa Enright, FNP-BC

Readers’ Choice

SARGENT SCHUTT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

34 | MARCH 23, 2016

CONGRATULATIONS “Best of Jackson Hole” doctors and nurses!

BEST RADIO STATION

KHOL

findadocjh.org

Community radio stations are often synonymous with soft-spoken DJs playing esoteric tracks that are even cooler if nobody has heard them before. But KHOL isn’t your everyday community radio station. “We strive to be a voice for creativity,” explained station manager Zach Zimmerman.

“Everything from nationally touring bands that no one around here has heard of, to elementary school art openings—we want to let the community know what’s happening in their own backyard and beyond.”

KHOL DJs are seemingly everywhere. They hit the slopes not to ski but to play upbeat music for skiers in line at JHMR. On one March day, Willie Rosenthal had just about everyone in the gondola line dancing as he bumped electronic beats, raising his hands in the air. Yes, when they’re not in the studio hand selecting tracks for their listeners, DJs can be found at various events across town, volunteering their time to hype the crowd. Much of KHOL’s programming has garnered quite a bit of hype too. Where else can you listen to face melting heavy metal from the boys who host the Heavy Metal Massacre followed by an interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane?

The DJs, comprised of young and old folks from all corners of the community, make sure to support one another, too. When he’s out of town, Neil Albert who hosts “Live Phish” on Monday nights streams shows online, like Thomas Gaiennie’s “Jelly Donut.”

The beats and the passionate people who play them on KHOL represent the heartbeat of the town.

– Park Dunn-Morrison

BEST SNOWMOBILING COMPANY

Gold: Togwotee Adventures Silver: Scenic Safaris Bronze: Jackson Hole Adventure Rentals

BEST FISHING OUTFITTER Gold: Snake River Angler Silver: West Bank Anglers Bronze: World Cast Anglers

BEST GEAR SHOP

Gold: Teton Mountaineering Silver: Hoback Sports Silver: Skinny Skis Bronze: Headwall Sports

BEST BIKE SHOP

Gold: Hoback Sports Silver: Hoff’s Bikesmith Bronze: Wilson Backcountry Sports

BEST VETERINARY CLINIC Gold: Spring Creek Animal Hospital Silver: Animal Care Clinic Bronze: Fish Creek Vet Clinic

BEST YOGA/FITNESS SPOT Gold: Inversion Silver: Pursue Movement Bronze: Akasha Yoga

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

Best Interior Designer Kristin N. Fay, ASID, IIDA

(307) 733 - 0902 I traunerfaydesigns.com THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

WOOF!!!

(THANKS!

IN DOGGY TALK)

BEST VETERINARY CLINIC

BEST PET CARE PROVIDER

THANK YOU for helping us provide the highest quality veterinary care for all of our four legged friends!

(307) 733-1606 | 1035 W. BROADWAY | WWW.SPRINGCREEKANIMALHOSPITAL.COM

MARCH 23, 2016 | 35

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

All of us at Spring Creek Animal Hospital are honored to have been voted the

Gold: Pet Place Plus Silver: Teton Tails Bronze: Jackson Hole Feed & Pet

BEST PET CARE PROVIDER

Gold: DogJax Silver: Spring Creek Animal Hospital Bronze: Animal Care Clinic

THANK YOU JACKSON!

Blue Spruce Cleaners is very proud to be able to provide quality laundry and dry cleaning service using only environmentally safe methods and products. GreenEarth Cleaning® is Good for you, Good for your Clothes, Good for the Planet! We appreciate you and couldn’t have earned GOLD without your ongoing support!

Best Cleaning Company Best Eco-friendly Business

GreenEarth Cleaning® • Good for you Good for your clothes • Good for our planet

BEST CLEANING COMPANY

Gold: Blue Spruce Cleaners Silver: Premier Green Cleaning Bronze: White Glove

BEST PLACE TO BUY BOOZE

Gold: The Liquor Store Silver: Smith’s Bronze: Liquor Down South

Editors’ Choice

BEST SNOWMOBILE GUIDE

JOE “LEFTY” MARTINEZ When he pulls his two-stroke, Joe “Lefty” Martinez registers an infectious grin on his face. No stranger to the snow or to patience, you can find Joe wrangling mountain ponies through the steeps and wooded chutes of Togwotee Pass with all levels of riders in tow.

Now at Togwotee Mountain Lodge, Lefty has been a snowmobile guide in the valley for 15 years.

Hardly slowed down by the loss of his left arm in a motorcycle accident at the age of 21, Lefty says 80 percent of his clients are return customers. The other 15 percent are requests. Lefty loves the bond he builds with clients in the backcountry, and the friendships that are born there. Most of Lefty’s clients are experienced and he loves pushing them to new heights.

Obsessed with the backcountry, [and with showing off videos of his talented wife’s elegant sled donuts], he beams: “Give me one other place in a guidance situation where you can see more of God’s country than what I see every day. I love what I do. I love watching people progress, and showing them these hills. It gives them a flavor of the West and of the outdoors, and what it means to really love the country.”

– Jessica Flammang

XXXXXJOE ‘LEFTY’ MARTINEZ

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

36 | MARCH 23, 2016

BEST PET SUPPLY STORE

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

Readers’ Choice

GOLD

BEST SALON

FROST

SARGENT SCHUTT

As someone whose roots are drawn to bleach, I am very particular about which salon I frequent for multiple hours on any given visit.

Apparently The Planet’s readers share my discerning tastes.

It’s difficult to find a salon that is progressive but not pompous, where you actually trust your stylist’s judgment. Opened in 2008 by Rob and Patty Hollis, Frost is the ultimate cornucopia of stylists who are in the know without being too knowing. The atmosphere is cool but not icy and the options for beautification and pampering—from specialty color and keratin treatments to manicures, facials and waxing—are abundant.

“We’ve created a true ‘team’ environment, which is so fantastic in an industry like ours,” Patty Hollis said. “People in our industry are very creative and can tend to get competitive, but here we’ve seemed to maintain a cohesive team.”

To stay current on rising trends, Frost stylists gallivant across the country in the name of continued education. Most recently the valley tastemakers were learning new techniques in Chicago and Miami.

A haven for fresh and innovative lines of haircare, skincare and cosmetics that cannot be procured anywhere else in Jackson, Frost has devised a formula that more salons should follow—flaunt good style and leave pretension at the door.

– Robyn Vincent

Thanks for your vote for the past 5 years.

It’s the best award of all!

– daniel tisi

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

best best athlete athlete under under 17 17

MARCH 23, 2016 | 37

JACKSON TISI

BEST WAY TO GET INVERTED (Off the Mountain)

BEST FLORIST

TETONYogaYOGA SHALA Ropes/Chair class

Gold: Lily & Co Silver: Jackson Hole Flower Co. Bronze: Floral Art

Hanging upside down like a bat might not seem like your standard yoga routine, but at Teton Yoga Shala’s class, Yoga Ropes/Chair it’s standard protocol. “Your hips will shift, and so will your outlook,” said Adi Amar, co-owner and co-founder of the Shala. “The resistance will make you endure.”

It takes a mixture of faith and audacity to walk up the wall, and tip backward suspended by two sets of ropes and a makeshift “saddle,” constructed of yoga blankets. But once in sirsasana, your metabolism and endocrine system, which regulates mood, emotional well being, sleep and wake cycles, are stimulated, along with the circulatory system. Derived from Iyengar yoga, the single or double rope-supported headstand creates more room for nerves and discs by pulling traction on the spine. In chairs, looking backward while twisting the spine long in a seated position opens the sacrum and solar plexus.

“Ropes keep you honest,” Amar said. “It’s an overall system for long-term alignment, and creates a re-patterning of connective tissue and muscle fibers.”

Instructor Michelle Delong sees myriad benefits, too: “ropes and chairs empower people, allowing them to enter poses perhaps not otherwise accessible.”

– Jessica Flammang

BEST TAXI SERVICE Gold: Cash Cab Silver: Flying T Taxi Bronze: Cowboy Cab

BEST PRODUCE

Gold: Jackson Whole Grocer Silver: Lucky’s Market Bronze: Smith’s

BEST BANK CHRISTINE MYCHAJLIW

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

38 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

Gold: Bank of Jackson Hole Silver: First Interstate Bank Bronze: Wells Fargo Bank

Best Restaurant - Best Wait Staff “Most of all we have our staff to Thank” Aaron Rice Adolfo Jaurez Alfonso Contreras Ben Squires Ben Walker-Brummer Blake Rice Brandy Borts Brian Laughlin Cesar M Moreno Chris Davit Chris Richards Daniel Lopez Dave May

David Houlton Dustin Booth Emery Ozell Emmy O’Reilly Felipe Martinez Fernando Sanchez Firas Festek Florencio Aviles Gina Rocha Gonzalo Bedolla Gus Suclla Hector Bedolla Jaclyn Bernard

Jamie Goldstein Jeff Drew Jimmy Espenoza Kaity Novikova Katie Cooper Liz Schaefer Lucas Nash Mary Beth Dooley Matt Sheldon Matt Vanderpoel Michael Krulin Olga Vovc Olivia De Ninno

Omar Huexoyuca Ransom Valley Rob Denton Rob Meehan Sarah Konrad Sara Trent Scott Steen Sergio Martinez Socrates Gonzales Tim Conan Todd Cadagan Tom Holle

@

STEP R IGHT UP TO THE

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

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FOOD PROVIDED BY BISTRO CATERING

BEST PLACE TO OFFER PENANCE FOR SINS

HOT YOGA AT INVERSION

Have you been bad lately? Walked into Whole Grocers for no reason than to feast at the cookie sample plate? Not cleaned up after your dog at Cache Creek? Had impure thoughts regarding a new four-wheel drive one-ton Chevy? Stole a car? Donated to a political campaign? For some sins to repent is enough. But for others you must suffer for your transgressions. For penance you can go to a three-hour opera performance at The Center Theater, go ice fishing or listen to a presidential debate, but if you have truly transgressed there is only one path to atonement: Hot Yoga at Inversion Yoga.

Hot yoga is about suffering and pain with a teacher encouraging you to seek out what lurks deep inside, as if man or woman could know such shadowy places. You stand on one leg for what seems an eternity, twist and bend, each movement designed to sweat darkness from your soul. The seeming effortless movements by multiple fit, scantily attired females make you feel unworthy, somehow dirty and contemptible. You pray for an end to the misery.

Finally, during savasana, aptly interpreted Corpse Pose, with scented towel on your forehead, you swear that henceforth you will be a nobler human being, a saint perhaps, and all sins are forgiven.

– Mike Bressler

Thank you Jackson Hole.

It has been an honor to serve.

–Barbara Allen

40 | MARCH 23, 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: GOODS & SERVICES

Editors’ Choice

BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL

BEST ECO-FRIENDLY BUSINESS Gold: Blue Spruce Cleaners Silver: Hotel Terra Bronze: Jackson Whole Grocer

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

Gold: Spring Creek Animal Hospital Silver: Jackson Whole Grocer Bronze: Detail Driven

BEST PLACE TO BUY DRUGS Gold: Stone Drug Silver: Smith’s Bronze: Albertsons

BEST SHOP TO BUY BLING Gold: JC Jewelers Silver: MADE Bronze: Thoenig’s Fine Jewelry

BEST RESALE STORE Gold: Headwall Sports Silver: Browse ‘N Buy Bronze: Habitat ReStore

BEST PLACE TO BUY A CAR Gold: Teton Motors Silver: Castlerock Bronze: Sue’s Roos

BEST LOCAL WEBSITE Gold: Buckrail Silver: Planet JH Bronze: Mountain Weather

BEST RADIO STATION Gold: KHOL Silver: KMTN Bronze: Wyoming Public Radio

BEST SUSHI

KING SUSHI King Sushi embodies the special delight of enjoying sushi in a Western mountain town. Housed in a rustic-meets-modern cabin, which is always packed with patrons, the décor matches the food: simple yet unique.

Chef-owner Jason King lets his ingredients do the talking by creating thoughtful dishes that are incredibly well balanced. He cares where his fish come from, too.

Forging a relationship with a local fishmonger known as “The Captain,” who imports sustainable rare fish from Hawaii, King serves up the best fish Jackson has to offer.

Beyond a fresh catch, it’s King’s

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

SARGENT SCHUTT

GOLD

ability to enhance his dishes with just the right amount of flavor that sets them apart. In fact, everything on the menu is worth sampling, from Tako Ceviche—a tangy mix of octopus, tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime-zu and cucumber to a Sake Box—meaty wild king salmon, spicy tuna tartare, avocado, tobiko, negi, red chile puree, and sesame seeds. For specialty sashimi, we suggest the Albacore Caprese—albacore tuna, basil, heirloom tomato, balsamic reduction, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, or the New Style Shiromi—seared white fish, kombu, ginger, garlic, cilantro and ponzu. Of course your visit is not complete without the infamous house roll, Crouching Tiger—we’re talking avocado, tempura asparagus, wild salmon, spicy tuna, wasabi aioli, fried shallot, yuzu tobiko, micro greens and sweet soy.

Now wipe that drool and practice your chopstick skills.

– Park Dunn-Morrison

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

Readers’ Choice

MARCH 23, 2016 | 41

BEST CHEF

Gold: Snake River Grill Silver: Trio Bronze: Rendezvous Bistro

BEST NEW RESTAURANT Gold: Picnic Silver: Gather Bronze: Hatch

Gold: Kevin Humphreys - Spur Silver: Jesse Rezin & Matty Melehes - Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co. Bronze: Alex Demmon - Pizza Artisan

BEST WAIT STAFF

Gold: Snake River Grill Silver: Rendezvous Bistro Bronze: Merry Piglets

Voted best PET SUPPLY STORE 6 years running!

THANK Y U to all of our two & four-legged friends!

1645 Martin Lane South Park Loop

733-5355 Mon - Fri 9:30am - 6pm Sat 9:30am - 5pm

Maverik PPP Martin Lane

Smith’s High School Road

Editors’ Choice

BEST NEW BUZZ

SLOSHIES AT BODEGA Many of us have developed an obsession for sloshies, some might say we’ve even begun to crave them. Refreshing and thirst quenching, especially in the summer, they are dubbed “not your average frozen drink,” and are now a necessity for any river trip. There are a few different locales to imbibe on sloshie heaven these days. Liquor Down South is a logical stop for a pinã colada, margarita or a huckleberry vodka sloshie. Creekside Market, serving up Greyhounds and the Gros Ventre Slide – Kahlua, Baileys and vodka – also has a deli to devour a fat sandwich beside your sloshie. But this winter, we learned that frozen alcoholic beverages are well-suited to mountain activities, too. Enter Bodega, the newest sloshie station located in Teton Village that also doubles as a small grocer, homemade sausage haven, liquor store and veritable après spot.

Bodega’s headiest flavor yet, the “Trendy Bitch,” is a mix of whiskey and orange Fanta.

It takes the title of best new sloshie in town, and the ever-popular Greyhound keeps locals and tourists satiated. The picnic tables outside Bodega have become a local’s favorite for lounging in the sun and the snow.

Not to be mistaken for a smoothie, Bodega sloshies are to be enjoyed no matter the season or reason. We look forward to the next flavor coming soon from our Bodega sloshie architects.

– Jessica Flammang

ROBYN VINCENT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

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BEST RESTAURANT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 43

Gold: John-Mark Roufs Haydens Post Silver: Patrick (Paco) Thornberry Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co. Bronze: Rachel Mazari - Snake River Brewing

BEST LOCAL FOOD OR DRINK PRODUCER

Gold: Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.

Silver: Snake River Brewing Bronze: Lockhart Cattle Co.

BEST KNEE DOCTOR David Khory, MD

BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT

Gold: Chinatown Silver: Noodle Kitchen Bronze: Ocean City

BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Gold: Merry Piglets Silver: El Abuelito Bronze: Pica’s

Readers’ Choice

BEST COFFEE SHOP

COWBOY COFFEE

“Thank you Jackson Hole community, I appreciate your support and will continue to care for all your orthopaedic needs.”

Have manifestos to write or coups to dream up? Then mosey into Cowboy Coffee. Drinking a cup of Joe can make quite a political statement. For centuries plots have been hatched and revolutions have been crafted in the dark corners of coffee houses.

Considered to be a dangerous drink that encourages thinking and planning, coffee was even illegalized at various points throughout history. Thankfully, those days are long gone.

At Cowboy Coffee, the only statement being made is a claim to the Western heritage of Jackson Hole. A claim this coffee shop has every right to stake. Cowboy Coffee has been branding its beans for 27 years. In 2012 owners Pete MacIlwaine and Rob Ottaway rode the brand to the town square, brick and mortar style. Rustic barn wood ceilings and the casual use of elk antlers for decorative flair remind patrons of the roots of this town.

The “knock you upright” Cowboy Cubano will keep you on your horse for the long ride home and the Bhakti Chai is a reminder that a spicy foreigner can be fun too. Feeling extra sluggish?

Cowboy up and order the Bhakti “dirty” (with a shot of espresso).

And if there’s no need to rush off to the revolution, stick around and check out the revolving roster of local art, which alone makes this place worth the visit.

– Gloria Courser

GOLD 555 E. Broadway, 733-3900 TetonOrtho.com

SARGENT SCHUTT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

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BEST BARTENDER

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 45

BEST CHEF CHAMPIONING SUSTAINABILITY

WES HAMILTON (Jackson Hole Mountain Resort)

132 N CACHE DR. JACKSON, WY 307.733.5933 | JCJEWELERS.COM

Thanks for all the Years, Jackson Hole!

As executive chef of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wes Hamilton is the genius behind some of the mountain’s most beloved dishes: the-build-your-own pho bowl, Corbet’s waffles, and Piste Mountain Bistro’s Crispy Salad. He’s received numerous accolades for his “ingredient-driven” style of cooking, including an invitation to represent the food of Jackson Hole at the prestigious James Beard House in 2014 and 2015.

It turns out we have more reasons to love Wes than for his lamb nachos (formerly on the Couloir menu—I’m not the only one hoping he’ll bring them back.) Ali Dunford, executive director of Hole Food Rescue, describes Wes as “passionate and bend-over-backwards committed to building a sustainable food system, despite his insanely busy schedule.” Hamilton first inspired Dunford back when she was attending a training sessions as a JHMR employee. “This was way before HFR was an idea in my head,” she said. “He’s creating a culture around local food and management of food waste.”

Indeed, Wes is the community’s original chef locavore who enjoys longstanding relationships with farmers he’s met while hunting down ingredients in a 250-mile radius. He is the driving force to assure that as much locally sourced food as possible is served in the nine kitchens he overseas top to bottom at JHMR. He’ even revamped Kids Ranch lunches to reduce sugar and increase the fruits and veggies. Hamilton is a founding board member of Vertical Harvest and Hole Food Rescue.

When it comes to developing strategies to reduce food waste, compost, and recycle, “Chef Wes is all hands on deck,” Dunford said.

Check out this week’s Foodie Files (page 10) for a Q&A with Wes about everything from feeding kids healthy food to dreaming up great dishes to tackling food waste in Jackson Hole.

– Annie Fenn, MD

ANNIE FENN, MD

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

46 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

BEST THAI RESTAURANT Gold: Teton Thai Silver: Teton Thai Plate Bronze: Thai Me Up

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Gold: Il Villaggio Osteria Silver: Nani’s Bronze: Pizza Artisan

BEST “UNDER THE RADAR” RESTAURANT

BEST CHEF

MATTY MELEHES AND JESSE REZIN (Q Roadhouse and Brewery)

BEST SPORTS BAR Gold: Sidewinders Silver: Cutty’s Bronze: Eleanor’s

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 47

Even though Mattty Melehes spends most days in the kitchen of Q Roadhouse and Brewery, he is easily recognizable as one of Jackson’s beloved chefs. This year he shares the Best Chef silver award with co-chef Jesse Rezin.

Rezin and Melehes have been working side by side for one and half years, but their relationship has deeper roots. “Years ago when I was a teenager, my mom asked Jesse to watch over me when she went out of town,” Melehes explained. Yes, Rezin was his babysitter.

Now the Melehes/Rezin team is cooking up a Q Roadhouse menu revamp that moves away from barbecue and illustrates their passion for supporting local farmers and ranchers. Sourcing mass quantities of commodity pork to keep up with demand for Q’s wildly popular barbecue dishes nagged at Melehes’ conscience. “That’s one of the big reasons barbecue is coming off the menu,” he explained. “I reached out to Marion Robinson to source pork more sustainably. We’ll still have pig roasts on Sundays, but now I’ll be able to give you the name, address and phone number of the dude who raised and killed it for me.”

In fact, the Melehes/Rezin team is poised to transform the Q into a gastropub with a seasonal menu using local ingredients. They are excited to source greens from the Aspens Market greenhouse, chicken from Driggs, beef from Carter Country, and this summer some will be from Jackson Hole Hereford. Indeed, with spring menu dishes like the lamb carbonara with English peas, lamb bacon, pecorino cheese and house made pappardelle, we won’t miss the barbecue.

Melehes and Rezin are also proud of the quality of their kids’ menu: “The hot dogs are made from Kobe beef, the chicken is certified organic, and the mac and cheese has real cheese. Even if it goes completely unnoticed, it means something to us. Being able to source real food for the kids is awesome.”

Despite working crazy hours in the kitchen and constantly visiting farms, Melehes finds time to volunteer, too. “I love the opportunity to go out and talk to the people who eat my food,” he said. “It’s education and it’s sharing passion. To be able to teach is giving back in a very good way.”

Melehes credits his entire Q Roadhouse team, especially Rezin and manager Park Dunn-Morrison, for any success he’s enjoyed. Him and Rezin are tickled pink to win this award. “It’s one thing to do it because it’s important to me, but another that it’s recognized by a Readers’ Choice award. It’s a huge honor, so thank you.”

– Annie Fenn, MD

SARGENT SCHUTT

Readers’ Choice

Gold: Noodle Kitchen Silver: Teton Thai Plate Bronze: The Bird

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

SILVER

BEST TETON VALLEY RESTAURANT Gold: Teton Thai Silver: Big Hole BBQ Bronze: Knotty Pine

BEST TAKE-OUT FOOD Gold: Teton Thai Plate Silver: Teton Thai Bronze: Noodle Kitchen

WOULD

Gold: Nora’s Silver: Bubba’s Bronze: The Virginian

BEST LUNCH SPOT Gold: Lotus Cafe Silver: Sweetwater Bronze: Picnic

BEST HAIR SALON

BEST HAIR STYLIST

JACKSO N

BEST BREAKFAST JOINT

PARLOR & JENNY BRAGG

LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING

OUR FIRS

T YEAR A SUCCESS!

BEST WAY TO GET WINED

BIN 22

One recent afternoon I popped into Bin 22 to satisfy a craving for meatballs and get some work done.

When Jackson local/winemaker Laely Heron of Heron Wines saw me glued to my laptop, she waltzed over and made an executive decision: “Let’s have some of my new wine.” She plucked her latest creation, a 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, from the wine shop and handed it to our server. Moments like these remind me how a love for wine can bring people together and ignite conversation, and what better place for this than the Bin? Neil Loomis is the wine and beverage director for Fine Dining Restaurant Group. He also happens to be a trained sommelier and chief wine enthusiast at Bin 22.

He describes the 45-seat (90 in the summer with the outdoor deck) downtown spot as the

synergy that happens when you put a wine bar/tapas restaurant inside a bottle shop.

While guests peruse the menu of “Mediterraneanesque” small plates, they wander over to the shop. If they don’t have their own ideas on what wine to pair with a meal, all they have to do is study Bin’s wine list. Loomis’ current favorite pairings: “The octopus is a really fabulous dish that is usually paired with a white wine, but since it’s charred I’d go with a Tempranillo or Sangiovese. The gulf shrimp pairs well with a white Burgundy or our Italian Falanghina. And for the salumi plate, a light to mid-bodied red, I like a Super Tuscan.”

Bin 22 has become a mecca for local wine enthusiasts and a gathering place for all occasions. But with Roadhouse Beers on tap and many hard-to-find European and West Coast micro brews in the shop, it’s also a place where beer geeks can feel at home.

One key to Bin’s success is the staff’s enthusiasm for wine and libations in general. Every 10 days Loomis and store manager Eric Lippert change up the restaurant’s wine list and give the servers a taste of it all. If you’re deliberating, Bin servers are always happy to pour you a taste. “This is the place we can get people to be a little adventurous by making it easy to try new things,” Loomis said.

– Annie Fenn, MD ANNIE FENN, MD

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

48 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

Readers’ Choice

GOLD

BEST LUNCH SPOT

LOTUS CAFE

SARGENT SCHUTT

Amy Young, the self-trained chef and owner of Lotus Café, laughs when she recalls opening Planet Palate as a vegan restaurant in 2007.

“That year was so tough it knocked years off my life,” she said. “The first week I watched as people walked out because all the espresso bar milks were non-dairy.” The focus went from a vegan restaurant to one that is built on organic offerings with something for everyone, including meat eaters.

Planet Palate was renamed Lotus Café and the vegan concept morphed into a menu that embraces all food preferences. Now Amy’s fresh approach to cooking with global flavors has health conscious locals standing in line for a table come lunchtime. Amy, who is committed to serving only organic products, sees food as a way to nourish herself, her community and the planet. “Lotus Café is my wellness center in the form of a restaurant,” she said.

Amy can’t say enough good things about the locals who frequent her restaurant. “They are the foundation for everything I do,” she said. With big plans to move to a new space on N. Cache Street in June (in a portion of the building that housed Ripley’s Believe It Or Not), Amy wants to fashion it into “a space that locals can call home.” To make it even easier to grab your favorite Lotus lunch (mine’s the Green Bowl), Amy will have online ordering for take-out, expanded seating, a streamlined grab and go counter, a deck and open air-seating.

“If you eat at Lotus, you can count on it being good for you.”

– Annie Fenn, MD

Thanks for voting YOUR Community Radio Station as

# 8 9. 1 !

We couldn't do it without your support!

San Fermin (Brooklyn, Ny) and The Foreign Resort (Copenhagen, Denmark) Tickets are still available on our website, www.891khol.org

Questions? Requests? (307) 733-KHOL (5465) or stop by the station, located in The Center for the Arts in Jackson.

BEST PLACE TO SATISFY YOUR SWEET TOOTH Gold: Persephone Silver: Coco Love Bronze: Yippy I-O Candy Co.

BEST BAKED GOODS Gold: Persephone Silver: The Bunnery Bronze: Picnic

BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO Gold: D.O.G. Silver: Bubba’s Bronze: Bodega

MARCH 23, 2016 | 49

Did you know you can stream us 24/7, and replay many of our live interviews and music performances through our website too?

Gold: Cowboy Coffee Silver: Persephone Bronze: Pearl Street Bagels

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Come join us TONIGHT Wednesday March 23 at The Pink Garter Theatre for our 2016 Winter Membership Drive Thank You Party, featuring two awesome bands...

BEST COFFEE SHOP

BEST SOUPS

BEST SANDWICH SHOP

BEST VEGETARIAN OFFERINGS

Gold: Bubba’s Silver: Big Hole BBQ Bronze: Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.

Gold: Creekside Market Silver: New York City Subs Bronze: Pearl Street Market

Gold: Jackson Whole Grocer Silver: Pearl Street Market Bronze: Noodle Kitchen

Gold: Lotus Cafe Silver: Noodle Kitchen Bronze: Jackson Whole Grocer

High Five For Five Consecutive Years of Gold Thank You Jackson Hole

50 | MARCH 23, 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

BEST BBQ

307-733-4466 | Albertson’s Is Next To US!

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

Editors’ Choice

BEST MOBILE GOURMET BITES Catering is an uphill battle. Companies are expected to cook five star meals for the most special events in peoples’ lives… without a kitchen. Indeed, guests’ expectations are at their highest for these momentous occasions; the filet mignon must be perfect, even when it’s being cooked in a field in the middle of Grand Teton National Park.

When asked what sets Bistro Catering apart, general manager Jenelle Johnson explained, “No two menus we do are the same. We customize them to the customers.”

Being part of the Fine Dining Restaurant Group, Bistro Catering has myriad resources to pull from. They have house-made pastas, a pastry chef, a meat smoker, among other secret weapons. They also have the minds of many chefs to help create menus. If someone loves a dish at Osteria, Bistro Catering can replicate it. Better yet, if someone has a favorite dish from a restaurant they visited in France, Bistro Catering can recreate it.

It takes a special cast of characters to pull these events off—borderline masochistic personalities who thrive under pressure and yearn for curveballs to be thrown their way. Jenelle remembered just one of many occasions where the crew was put to the test during a wedding at the Elk Refuge. When a thunderstorm hit unexpectedly, the tent flaps came undone under the stress of the severe winds. One flap was blown inside the tent and struck the table that held the wedding cake. Jenelle saw the table going down from across the room and sprinted toward it, diving over a couch. She saved the cake just before it hit the ground. The extent of the damage was a little smudged icing. Then servers sprang into action, clasping umbrellas to bring food from the prep tent, all the while afraid they’d be struck by lightning. Epic moments like these happen more often than one would think when setting up a mobile gourmet kitchen in the mountains.

– Park Dunn-Morrison

We think being #1 may not mean you are the best...

CUTTY‘S 2ND BEST PIZZA AND SPORTS BAR FOR WHATEVER THAT’S WORTH!

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Donald Trump #1 Republican Candidate.

Hillary Clinton #1 Democratic Candidate.

SARGENT SCHUTT

BISTRO CATERING

MARCH 23, 2016 | 51

YOUR SUMMER GUIDE TO ALL OF THE HAPPENINGS IN THE HOLE! COMING THIS JUNE.

BEST BURGER

Gold: Liberty Burger Silver: The Bird Bronze: Local

BEST FRENCH FRIES Gold: Trio Silver: Liberty Burger Bronze: Local

E M A I L S A L E S @ P L A N E TJ H .CO M

BEST SALSA

Gold: Merry Piglets Silver: El Abuelito Bronze: Pica’s

BEST SUSHI

Gold: King Sushi Silver: Nikai Bronze: Sudachi

BEST PIZZA

Gold: Pinky G’s Silver: Cutty’s Bronze: Pizza Artisan

BEST WINGS

Gold: The Bird Silver: Eleanor’s Bronze: Sidewinders

BEST FOOD ON THE FLY Gold: Everest Momo Shack Silver: Nom Nom Doughnut Bronze: Bo-B-Q

BEST LOCALLY ROASTED BEANS Gold: Snake River Roasting Company Silver: Jackson Hole Roasters Bronze: Cowboy Coffee

BEST PINT OF LOCALLY BREWED BEER

Gold: Rhombus IPA - Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co. Silver: Pako’s IPA - Snake River Brewing Bronze: 2x4 - Melvin Brewing

Editors’ Choice

BEST COUNTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

LOCAL BUTCHER

I challenge you to walk into Local Butcher when general manager Sean Walsh is behind the counter and not take home a bag full of food. On a recent winter afternoon, Walsh reached over the deli case to pass me a crostini smeared with foie gras pureed with figs. Then he bounced to the other side of the shop to pour a sample of spicy pork posole. “We assume everyone is a food fanatic,” he said. “Lots of visitors stop by, but it’s the locals we have to satisfy.

We won’t serve anything we’re not really proud of.”

Local Butcher is the little butcher shop on Deloney owned by chefs Will Bradof and Paul Wireman, owners of Trio An American Bistro and Local Restaurant and Bar. Mike Christie, executive chef at Local and Local Butcher, keeps the freezer packed with house made convenience foods—Lockhart beef manicotti, Shepherd’s pie, marinara sauce and veal stock. The deli case is overflowing with unique goodies—Scotch eggs, duck confit, elk sausage pigs in a blanket, smoked chickens, and crusty Parmesan twice-baked potatoes. I went home with a frozen tub of Trio’s famous BLT soup, a pound of huckleberry breakfast sausage, and a prosciutto-stuffed pork roast. “It’s a no-brainer,” Sean said when I asked him what I should take home for supper. “The pork roast is a good value for center cut pork. Cut up some apples, splash it with apple juice, and bake it in the oven for 35 minutes. That’s what I’d do.”

A newcomer to the town food scene, Local Butcher opened in December with secret weapon Sean behind the counter. Sean landed in Jackson in 1995 and worked his way up from the grill cook at the Mural Room at Jackson Lake Lodge to sous chef at Calico and the Granary. For the next five years he worked in the kitchen at the Snake River Grill. That’s where he met his wife “and learned how to uphold really high standards from [former SRG owner] August Spier.”

Sean says he knows two things very well: Food and people. As a trained chef, he is the perfect person to help you decide what to make for dinner. And the people part–that comes easy. “I’m genuine,” he said. “I don’t make shit up. People trust me.”

– Annie Fenn, MD

ANNIE FENN, MD

52 | MARCH 23, 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

T H E H O L E C A L E N D A R .CO M

BEST FOODIE INDULGENCE

SUB ROSA

BEST BREWING COMPANY

Not long after Chef René Stein took over The Rose kitchen last summer, he became known for his new mountain cuisine: local and foraged ingredients, infused with flavors from his German heritage, transformed with both old and new French cooking techniques. Everything plated beautifully on handmade dishes and wooden vessels that evoke the outdoors.

Sub Rosa was conceived when René moved some shelves in The Rose kitchen and pulled a bar stool up to the counter. “I envisioned the diners with me in the kitchen,” he said. “I wanted to take down the wall between the kitchen and the restaurant, so the chef and the diners experience the meal together.”

Now every Wednesday, two seatings of six diners fill The Rose kitchen for Sub Rosa: a multi-course tasting menu that engages all of the senses. As René prepares each dish, there’s intrigue and delight at using ingredients in unexpected ways: Cauliflower sorbet? Stout chocolate chips? Watching René work is like peeking into the studio of an artist in the throes of creation. As he hands each dish across the counter, the beauty of the food is striking. The pairing with The Rose’s craft cocktails and service director Ryan McReynolds’ handpicked wines takes the experience over the top.

Walking out of Sub Rosa after a two-hour tasting is like emerging from a magical spell of art, flavor, intrigue, and the satisfaction that comes from being totally taken care of.

For René, cooking for people who love food is the best part of Sub Rosa. He likens the creative process to “writing a song, then playing it in front of people. For me, Sub Rosa is like a live concert every night.”

– Annie Fenn, MD

Gold: Snake River Brewing Silver: Melvin Brewing Bronze: Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.

BEST MARGARITA Gold: Pica’s Silver: Merry Piglets Bronze: Hatch

BEST PLACE TO APRÈS

JEFFREY KAPHLAN

Gold: Spur Silver: Mangy Moose Bronze: Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

Editors’ Choice

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS. WE RAISE OUR GLASSES TO YOU, JACKSON HOLE! SILVER:

Best Pint of Locally Brewed Beer (Rhombus IPA - Roadhouse Brewing Co.) Best Italian Restaurant (Il Villaggio Osteria) Best Local Food or Drink Producer (Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.)

Best Wait Staff (Rendezvous Bistro) Best Boss (Gavin Fine) Best Chef (Matty Melehes & Jesse Rezin - Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.) Best Bartender (Patrick “Paco” Thornberry - Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.)

MARCH 23, 2016 | 53

JHFINEDINING.COM

BRONZE:

Best Brewing Company (Roadhouse Brewing Co.) Best Place to Après (Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.) Best Happy Hour (Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.) Best Boss (Park Dunn-Morrison - Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.) Best Restaurant (Rendezvous Bistro) Best BBQ (Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.) Best Breakfast Burrito (Bodega)

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

GOLD:

Gold: Local Silver: Eleanor’s Bronze: Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co.

BEST BAR

Gold: The Rose Silver: Local Bronze: Silver Dollar Bar

When you want to be skiing but your knees are creaking, come see Drs. Goetz & Neal for a tweaking!

Thank you Jackson Hole for your support.

DR. ANGUS GOETZ Best Knee Doctor DR. WILLIAM NEAL Best Knee Doctor

Editors’ Choice

BEST PLACE TO GET SCHOOLED ON CRUDO

THE KITCHEN

Crudo [kru:do]: Spanish and Italian for raw, a dish of thinly sliced fish or meat drizzled with oil, acid and seasonings.

Chef Santiago Kano of The Kitchen is taking crudo in a mountain town to a whole new level. Partnering with Captain Jacques Pillon, the Hawaiian fishmonger of Oceans To You, Santiago gets his hands on the freshest, most sustainable line caught and spear fished catches available.

The fourth person in his Japanese-Irish family to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, Santiago’s love for fish was sparked at an early age. Growing up in Mexico City and spending many a hiatus on the sea, he remembers cutting fish from the age of four. His family owns two sushi restaurants and a commercial fishing boat off the coast of Baja California.

The Kitchen has always been known for its crudo, but now Santiago is able to unleash his international culinary background on Pillon’s pristine fish. He describes his style of cooking as travel based, invoking the experience of two or three countries in each dish.

“Everything I do is something you couldn’t make at home,” he said.

But he’s careful not to meld too many flavors. “Simple and honest, that’s my style,” Santiago said. “With crudo, it’s better not to use more than two ingredients besides the fish. One of my mentors once said, ‘The better you can cook with less ingredients, the better chef you are.’”

A few of Santiago’s recent crudo creations: Hamachi crudo—roasted organic golden beets, smoked paprika oil. Diver scallop crudo—wild leek puree, shiso, mizu. And diners always delight in the Daily Crudo special, a memorable taste of fresh and rare catches.

An insatiable traveler, Santiago “is obsessed with where I’ve been and where I’m going.” Next stop: Iceland. Look for new crudo creations influenced by Nordic cuisine coming soon to The Kitchen.

– Annie Fenn, MD

Orthopaedic Associates

OF JACKSON HOLE

945 W. Broadway, Ste. 202

307-734-5999 orthoassociatesjh.com

SARGENT SCHUTT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: FOOD & DRINK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

54 | MARCH 23, 2016

BEST HAPPY HOUR

BEST MUSICIAN

JASON FRITTS If it has a reed, Jason Fritts can make it talk or sing. Whether the gone cat is squealing on the licorice stick (clarinet) or wailin’ with the plumbing (saxophone), Jason makes the scene like a boss.

As a music director at the Jazz Foundation of Jackson Hole and the Community School, Jason has passed on everything short of his embouchure to countless others eager to jam and swing.

He studied music at Northwestern University, New England Conservatory, and University of Texas at Arlington. While many of his childhood musician

friends in Crowley, Texas, were probably more inclined to pick up the pedal steel or fiddle, Jason gravitated toward sax, clarinet, flute, oboe, and bassoon—he can play ‘em all.

In an age that elevates record spinner to musician, it’s nice to see players like Jason get their props. Without his work bringing sheet music to life, today’s DJ gods would have nothing to sample. (See: sax in “GDFR,” clarinet in “Logical Song,” flute in “Down Under,” oboe/bassoon in “I Got You Babe.”)

Blow daddy-o, there’s gold in that horn-o-plenty.

– Jake Nichols

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Readers’ Choice

GOLD

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 55

Readers’ Choice

BEST FILMMAKER

DARRELL MILLER After four decades on the planet and 17 years of filmmaking, Darrell Miller’s love for Jackson still shines through.

Miller combined his efforts as Storm Show Studios with Ryan Halverson’s Full Room Productions in 2011 to inject new life into his projects. The two are producing homegrown ski films featuring local riders ripping it in the Tetons and beyond.

Unlike many movie crews who close areas and let the world know when they are filming, Darrell (if you can actually spot him) may be found on his island of powder stashes with cameras as small as coffee cups. This low impact lurking may go unnoticed by skiers nearby, but when autumn comes along and the films are unleashed, the town speaks; people arrive in droves for D. Mill debuts. Beneath every action packed second of these films is the knowledge that these powder feats were all earned. The crew sweats their own boot pack and makes their own judgments without the help of guides.

Darrell’s films continue to provide a certain level of realism that is often lost in modern day ski films. The countless hours spent producing these segments enhances the realism.

Darrell’s awe and dedication for Jackson and its mountain athletes is evidenced in every single flick.

– Elizabeth Koutrelakos

XXXXX

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

56 | MARCH 23, 2016

GOLD

BEST COVER BAND

Gold: Miller Sisters Silver: Mandatory Air Silver: Sneaky Pete & The Secret Weapons Bronze: 86

BEST CLASSICAL MUSICIAN

Gold: Byron Tomingas Silver: Jason Fritts Bronze: Pam Phillips

BEST TETON VALLEY BEST BAND PLAYING MUSICIAN ORIGINAL SONGS Gold: Miller Sisters Gold: Sneaky Pete & The Secret Weapons Silver: One Ton Pig Bronze: Canyon Kids

Silver: Ben Winship Bronze: Brian Maw

BEST MUSICIAN

Gold: St. John’s Episcopal Church Silver: Our Lady of the Mountains Bronze: Presbyterian Church

Gold: Jason Fritts Silver: Zach Singer Bronze: Peter Chandler

BEST CHURCH CHOIR

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 57

Gold: DJ Vertone - Rocky Silver: DJ Londo – Nick Londy Bronze: DJ Therapy - Jared Christian

BEST LIVE ENTERTAINMENT VENUE Gold: Pink Garter Theatre Silver: Snow King - JH Live Bronze: Center for the Arts

58 | MARCH 23, 2016

BEST OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES Gold: JH Live Silver: Music on Main Bronze: Contour Festival

BEST LOCAL SPORTS TEAM

Gold: Jackson Hole Moose Hockey Silver: Jackson Hole Broncs Bronze: Jackson Hole Juggernauts

Readers’ Choice

BEST CHURCH CHOIR

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH What a joyful noise rises beyond the rafters to the heavens every Sunday morning on North Glenwood. The choir at St. John’s Episcopal Church mined gold last year and they’re at it again in 2016.

Pianist Pam Phillips leads the worship team. Many in the valley are familiar with her work on the ivories. The talented musician has conducted and played in numerous Broadway shows. She has also worked with the American Symphony, New York City Ballet Orchestra, and American Ballet Theater. On most Sundays at 10 a.m., Phillips can be found tickling the 88 and directing this award-winning choir.

Music assistant Hilary Camino earned her Master’s in Music Therapy in Edinburgh, Scotland. While there, she sang in the choir at the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert, and gigged in town fronting a Motown-style band. This lady can sing, y’all.

Come for the music, stay for the sermon. This is stainedglassed, God glee goodness. Selah!

– Jake Nichols

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

BEST CLUB DJ

GOLD

BEST ‘GRAMMER WITH CLASS

TRISTAN(@tgreszko) GRESZKO

In an era of social media excess, things that appear to be reality may not be reality at all. One of the larger critiques of social media begs the question: Does it come from art or ego? Humble yet talented Tristan Greszko grams beautiful images without all the hype. Cofounder of the Teton Artlab in 2007, this adventure photographer’s accomplishments include Tiny Jackson (google it), national and international publications, completion of two Teton Picnics, and climbing El Cap. In the Insta world, he keeps the class without flaunting pictures of his chiseled body glistening in the sun or posting countless selfies of himself getting after it in the mountains; most importantly, he does not believe in hashtags. When asked about this slight counterculture perspective, Tristan explains that while people need followers to be relevant, “hashtags just play into the rat race.” Photography, he said, “Suits my inherent need to search for perfection - not in the universal sense, but maybe in a tiny localized sense - within an individual image, or a moment, or a person in a moment, or just the need to continually refine and improve my skills as a photographer.” Gram subjects of @tgreszko note that he does not disrupt the lifestyle while taking photographs. If anything, Tristan adds to the lifestyle with his mad skill, good attitude and great snacks. This incognito presence seems to be a rarity in the world of instantaneous self-aggrandizing, but that’s what makes this guy pretty darn classy.

– Elizabeth Koutrelakos

208.787.2558

MARCH 23, 2016 | 59

BEST PLACE TO BUY A CAR

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Repair, Maintenance and Car Sales for over 30 years.

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Editors’ Choice

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

60 | MARCH 23, 2016

BRONZE

Readers’ Choice

BEST ILLUSTRATOR

NATE BENNETT A picture is worth a thousand words, right? A statement like that doesn’t sit well with journalists, reporters and other professional writers who make their living with a keyboard. But deep down we all have to admit a skilled illustrator can sometimes nail the emotion, the mood, and the core of a story it might take a writer thousands of words to convey.

Nate Bennett’s cover illustration for the May 27, 2015 issue of The Planet was an instant classic. The 35-year-old’s colorful take on Jackson’s housing crunch, reduced to a “tent city” outside the pearly gates of the rich and shameless, captured every nuance of Julie Kling’s feature piece.

When Vail Resorts was accused of strong-arming journalists and getting one fired at Summit Daily News over alleged inflated snow totals, it was Bennett to the rescue. His one-panel in 2009 depicting resort owners as mob thugs was priceless.

It’s often cartoons like “Family Guy” and cartoonists like Nate who can get away with pushing the envelope harder with irreverence. Maybe they’re perceived as less threatening. But they certainly don’t lack punch.

Take for example Nate’s pièce de résistance, paid for by the growth-resistance group Don’t Let the Hole Lose Its Soul. At the height of Jackson’s out-of-control buildup, Nate’s devastating condemnation of the responsible politicians ran in local newspapers for weeks in 2008. The image captures every emotion the community was experiencing—humor, outrage, melancholy—as we watched our town grow larger by the day.

In this year’s Best Of issue, Nate’s work can be found gracing the cover and coloring the pages inside.

– Jake Nichols

The best part of our season is you!

Off Square applauds our community for keeping theatre LIVE in Jackson Hole We’ll see you all at Thin Air Shakespeare this summer!

BEST SHAKE-A-DAY

Gold: The Bird Silver: Town Square Tavern Bronze: Eleanor’s

BEST ACTOR

FRANKIE MCCARTHY On and off the stage, Frankie McCarthy’s presence is magnetic.

When he’s not exploring the world (next stop a European adventure that begins in Romania and ends, somewhere?), he can often be found lighting up the stage at the Center for the Arts.

Living in the valley just three years, Frankie has managed to act in a myriad of shows in Jackson Hole. He has played characters across the emotional spectrum, from the comical Thisbe in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to the dark and emotionally complex Daniel in Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard.”

Frankie participates in the local

Gold: Trailside Gallery Silver: Mountain Trails Gallery Bronze: Legacy Gallery

BEST CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY

Gold: Tayloe Piggott Gallery Silver: Altamira Fine Art Bronze: Heather James SARGENT SCHUTT

Readers’ Choice

performing arts scene not just because he’s a good actor, but because he believes in the ability of the arts to enrich lives. “I’d love for locally-sourced art to become as popular as locally-sourced food,” Frankie said. The ‘local’ movement is so important to a community, and supporting the arts should be just like that.”

Currently, Frankie is auditioning for this summer’s Thin Air Shakespeare play: “The Taming of the Shrew.” In an instant, he had me envisioning picnic baskets on the Center’s lawn, laughing into my jacket as the cast reinterprets one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.

Frankie is a life-zealot that breathes animation into every moment. He takes full advantage of Jackson all yearlong: from skiing powder in the winter to summers spent backpacking in the Tetons. The voracious thespian embraces the world much the way he embraces the stage.

– Natosha Hoduski

BEST WESTERN ART GALLERY

BEST LOCAL ARTIST

Gold: Amy Ringholtz Silver: Nicole Gaitan Bronze: Kathryn Mapes Turner

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

BRONZE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 61

BEST WAY TO PLAY DIRTY

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER

ULTIMATE TOWNER In 2014, a challenge complete with 25 obstacles over four miles became Jackson Hole’s newest physical boundary-pushing tradition. The Ultimate Towner involves crawling through mud, heaving rocks, swinging over open water and walking the plank. My heart is racing and my stomach aflutter just thinking of it. The tallest wall to summit, the Love Life Wall, looks like something you’d need to pole vault over with no poles in sight. I was the kid who lied to get out of P.E. class. I was picked last in kickball. The thought of failing in front of a crowd has me all tied up in knots. But Tim Walther, president of Grand Dynamics and event sponsor believes “our character is forged in adversity. When we move through difficulty, we have plenty of reason to celebrate.”

Certainly the huge smiles on the faces of participants is evidence enough of the celebration. They are dirty, drenched, scrambling, falling, and laughing the whole time. They are helping each other with hands held out, arms lifted up, and voices raised high. They are young. They are less young. They are all shapes and sizes. There are some serious competitors (this is Jackson Hole), but the “Fun Class” is all about “get ‘er done” and that sounds just about my speed.

– Gloria Courser

Gold: Thomas Mangelsen Silver: Jimmy Chin Bronze: Ashley Merritt

BEST ILLUSTRATOR Gold: Tim Tomkinson Silver: Kelly Halpin Bronze: Nate Bennett

BEST ACTOR/ACTRESS Gold: Brian Lenz Silver: Andrew Munz Bronze: Frankie McCarthy

BEST DANCER ULTIMAT TOWNER

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

62 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

Gold: Sarah Konrad Silver: Jason Sutton Bronze: Luke Zender

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

MARCH 23, 2016 | 63

PATRICK NOLAN

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST ACTRESS

KJERA STROM HENRIE The readers’ choice category for Best Actor/Actress is usually an annual sausage fest. So I think it’s about time one of Jackson’s hardworking and talented actresses enjoy the spotlight.

Kjera Strom Henrie’s dedication and prowess never ceases to amaze me. I have shared the stage with Henrie for many years during my tenure with the Laff Staff and in last year’s “I 2 Can Ski Forever.” She is steadfastly humble—a quality we actors sometimes lack—and has insisted on multiple occasions that she doesn’t consider herself an actress.

Those of us who have had the pleasure of seeing Kjera perform, however, can agree that her effortless confidence is always on full display. She commands our attention with every scene she’s in, and possesses a certain cheerful resilience that keeps the Laff Staff fresh, but also consistent. Paired with this year’s Best Actor (gold) in the readers’ choice poll, Brian Lenz, Kjera is improv royalty, showcasing that comedy isn’t just about witty jokes and accents, but also respecting the team and heightening the audience experience.

On stage she has schooled me in rap battles, murdered me, married me, hijacked me, all while embodying a level of fearlessness that only the best improvisers wield. Improv can be demanding, but I’ve never witnessed an instant where Kjera has given less than her entire heart.

– Andrew Munz

Thank you Jackson for supporting a home for yoga for

11 years.

Thank you for voting us as winners every year for 8 years Photo: Hannah Hardaway

64 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

Akasha Yoga 150 East Hansen 307.699.7370 www.akashayogajh.com I NeeshaZollingerYoga.com

BEST PLACE TO GET YOUR BEST LOCAL FILM GROOVE ON Gold: Far From Home Gold: Pink Garter Theatre/The Rose Silver: Stagecoach Bronze: Silver Dollar Bar

BEST PLACE TO PICK UP A HONEY Gold: The Rose Silver: Cowboy Bar Bronze: Town Square Tavern

BEST THEATER PRODUCTION COMPANY Gold: Off Square Silver: Riot Act Bronze: Laff Staff

BEST FILMMAKER

Gold: Darrell Miller Silver: Jimmy Chin Bronze: Teton Gravity Research

Silver: Cliffhanger - Darrell Miller Bronze: Art of Flight

BEST SKI RUN

Gold: Hobacks Silver: Casper Bowl Bronze: Crags

BEST LIFTEE

Gold: Nelson Nolen Silver: John Newman Bronze: Will Freihoffer

BEST GOLF COURSE

Gold: JH Golf & Tennis Silver: Teton Pines Bronze: Snake River Sporting Club

BEST MOOSE PLAYER TO KNOCK YOUR TEETH OUT

LUKE SMITH, NO. 13

XXXXX

Gone are the gory glory days of hockey, both in the NHL and locally. Today’s game celebrates the speedy, nimble skater. Alas, old school fans, hulking enforcers are no longer en vogue.

But a few throwbacks remain. The game still demands at least one player on the roster who can come off the bench and make the opponent answer for a dirty hit or a cheap shot.

In days past, that Moose player was Dustin Stolp or Jeff Zelazoski. “Stolpi” and “Zels” were more proactive in their protection of teammates. They didn’t wait for you to make a faux pas; they just assumed you would sooner or later so they often initiated your deserved beat down.

These days, it’s Luke Smith who’s most likely to get under your skin when you play the Moose. At 6 feet 2 inches, 205 pounds, Luke plays with an edge. He’s nasty, he comes to the aid of his teammates, and he’ll “throw hands” at the slightest invitation. Now we’re not saying No. 13 spends an inordinate amount of time in the home team penalty box at the Snow King Sports and Event Center. But UPS uses it as his alternate address when out for weekend delivery.

– Jake Nichols

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Editors’ Choice

MARCH 23, 2016 | 65

JH MOOSE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

BEST PLACE TO SPOT A CELEBRITY

RENDEZVOUS BISTRO

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

66 | MARCH 23, 2016

Editors’ Choice

Kelsey Herbert

triofineart.com • 307.734.4444 • 545 N Cache St, Jackson, WY

Everyone loves Rendezvous Bistro for the ambience, the energy, the food and the outstanding service. But there’s something else about the Bistro’s allure that is so subtle, many don’t pick up on it.

“You never know who you will meet at Rendezvous Bistro,” agreed manager Ben Shanks when he was quizzed about the restaurant’s legacy for attracting high profile diners.

“We collect our fair share of celebrities passing through,” Ben admitted, “and there are certainly a lot of aliases and particular requests on the reservation books.” Ever a classy bunch, Ben and other Fine Dining staffers declined revealing notable names, but we’re sure you’ve heard a few stories.

Why do so many celebrities feel comfortable dining at the Bistro? “I think it stems from [Fine Dining restauranteur] Gavin Fine’s ethos: ‘The restaurant is an extension of our home,’” Ben said. “We want people to be comfortable.

Celebrities know that they can be hidden if they want.”

That means a high ranking U.S. official may prefer being tucked away at a corner booth while his secret service staff fans out over the restaurant. And a well-known comic actor may choose a table in the center of everything.

When it comes right down to it, the Bistro happens to be a place you’ll probably see someone you know, whether it’s a face you’ve only seen in the movies or a friend you haven’t seen in months.

– Annie Fenn, MD

SARGENT SCHUTT

BEST OF JACKSON HOLE 2016: SPORTS, ART & ENTERTAINMENT

“Thanks Jackson Hole for all your inspiration.

I am truly honored by your support.”

THIS WEEK: March 23-29, 2016

Compiled by Caroline Zieleniewski

PR

Please support keeping abortion safe and legal.

Choice Take away a woman’s right to choose and she’s left to take matters into her own hands.

IT’S PRO-CHOICE OR NO-CHOICE. Paid for by the KCR Coalition for Pro-Choice Kristyne Crane Rupert | www.naral.org.

40th World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb Thursday thru Sunday, Snow King Mountain

WEDNESDAY MAR. 23

n Community Yoga 6:15pm, Yoga On Little Studio, Free n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Bridge 6:30pm, Old Wilson Schoolhouse, Free, 307-413-9507 n Beginning Ballet Workshop with Dawn Webster 6:30pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $25.00 - $75.00, 307-733-6398 n STACKHOUSE 7:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Tavern Trivia 7:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n Songwriter’s Alley 8:00pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Sam Fermin 8:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, $15.00 - $35.00, 307-733-1500 n Leftover Salmon 10:00pm, Knotty Pine, $25.00, 208-787-2866 n The Magic Beans & Kitchen Dwellers 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, $10.00, 307-733-3886

THURSDAY MAR. 24

n Kettlebells 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025

MARCH 23, 2016 | 67

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 61

n Chess Club: Grades K to 12 3:30pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 x118 n Chess Club 3:30pm, Valley of the Tetons Library - Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n 2D Design and Print 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $50.00 - $60.00, 307-733-6379 n Apres with Maw Band 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Free Tax Preparation: InPerson 4:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n English Riding Lessons 4:00pm, Heritage Arena, $65.00, 307-699-4136 n Open House on Winter Maintenance 5:00pm, 4H Extension Office, Free, 307-733-4534 n Evening Yoga 6:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Cribbage Club 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n Barbara Trentham Life Drawing 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307733-6379 n Mac Computer Class 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $40.00, 307-733-7425

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Pilates Mat Classes at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 218 n Story TIme 10:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library Victor, Free, 208-7872201 n Fables Feathers & Fur 10:30am, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Free, 307-733-5771 n Lap Sit 11:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Ladies Day Wednesdays 11:00am, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Conversations for Common Ground 11:30am, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Free, 307-733-2603 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

68 | MARCH 23, 2016

CREATIVE PEAKS Peace of Perception Todd Kosharek opens the door for each viewer to experience his art in a different way.

BY KELSEY DAYTON @Kelsey_Dayton

A

s an artist, Todd Kosharek hopes his work sparks conversation and raises questions. But he wasn’t prepared for the impact last August’s show had on one person: himself.

Kosharek presented a series of paintings depicting paper cranes, a subject matter he’s known for using in his work for almost 10 years. But this show, held at the now-shuttered Daly Projects, was different than the series of large paintings of paper cranes in rooms in a house. Those paintings are about the intricate paper sculptures; the paintings he showed at Daly Projects were about their meaning as a symbol of peace.

The show evoked big reactions, and later, when Kosharek was talking about it with his wife, Kate Kosharek, they started discussing the meaning of peace and whether it’s attainable. They realized peace is actually a matter of perception. This notion inspired this next show.

Kosharek will show about a dozen new paintings that explore the idea of perception at Altamira Gallery. It is part two of what has turned into a three-part peace project that is a collaboration between Kosharek, his wife, musician Kyle Fleming, and dancer Cady Cox.

Kate Kosharek created a dance piece that Contemporary Dance Wyoming will perform in June. They also will show excerpts at Todd Kosharek’s art opening. Fleming composed music for the piece, which will play during the reception at Altamira.

Normally Kosharek approaches his paintings like a writer. He creates a situation in his paintings that is like a story, which the viewer completes when looking at it.

“That to me is a successful painting, when the viewer is finishing it,” he said.

When Kosharek decided to explore perception through the idea of peace, he didn’t know how to visually bring that to life. One evening, while cooking dinner, playing with his son and slightly panicking about his project, he went to the record player and put on Chopin’s “Nocturnes” to help sooth his nerves. It immediately helped him relax and he started thinking about music, what was it about certain notes placed in a particular order that calmed him? That impact is universal—some find it from a Chinese harp, some from a didgeridoo and others, like Kosharek, from the notes of Chopin. Music, in that way, it is all about perception, he said.

Kosharek used that as inspiration for this new show. He tried to think like a composer, contemplating the relationships between tone, color and atmosphere. He named the pieces using musical terms like “adagio” and “maestro.”

“I want it to be something that when people come to see it, they aren’t coming to finish it, but they are coming to absorb it,” he said.

Kosharek worked on medium-sized canvases. Most of the paintings feature cranes in straight lines. He hopes people look at the paintings and feel a sense of meditation.

“It’s just like what you need when you have to put on that specific music, or are craving a comfort food,” he said.

Two of the paintings stand out in the

field. “Paradigm Shift I” and “Paradigm Shift II” were inspired by stained-glass windows Kosharek saw in Catholic churches growing up.

They represent shifts in views in society on issues like gay marriage and racial equality. The two paintings are much larger than the others and don’t fit the style of the other pieces. The paradigm paintings feature cranes partially off the canvas and scattered in a more abstract way.

“Yet they to me are the true definitions of the show,” Kosharek said. They are about changing perspectives and shifting perceptions.

When Altamira offered to host an opening for the new project, it put Kosharek on a tight deadline. It forced him to trust his instincts without overthinking a piece. “It just gave me such freedom,” he said.

It also gave him new perspective on subject matter he’s grown to know intimately in the last decade. “I love the angle and shape of them, and I love that you can anthropomorphize yourself into them,” he said.

He hadn’t ever thought of his work in those terms until people started telling Kosharek things like, “that feels like me.”

“People were reacting that strongly to essentially a folded piece of paper,” Kosharek said.

Kosharek expects to show the third part of his peace project sometime next year. It will focus on history. He will talk about his work at 6:30 p.m. Upslope Brewery and Fine Dining will provide refreshments. PJH

“Duality: The Perception Project,” a solo exhibition by artist Todd Kosharek, with music by Kyle Fleming and a performance from Contemporary Dance Wyoming, opening starts at 6 p.m., artist talk begins at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, and is followed by the dance performance, at Altamira Gallery.

New works by Todd Kosharek, ‘Misterioso,’ (left) and ‘Paradigm Shift.’

Ice Bison and Prehistoric Trout Fishing:

FRIDAY MAR. 25

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n 40th World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb 8:00am, Snow King Mountain, $15.00, 307-734-9653 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Yoga 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025

n Portrait Drawing Club 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307733-6379 n Ballet Workout at Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 10:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Free Tax Preparation: Drop-Off Service 10:30am, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-7332164 n Yoga 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Feathered Friday 12:00pm, Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, Free, 307-201-5433 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Lego Club - Driggs 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n Clay and Sculpture 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $190.00, 307733-6379 n Swagger at The Trap 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Wine Tasting 4:00pm, The Liquor Store & Wine Loft, Free, 307-733-4466 n Ladies Night Fridays 5:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Friday Night Meditation 6:00pm, Zendler Chiropractic, Free, 307-699-8300 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307-734-1535 n Best of Jackson Hole 2016 Party 6:00pm, Center for the Arts, $15.00, 307-732-0299 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-0925

Archaeologists Matt Stirn and Rebecca Sgouros will give their Annual Archaeology Update

March 31, 2016 at 7:00 pm

225 N. CACHE STREET IN THE HISTORY MUSEUM GALLERY | 307-733-2414

MARCH 23, 2016 | 69

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 64

n Nature Mapping Community Celebration: “The Quest for Wolverines and Lynx” with Jason Wilmot 5:30pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 307-739-0968 n Meet & Make 5:30pm, Pinky G’s, $5.00, 804380-6728 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Tricks of the Trade: Keys to Sharper Images 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $35.00 - $42.00, 307-733-6379 n ACT Prep Course 6:00pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307-734-1535 n Italian Cuisine- Homemade Ravioli 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $65.00, 307-733-7425 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-0925 n JH Community Band Rehearsal 7:00pm, Center for the Arts Performing Arts Wing, Free, 307-200-9463 n Major Zephyr 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Miller Sisters & BOGDOG 8:00pm, Town Square Tavern, $7.00, 307-733-3886 n Salsa Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Disco Night 10:00pm, Stagecoach Bar, Free, 307-733-4407 n Leftover Salmon 10:00pm, Knotty Pine, $25.00, 208-787-2866

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n 40th World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb 9:00am, Snow King Mountain, $15.00, 307-734-9653 n Straight Talk for Executive Directors Series 9:00am, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, $60.00, 307-739-1026 n Intermediate/Advanced Ballet @ Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 218 n Storytime 10:30am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Storytime 11:00am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Cribbage 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Driggs, Free, 208-354-5522 n Grand Teton Brewery Apres Take Over 3:00pm, The Handle Bar, Four Seasons, Free, 307-732-5157 n Culture through Clay 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00 $180.00, 307-733-6379 n Apres with Stack and the Attack 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Thursday Gates 4:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Yoga 4:15pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Metal Working Series - All Classes 4:15pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $125.00 $158.00, 307-733-6379 n Chamber Mixer & Explorer Magazine Launch Party 5:00pm, Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, Free, 307-201-2309 n Jazzercise 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Total Fitness 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025

Resolving Mysteries from the Archaeological Record

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

70 | MARCH 23, 2016

MUSIC BOX The West is the Best A quartet of local original acts headline Out West Fest; blistering touring acts close the season.

BY AARON DAVIS @ScreenDoorPorch “From the 20-something schemers to the 40-year-old dreamers, this town can’t tell them apart.”

—from Patrick Chadwick’s song “Won’t Let You Out”

I

t’s a post-Rendezvous gift that just keeps on giving. Enjoy this dense week of concerts before the bottom falls out and you’re relaxing in a relatively quiet April mountain town.

From the masterminds of our own Canyon Kids—Dusty Nichols and Bo Elledge—let’s introduce the inaugural Out West Fest. Featuring four locally-based bands that are making music that I consider on par with some of this country’s greatest music cities, our scene is slowly re-shaping from a breeding ground of event and wedding bands to a hotbed of original acts that are drawing national attention. Each ticket to the show will also include a chance to win a yearlong online Yoga subscription courtesy of Yoga Today, an acoustic guitar from Jackson Hole Music, or a custom pair of skis designed and crafted by Maiden Skis.

The event was sparked by the updated full-length release of Canyon Kids’ Best

San Fermin’s eight-piece band (top left), headlines a KHOL bash at the Pink Garter Theatre Wednesday. Canyon Kids (bottom left) celebrate a new album during the Out West Fest Friday at the Garter; Patrick Chadwick (right), will also be in the house.

Loved Poems of the American People, a concept album that features original songs along with interpretations of American poems through music that was composed to complement the words. The eight-song set features over a dozen local musicians, and the obvious chemistry shared between Nichols and Elledge has evolved. They will perform as a six-piece.

Over the past year, Nichols has also been co-producing and helping to engineer Patrick Chadwick’s debut EP, Soul of Mine, so the idea to expand two album releases into a full-fledged party that also includes Benyaro and Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons (who both happen to be working on new recordings of their own), made complete sense.

“I kind of gave up a couple times,” Nichols said of organizing the event. “Corralling four bands for the same date is not easy.

With these two album releases we thought ‘why not showcase even more of the original music happening here and make it a bigger event?’”

For Chadwick—primary songwriter for the now dispersed bluegrass/folk quartet The Flannel Attractions—Out West Fest is the perfect opportunity to unleash his yearlong, four-track project. As a lyricist, songwriter, guitarist and singer, Chadwick’s music can be considered a diamond-in-therough. He’s pushing beyond the bluegrass realm with an indie-folk flavor that encompasses soul-pop, alt-country and more intricate arrangements.

“Being here five years and getting to know a bunch of other musicians, I took the luxury of using whatever instrumentation would serve each song,” Chadwick explained. “It was recorded in five different locations, some with Dusty and some on my own. For the show, I’ll be joined by Flannel bandmates Lucas Nash on mandolin, Leif Routman on bass, as well as Matt Herron on fiddle, Lauren Conrad singing harmony, and Jacob Green playing drums.”

Groove purveyors Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons have a new band member in drummer Phillip Walker, and will be making the trek to Boise for Treefort Music Fest the day after this show, proudly representing Wyoming as apparently the only band from the square state that was selected this year.

For acoustic, indie-soul duo Benyaro— the project of guitarist/vocalist/percussionist Ben Musser along with upright bassist/ vocalist Routman—momentum is building for the announcement of their fourth studio effort. Recording began in spring of 2015 with Danny Kadar, who produced arguably the best Avett Brothers’ album (2007’s Emotionalism) as well as Grizzly Bear and Band of Horses.

Expect four acts playing about 40 minutes each, and a collaborative set to close out the first Out West Fest.

Out West Fest featuring Canyon Kids (album release), Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons, Patrick Chadwick (album release), and Benyaro, 9 p.m. Friday at the Pink Garter Theatre. $8-$10. PinkGarterTheatre.com, 733-1500.

Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons (left), and Benyaro (right), round out the bill for the Out West Fest Friday at the Pink Garter Theatre.

The day the music didn’t die Let me help you plan a ridiculous week of music consumption, day by day. Following a successful Winter Membership Drive, KHOL 89.1, Jackson Hole’s Community Radio station will celebrate with the quirky, indie-pop of San Fermin’s eight-piece band (Wednesday, Pink Garter Theatre; $15$35) with the catchy Denmark outfit, The Foreign Resort.

Meanwhile, 307 Live will present the

space groove of Magic Beans and newgrass string band The Kitchen Dwellers on the same ticket (Wednesday, Town Square Tavern; $10).

Originators of the “polyethnic Cajun slamgrass” genre, Colorado legends Leftover Salmon roll out a two-night run on the west slope (Thursday, Knotty Pine; $25), and Grammy-winning country-blues

guitarist Mike Dowling will provide the intimacy in Moose (Friday, Dornan’s; $20).

Seek out One Ton Pig during après-ski under the tram (Saturday, JHMR; free) then watch eight-piece Chanman Roots Band turn the Hill Climbers into roots-reggae lovers (Friday and Saturday, Silver Dollar; free).

If your heart desires old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, take in some ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin

and AC/DC with Switchback (Friday and Saturday, Town Square Tavern; $TBD).

Get it! PJH Aaron Davis is a decade-long writer of Music Box, a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, member of Screen Door Porch and Boondocks, founder/host of Songwriter’s Alley, and co-founder of The WYOmericana Caravan.

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 71

Have a knack for storytelling and the smarts to dissect and distill the valley’s issues du jour, from breaking news to thoughtful arts coverage?

Looking for flexible hours, the freedom to work independently and the opportunity to be an important voice in the community?

Now is your chance to join the small, energized team that comprises The Planet – Jackson Hole’s alternative voice and Wyoming’s only alt weekly.

••••

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

W PO AN RT TE ER D

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

72 | MARCH 23, 2016

ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS

n Pam Drews Phillips Plays Jazz 7:00pm, The Granary at Spring Creek Ranch, Free, 307-733-8833 n Art Opening: Annelies Leland 7:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307-733-1500 n Free Public Stargazing 7:30pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 3074134779 n Chanman Roots Band 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307732-3939 n I Ski With Pepi Party 7:30pm, Mangy Moose, $100.00 n Out West Fest 8:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, $8.00 - $12.00, 307-733-1500 n Switchback 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, 307-733-3886

GET OUT

SATURDAY MAR. 26

n Karen Oatey Pole Pedal Paddle March 26th, 2016 7:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to Astoria Hot Springs, $50.00 - $80.00, 307-733-6433 n 40th World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb 8:00am, Snow King Mountain, $15.00, 307-7349653 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Easter Egg Hunt at Jackson Whole Grocer 9:00am, Jackson Whole Grocer, Free, 307-7330450 n Adult Oil Painting 10:00am, The Local Galleria, $25.00, 208-2700883 n Parents’ Ski Saturdays 10:00am, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n 48th Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Town Square 10:00am, Town Square, Free, 307-201-2309 n Free Tax Preparation: Drop-Off Service 10:30am, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-733-2164 n Tram Jam 11:00am, Base of the Bridger Gondola, Free n Raptor Encounters 2:00pm, Teton Raptor Center, $10.00 - $12.00, 307-203-2551

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 66

Best Family Visit Ever Acclimated older sis turns her family’s visit into boot camp.

BY ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS @EKoutrelakos

T

he long days have brought me the best powder, the best amount of sun, and the best people visiting. People, planning and powder may be overwhelming, but in the spirit of Best of Jackson Hole, I chose to embrace the occurrence. After all, I do live in a pretty cool place, and snow is pounding the mountains. So why not make the best of it?

I have little control over what humans want to do when they visit Jackson Hole.

Thus, a majority of time was spent at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort during a plethora of wondrous, white fluff. Initially, I snowboarded with my little brother. He only rides once a year for a handful of days, but never ceases to be better than me at pretty much everything.

On our second run, I gave him an ultimatum. Either we go into Corbet’s or go for a walk. He opted for the couloir given his propensity for avoiding the discomfort of walking. “You go first,” he said as people flocked in and out, calling their mothers from the top. I hopped in, then saw the rocks. The situation was beyond the typical single indicator rock that evolved after a bunch of people skidded in. This was a true row of rocks with a tiny area through which one had to point directly without shredding their sticks.

I hopped through, but felt a twinge of older sibling guilt/fear of getting my brother hurt.

I watched and waited, ready to pick up any pieces left after his first run in. Finally, his

Left: After sneakily coercing her sister to the top, the author enjoys the view from Snow King.

Bottom left: Little brother drops Corbet’s. Right: A salad large enough to sate powder hounds. little green and purple goggles bobbed above the sliver of snow on the hard bank in the first turn. He pointed his board and bucked through the air. Thoughts of my mother, pointedly questioning my rationale to take him into Corbet’s raced through my head.

But just before the anticipated crash, catlike reflexes kicked in and with one soft butt check, the fruit of the same loins seamlessly made his way down. I watched with a combination of DNA pride and slight jealousy at the fact that this kid never fails.

From there, I deemed it time to hike the headwall. After quick ride up the gondola, we hopped on the white spider. Powder, however, was not in my realm of thought for this hike; my inner desire for my brother to be uncomfortable had taken over. He cruised up, likely thinking about the promise of lunch. We dropped into Casper Bowl and there was no point in stopping, for one could get easily lost in the powder. After taking one of the best runs I’ve ever experienced, little bro, sweaty and hungry, announced he would not be taking another walking jaunt for the remainder of his stay. At one point he actually said there was “too much powder” and “there’s no point in hiking for misery.” I accepted his notions of reality and conceded to lunch.

Family members that visit from sea level seem to have an insatiable appetite, so we met up with the rest of the Greek lineage for lunch at Rendezvous Lodge. Going out to eat is hard; we crush it in the kitchen.

Given resort food is expensive, my sister and I decided to split a salad. Though it’s pricy and more than $15, we made this experience the best bang for the buck. The greens provided in the salad bar were from Vertical Harvest, grown right in town. We could taste the difference of quality in these fresh, delicious leaves. Decked with artichokes, cheese, and cucumbers, the green choice was more than I

could hope for in a resort lunch. Although the rest of the fam’ gave us weird looks when we arrived at the dining table with our shared salad, jealousy ensued when they realized their mistake of not choosing the spicy arugula mix.

On this weekend excursion, I learned one could really make the best of their family visiting by tiring completely tiring the crew out.

On a self-imposed rest day, my younger sister had a serious fear of missing out. Around 11 a.m. she regretted her decision, claiming she was not tired and wanted to ski. Having already anticipated this, I implemented my backup plan of hiking up Snow King. “That’s not even exercise. It’s just a knoll,” she said.

After a little convincing, we were strapping our boards on by the town hill. She regretted her decision, out of breath in about five minutes, as I knew she would be.

“It’s OK,” I said. “It’s just a knoll and you’re only 10 minutes from the top.” I repeated this until she really was close to the top. At some point, she realized I was lying the entire time and stopped believing me. However, I had already taken her board so there was no way for her to go but up to meet me at the “true summit.” While she exhibited borderline despise for me, I was too far ahead to understand what she was saying. Her mood quickly changed, however, when she arrived in the sunlight and absorbed the crisp views of the Teton Range. Mission accomplished.

Some people get overwhelmed when families come to visit, but I rejoice in observing their reactions when I challenge them to do things they would never sanely choose to do themselves. As long as I keep them wellfed and provide them ample opportunity to exercise in beautiful places, they can’t help but love the place. After all, there are so many choices of the best things to do around here; it’s hard to go wrong. PJH

n Music Under the Tram One Ton Pig 3:00pm, Teton Village, Next to Nick Wilson’s, Free, 307-7332292 n Chanman Solo in the K BAR at the Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa 4:00pm, K BAR, Free, 307 413 1348 n Swagger at The Trap 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Snowboard Saturday Adult Classes 5:00pm, Snow King Mountain, $49.00 - $59.00, 307-699-4227 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Businesses, Free, 307-201-2294 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307-734-1535 n Open Gym - Adult Soccer 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-0925 n Chanman Roots Band 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Tinsley Ellis with The Miller Sisters 8:00pm, Knotty Pine, $15.00, 208-787-2866 n Switchback 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, 307-733-3886 n Jameson Music Series presents John Wayne’s World 10:30pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500

SUNDAY MAR. 27

MONDAY MAR. 28

n Kettlebells 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Yoga 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 118 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 12:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Spin 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-733-5056 n bootybarre® at Dancers’ Workshop 1:30pm, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Free Tax Preparation: Drop-Off Service 3:30pm, Teton County Library Computer Lab, Free, 307-7332164 n White Lightning Open Mic Night 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Apres with Fresh Roy and the Winch Cats 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Yoga 4:15pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Jazzercise 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Total Fitness 5:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Language Exchange 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n Basic Silkscreen 6:00pm, Art Associaiton of Jackson Hole, $145.00, 37-7336379 n Open Gym - Adult Volleyball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n One Ton Pig 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 73

n Boot Camp 7:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Pilates Mat Classes at Dancers’ Workshop 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 8:30am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Jazzercise 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Zumba at Dancers’ Workshop 9:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $12.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Toddler Gym 10:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $0.00 - $2.50, 307-7399025 n Public Skating 12:00pm, Snow King Sports & Events Center, $6.00 - $8.00, 307-201-1633 n Total Fitness 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Story Time 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n Maker Monday’s 3:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Victor, Free, 208-7872201 n Apres with Tucker Smith 3-piece band 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n English Riding Lessons 4:00pm, Heritage Arena, $65.00, 307-699-4136 n Hootenanny at Dornans 6:00pm, Dornans, Free, 307733-2415 n Evening Yoga 6:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-739-9025 n Drawing 101 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $130.00, 307733-6379 n Open Gym - Adult Basketball 6:30pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025

TUESDAY MAR. 29

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Interdenominational Sunrise Easter Service at the Gondola Summit 6:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Free, 307-733-2292 n 40th World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb 8:00am, Snow King Mountain, $15.00, 307-734-9653 n Four Seasons Easter Buffet 11:30am, Four Seasons, Westbank Grill, $65.00, 307732-5000 n Open Gym - Adult Volleyball 4:00pm, Teton Recreation Center, $3.75, 307-739-9025 n Apres with Major Zephyr 4:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Moose Gumbo 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Stagecoach Band 6:00pm, Stagecoach, Free, 307-733-4407

n Taize 6:00pm, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Free, 307-733-2603 n Hospitality Night - Happy Hour 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Uncle Stackhouse 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

74 | MARCH 23, 2016

REYKJAVÍKURDÆTUR

WELL, THAT HAPPENED

‘A Pinky Winky’...

Icelandic outfit stirs up controversy on an island of traditionalists.

BY ANDREW MUNZ @AndrewMunz

I

celand is commonly lumped among the progressive Nordic/Scandinavian countries and rightfully so. Gay marriage has been legal since 2010 and citizens elected the world’s first openly gay prime minister in 2009. But while the country strives to move with the times, there is a rampant stubbornness among its people that is rooted in long-term traditions and religion. Icelanders don’t get their panties in a twist as much as conservative Americans, but every once in a while a pandemic will sweep through the country that will divide its people. And right now, that pandemic is a group of fifteen sexually-charged, potty-mouthed feminist hiphop artists called Reykjavíkurdætur, or the daughters of Reykjavík.

The rap collective is considered to be progressive by some and shameful to others, and the group of girls thrives off their own controversy. When I saw the group perform at Iceland Airwaves back in November, they performed in nude-colored underwear, which highlighted every curve and crevice— an intentional decision to show how little they care about body image. Their shows are

One band is challenging Iceland’s ‘progressive’ image. always energetic, always crazy, with each one of the girls wielding a microphone and spitting verses like the best of them.

But if their scandalous stage presence is too shocking for some audiences, then their good-humored but provocative lyrics might just knock conservatives back to 1950s suburbia.

“It is so nice to get it up the ass/I like myself a pinky winky in the stinky/ because I’m a feminist/ and I’m kinky.”

Another song, “Ógeðsleg,” or “Revolting”, puts sexual dominance, clitoris-sucking and tampon use on a pedestal without any apologies or censorship. This particular song has Iceland in a complete whirlwind of political correctness, recently, thanks to Reykjavíkurdætur’s appearance on the evening talk show “Vikan, með Gísla Merteini.”

Rather than performing at the stage, the girls swarmed the host’s desk and the couch, clad in hospital gowns and scrubs. Two of the performers wore strap-on dildos and began humping their mortified onlookers as they sang into their microphones. One of the guests, esteemed Icelandic actress Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, stood up and stormed off stage in the middle of the song.

The act was particularly controversial because the show is frequently watched by families and the elderly. Much like Miley Cyrus’s more recent antics, Reykjavíkurdætur has been accused of abusing sexual exploitation and shock value to gain attention. The group, who also told the Icelandic Prime Minister to “suck my pussy,” has no problem with such a classification.

“Fifty-percent of the nation are racist, anti-feminist, narrow-minded and living in

a box,” member Vigðís Ósk said in a 2016 Vice interview. “People look at us and they wouldn’t even know where to start. They look at us and they can’t say it’s good, as it’s not allowed; they don’t think we should have a voice for it.”

Most likely, much of that naysaying 50 percent lives in the more conservative parts of Iceland, (otherwise known as everywhere outside of Reykjavík). Two-thirds of Iceland’s 325,000 population lives in and around the capital, which means that the only connection most rural areas have to popular Icelandic culture is via television shows, the Internet and the radio. Suffice to say, Reykjavíkurdætur don’t regularly perform in the smaller municipalities.

One 20-year-old male coworker of mine, who has lived in this town of 1,500 for his whole life, told me, “[The members] are just sluts. They’re getting popular and they’re representing Iceland, so people are looking at them and thinking, ‘Oh, that’s normal,’ when it isn’t.”

Iceland is such a small country, but so many eyes are trained on it. According to the Icelandic Tourism Board, 1,261,938 tourists entered Iceland through the international airport in 2015, and a minimum 20 percent increase is projected for 2016. The worry is that too much controversy will suppress the image Iceland is trying to trademark: a quiet place where nature and culture work in harmony. That doesn’t work so well when the increasingly popular Reykjavíkurdætur is encouraging butt stuff.

“I mean we’re progressive,” my co-worker said. “But we’re not that progressive.” PJH

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19) When Orville and Wilbur Wright were kids, their father gave them a toy helicopter powered by a rubber band.

The year was 1878. Twenty-five years later, the brothers became the first humans to sail above the earth in a flying machine. They testified that the toy helicopter had been a key inspiration as they worked to develop their pioneering invention. In the spirit of the Wright brothers’ magic seed, Aries, I invite you to revive your connection to a seminal influence from your past. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to feed a dream that was foreshadowed in you a long time ago.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) “The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly,” said Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Whether or not you’re a writer, Taurus, that is also your special task in the coming weeks. The riddle that has begun to captivate your imagination is not yet ripe enough for you to work on in earnest. It has not been defined with sufficient clarity. Luckily, you have the resources you need to research all the contingencies, and you have the acuity to come up with a set of empowering questions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) The good news is that if you eat enormous amounts of chocolate, you will boost your memory. Science has proved it. The bad news is that, in order to get the full effect of the memory enhancement, you would have to consume so much chocolate that you would get sick.

I propose that we consider this scenario as a metaphor for what may be going on in your life. Is it possible you’re doing things that are healthy for you in one way but that diminish you in another? Or are you perhaps getting or doing too much of a good thing—going to unbalanced extremes as you pursue a worthy goal? Now is a favorable time to figure out if you’re engaged in such behavior, and to change it if you are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) When the young director Richard Lester got his big break, he took full advantage. It happened in 1964, when the early Beatles asked him to do their first movie, A Hard Day’s Night. Lester’s innovative approach to the project propelled his career to a higher level that brought him many further opportunities. Writing of Lester’s readiness, critic Alexander Walker said, “No filmmaker … appeared more punctually when his hour struck.” That’s what I hope you will soon be doing in your own chosen field, Cancerian. Do you understand how important it will be to have impeccable timing? No procrastination or hemming and hawing, please. Be crisply proactive.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) As a young man, the poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) left his home in France and settled in Abyssinia, which these days is known as Ethiopia. “I sought voyages,” he wrote, “to disperse the enchantments that had colonized my mind.” You might want to consider a similar strategy in the coming weeks, Leo. From an astrological perspective, it’s going to be an excellent time both to wander free of your usual haunts and to disperse the enchantments that have colonized your mind. Why not find ways to synergize these two opportunities?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) At one point in his life, author C.S. Lewis had a rude awakening as he took stock of the progress he thought he had been making. “I am appalled to see how much of the change I thought I had undergone lately was only imaginary,” he wrote. I want to make sure that something similar doesn’t happen to you, Virgo. You’re in the midst of what should be a Golden Age of Self-Transformation. Make sure you’re actually doing the work that you imagine you’re doing—and not just talking about it and thinking about it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) “There are questions that you don’t ask because you’re

L.A.TIMES “C BATTERY” By Mark Maclachlan

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2016

ACROSS

Go to RealAstrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes. Audio horoscopes also available by phone at 877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700. afraid of the answers,” wrote Agatha Christie. I would add that there are also questions you don’t ask because you mistakenly think you already know the answers. And then there are questions you don’t ask because their answers would burst your beloved illusions, which you’d rather preserve. I’m here to urge you to risk posing all these types of questions, Libra. I think you’re strong enough and smart enough, and in just the right ways, to deal constructively with the answers. I’m not saying you’ll be pleased with everything you find out. But you will ultimately be glad you finally made the inquiries.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) If you are enmeshed in a jumble that makes you squirm or if you are caught in a tangle that stifles your self-love, you have three choices. Here’s how Eckhart Tolle defines them: 1. Get out of the situation. 2. Transform the situation.

3. Completely accept the situation. Does that sound reasonable, Scorpio? I hope so, because the time has come to act. Don’t wait to make your decision. Do it soon. After that, there will be no whining allowed. You can no longer indulge in excuses. You must accept the consequences.

On the bright side, imagine the new freedom and power you will have at your disposal.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Here’s a proposed experiment. Sidle up to a creature you’d love to be closer to, and softly sing the following lyrics: “Come with me, go with me. Burn with me, glow with me. Sleep with me, wake with me.” At this point, run three circles around the creature as you flap your arms like a bird’s wings. Then continue your singing: “Rise with me, fall with me. Work with me, play with me. Pray with me, sin with me.” At this point, leap up into the air three times, unleashing a burst of laughter each time you hit the ground. Continue singing: “Let me get high with you.

Laugh with you, cry with you. Make me your partner in crime.” At this point blow three kisses toward the creature, then run away. (P.S. The lyrics I’m quoting here were composed by songwriter Fran Landesman.)

76 Historic metropolitan district 77 Miss piggy?

78 Astronomer Celsius 82 Time, e.g., briefly 83 Iraqi port 85 French pen name 86 Research 90 “... __, mean, fightin’ machine!”: John Candy in “Stripes” 92 Marx feature?

96 Garden center bulk purchase?

99 Carbohydrate ending 100 “Dinosaur Train” watcher 101 WWII German minesweeper 102 6, on a phone 103 __ instinct 104 Riot squad spray 105 Munich lament 108 Tree in a tray 110 Breakfast morsel 111 Prying 112 Go before 114 Be tearfully grateful about comfy shoes?

119 Ursa Minor star 120 Interfere 121 “Real love __ me through”: Steve Winwood lyric 122 Matching tops worn together 123 Franklin writings 124 Large furniture chain

DOWN

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In her poem “Time,” Piscean poet Lia Purpura wonders about “not picking up a penny because it’s only a little luck.” Presumably she is referring to a moment when you’re walking down a street and you spy an almostbut-not-quite-worthless coin lying on the concrete. She theorizes that you may just leave it there. It adds next to nothing to your wealth, right? Which suggests that it also doesn’t have much value as a symbol of good fortune.

But I urge you to reject this line of thought in the coming weeks, Pisces. In my astrological opinion, you’ll be wise to capitalize on the smallest opportunities. There will be plenty of them, and they will add up.

13 Machine shop tool 14 Groups of bats or beavers 15 Northernmost freshwater fish 16 “Well, __-di-dah!”

17 UMass’s conference 18 Edges 19 Tofu source 24 Handbill 29 1994 film set on a bus 31 Game with a rope 32 “Perched upon __ of Pallas”: “The Raven” 33 Fairy tale opener 34 Summer mo.

36 Org. for marksmen 38 43,560 square feet 40 Junk food, in ads 41 Dyes used for blue jeans 42 Most Grinch-like 43 Digitally endorsed 45 Bard’s “always” 46 Nook downloads 47 Home of Humayun’s Tomb 52 Off the beaten path 53 Puts in rollers 56 Dip ingredients 57 Award-winning courtroom drama 58 Elevator innovator 60 Hold up 61 Chesapeake Bay feeder 62 “C’est magnifique!”

63 Telethon commitments 65 Maker of Cage golf shoes 66 Subtlety 68 Be on a role?

69 Trumpet sound 70 “Brokeback Mountain” actor 73 Schmoozers 77 1986 Starship chart-topper 79 Spew out 80 Obi-Wan’s attire

81 Title of honor 84 Tax audit needs: Abbr.

85 Smooch from SofÌa 87 Absolutely no one 88 Type of engine or oil 89 Bone: Pref.

91 Fizzy prefix 93 Looks up to 94 __ garden 95 What “comes but once in a lifetime”: Longfellow 97 “Jamie” reader 98 Most stable 103 Defense secretary before Panetta 104 Transform, in sci-fi 105 iCal entry 106 Bad avian omen in much mythology 107 Prefix with port 109 Peak 110 Just 111 Sgts. and cpls.

113 Discharge 115 NFL stat 116 “Ghost” psychic __ Mae Brown 117 Greek vowel 118 Cagey

MARCH 23, 2016 | 75

10 Advanced math deg., in Canada 20 Carrier with a Shanghai hub 30 Qatar locale 40 __ peace 50 Yet again 60 Brazil map word 70 Observed, maybe 80 Fingered 90 Sailor 10 Cabinet dept.

11 Aldi supermarket juice brand that translates to “river of gold” 12 Ticked

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “We teach each other how to live.” Poet Anne Michaels said that, and now I’m passing it on to you—just in time for the phase of your cycle when acting like a curious student is your sacred duty and your best gift to yourself. I don’t necessarily mean that you should take a workshop or enroll in a school. Your task is to presume that everyone you meet and every encounter you have may bring you rich learning experiences. If you’re willing to go as far as I hope you will, even your dreams at night will be opportunities to get further educated. Even your vigils in front of the TV. Even your trips to the convenience store to buy ice cream.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

10 Fads 70 They were introduced to Western pop music during the British Invasion 13 Quantities like mass and volume 20 Earth pigment 21 Slow movement 22 Hamlet’s friend 23 Film monster at a construction site?

25 Subject for Dumbledore 26 Plane staff 27 Kitchen top 28 Unrestricted ruler 30 Govt. intel org.

31 Co-star of “Suspect” (1987) 32 Author Rand 33 Spanish eye 35 Confine, as on a farm 37 __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone 38 Civil War prez 39 Peat moss heist?

44 Double without a seatbelt?

48 Sticks often with curved tops 49 Ones having a bite 50 Former “Daily Show” correspondent Samantha 51 Recipe words 54 Vietnam’s last emperor Bao __ 55 Update the machinery 57 Bagel topper 59 Apprehensive of 61 Art opening?

64 Reason to call the landlord 66 Something in the air 67 “Return of the Jedi” dancer 69 Exclusive editing websites?

71 Adored speaker 72 Gerard Trenité poem about eccentricities of English pronunciation 74 Not dressy 75 Part of PST: Abbr.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) In getting energy from food, we humans have at our disposal over 50,000 edible plants. And yet we choose to concentrate on just a few. Wheat, corn, rice and potatoes make up two-thirds of our diet, and 11 other staples comprise most of the rest. Let’s use this as a metaphor for the kind of behavior you should avoid in the coming weeks. I think it will be crucial for you to draw physical, emotional and spiritual sustenance from a relatively wide variety of sources. There’s nothing wrong with your usual providers, but for now you need to expand your approach to getting the nurturing you need.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

76 | MARCH 23, 2016

Trust The Expert Mark Menolascino

MD, MS, ABIHM, ABAARM, IFMCP

The Best of Cosmic A look at the most memorable reader queries from this column.

Q: Do we have more than one soul mate?

A: Yes, we each have many. Some are people with whose souls we have had loving relationships in previous lives. Others are souls we are meeting for the first time. All unconditional love is soul love.

Q: What role does intuition play in the workplace?

A: Studies from the Harvard Business School discovered that business entrepreneurs credited 80 percent of their successes to acting on their intuition. Intuition is key in the areas of timing, innovating, problem solving and hiring. Many entrepreneurs say that intuition separates the experts from the amateurs.

Q: Do pets reincarnate?

A: Yes. Animals who experience close relationships with their human companions develop a more individuated soul from the collective soul of their species, and are able to incarnate again and again with the same person. This is why/how some dogs/ cats/horses are far more than just a “pet,” while others are just pets with no special depth of intelligence and personality. Since pets have a shorter life span than ours, they can return to us many times over the course of our lives. And depending on the depth of connection and the level of evolution of the animal and ourselves, pets have already accompanied us and can continue to accompany us in many lifetimes.

Q: Is it true that our thoughts, beliefs and actions affect the entire matrix of life?

A: Science has demonstrated that everything is energy, and all life is interconnected, has intelligence, and is constantly communicating at frequencies above, below and at levels we are able to perceive. Studies indicate further that the higher frequency energy of love-based thoughts, beliefs and actions contribute to an upgrade in the wellbeing of the entire matrix of life. A currently proven and very ancient bottom line is: Thriving for self, for others, and for the Earth equates to developing a loving state of being.

Q: Is there evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?

A: There is plenty of reported evidence, but here are some mind-blowing facts. University of California, Santa Barbara Science Line reports there are about 100 billion stars in our galaxy. They have discovered that it is common for stars to have solar systems orbiting around them. If only 0.1 percent of stars in the Milky Way have orbiting planets, there are 10 million solar systems in our galaxy with untold numbers of planets orbiting their suns at approximately the distance we are from our sun. Not to mention that there would be life forms unlike and unknown to us, which are perfectly adapted to environments we could not inhabit.

There are an estimated three thousand billion galaxies in the known universe (not to mention universes we are currently unable to perceive). Given the huge number of possible inhabited planets, there would be life more advanced, as advanced, and less advanced than we are in both consciousness and technology.

The growing consensus: Life is the rule, not the exception in the universe. PJH

Carol Mann is a longtime Jackson resident, radio personality, former Grand Targhee Resort owner, author, and clairvoyant.

Got a Cosmic Question? Email carol@yourcosmiccafe.com

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TO ADVERTISE IN THE WELLNESS DIRECTORY, CONTACT JEN AT PLANET JACKSON HOLE AT 307-732-0299 OR SALES@PLANETJH.COM

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MARCH 23, 2016 | 77

Massage Therapist Nationally Certified

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SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9.

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Mattel Envy I need to be Barbie; she’s got lots of stuff.

BY GALLOPIN’ GRANDMA

O

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n March 9, 1959, a young lady appeared on the scene. She was 11 inches tall, had a ridiculous figure and lots of clothes. Her name was Barbie and she was named for the manufacturer’s daughter. Now at no time did my mother feel the urge to come up with an Alice Jean (my name) doll and if she had it would have been chubby, pimply, frizzy-haired and wearing Girl Scout oxfords. I’m sure the world of fashion thanks her.

Lately, Barbie has been challenged by evil people who resent that she’s still gorgeous and still has that figure. They claim that she doesn’t look like everyone else and therefore must change. They hate her clothes, her shape, and her popularity. All of the politically correct people act like they weren’t invited to the prom, and they’re still mad because Barbie was.

In 1961, in need of a boyfriend, Barbie met a guy named Ken at a filming session for a commercial. Ken was actually just another accessory; he has always been rather stiff, of ambiguous gender, and sort of vacuous. Over the years, he has had about 40 occupations which says something about his employability. He seems to be commitment shy as well. About two years ago Barbie and Ken broke up and the rumor was that she had run off with GI Joe or maybe, Ken ran off with GI Joe. Anyway, they are back together and nobody really knows anything but Barbie… and she’s not talking.

I had figured out that Barbie and Ken are probably about 75 years old because they were teenagers when they appeared. Barbie

Christima, 1968—Gallopin’ Grandma has just received a tiny Barbie nightie from her husband. Guess what GG wants to give him?

has progressed with the times; her clothes were always fashion appropriate. When women got jobs, she got jobs. Now that she’s an old lady, maybe she should change.

How about Old Lady Barbie? She comes with press on varicose veins and liver spots.

Those perky boobs are around her waist. She is dressed by Wal-Mart, and she comes with removable teeth and an AARP card. I would also like to see Facelift Barbie: send in her head and it comes back with stitch marks, bruises and a tube of Botox. While we’re at it, how about Menopause Barbie? She runs hot and cold, gets all greasy and sweaty, gains weight and has a terrible disposition. She could come with candy hormone replacement therapy and a supply of romance novels. There’s just no end to what we could come up with.

I imagine that Ken is getting long in the tooth, too. He probably has more hair in his nose and ears than on his head, and that Malibu six pack is down around his knees.

Add Coke bottle glasses, hearing aids and elastic waist jeans, and it’s no wonder Barbie took off.

The pressure is on now to make Barbie relevant to us. That means no more cute figure. The manufacturer has come up with six new Barbies.

There is fat Barbie, a tall and thin Barbie, a whoknows-what-the-hell-isthat Barbie. A little girl said that Barbie was F.A.T. She spelled it out because she didn’t want to hurt Barbie’s feelings. My feelings are certainly hurt because Barbie doesn’t look like me.

Barbie doesn’t have to change. She’s gorgeous, has wonderful clothes, lots of shoes and a plastic boyfriend she can toss in a corner “or back in the closet,” some say, when she’s sick of him. Oh wait, I think I just described a Kardashian. That’s OK, Barbie, you are perfect. PJH

“How about Old Lady Barbie? She comes with press-on varicose veins and liver spots.”

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