MEET THE LOCALS Q&A

JH Living PIQUED

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10 9 6 / FREERIDE PERFECTION

For the first time in its history, Stio has partnered with Gore-Tex. And the results are their most innovative, protective collections to date, whether you’re riding the lifts or touring in the backcountry. For women, it’s the Credential Collection; the men’s version is the Objective Collection. Both include pants and a jacket that feature Gore-Tex 3L, a waterproof/breathable material that has stretch and a soft, brushed, flannel-like interior. There are also large thigh vents positioned at the back of the leg and oversized, zip hand pockets. $529 (pants), $599 (jacket), available at Stio Mountain Studio (10 E. Broadway Ave., Jackson)

7 / PARKING LOT PICNIC

Because no one knows what on-mountain dining at ski resorts will look like this winter, we invested in Yeti’s Rambler One Gallon Jug and Lowlands Blanket so we’re prepared for a parking lot picnic if required. Spread the Lowlands Blanket out behind your car—it has a waterproof utility layer and an insulated interior to keep the cold and wet at bay—sit down, and enjoy hot soup or chili from the dishwasher-safe Rambler Jug. Jug: $129.99; blanket: $199.99, available at Teton Ace Hardware (120 S. Main St., Driggs, Idaho)

8 / ULTIMATE FIRE PIT

We thought a smokeless portable fire pit that produced minimal ash sounded too good to be true. We’ve never been so happy to learn we were wrong. You won’t take Solo’s Bonfire fire pit backpacking—it weighs twenty pounds—but it’s portable enough for pretty much every other time you might want to enjoy a fire; we’ve brought it to drive-in movies, car camping, and après-ski tailgates. The pit’s design doesn’t just limit smoke but also minimizes the heat transferred from its base to the surface beneath. It’s a fire pit miracle. $349.99, available at solostove.com

9 / LET THERE BE LIGHT

If you wanted a headlamp and a flashlight, it used to be you needed two different things. Then 5.11 Tactical introduced the powerful Response XR1 Headlamp, which pushes 1,000 lumens of light and can be used as a headlamp or a right-angle flashlight. We keep it in our car for emergencies, unless we go for an evening hike or fat bike ride—then we put it into headlamp mode and are on our way. $79.99, available at 511tactical.com

10 / JUST A BITE

When you’re not really hungry but need an energy boost, dive into a bag of Honey Stinger’s Mini Waffles, which sandwich honey between two bite-sized waffles. When skiing, we’ll share a bag with friends. At home, we’ll enjoy a waffle or two and then put the resealable bag back into the pantry. $7 for a 5.3-ounce bag, available at Jackson Hole Sports (7720 Granite Loop Rd., Teton Village)

11 / A TREAT FOR YOUR FEET

We take our Glerup felted boots off when it’s time to ski and sleep; otherwise, they are the only shoes we’re wearing this winter. Made of 100 percent natural wool—a combination of Gotland wool from Denmark and white wool from New Zealand—these boots come in a variety of colors with rubber or soft leather soles, and are the most comfortable things to ever grace our feet. Also, they don’t smell, even when we wear them without socks (thanks to wool’s natural self-cleaning properties.) Shoes and slip-ons are also available. From $95, available at Mudroom (3275 Village Dr., Teton Village)

JH Living LOCALS

Paige Byron Curry

PAIGE BYRON CURRY’S parents moved to Jackson Hole from Colorado in the early 1970s. “They were just going to come for a season,” says Curry. Except, no. Curry, along with two brothers, was born and grew up in Jackson. Curry herself left the valley for her final two years of high school—boarding school in Rhode Island—and stayed East for college. “I had an idyllic childhood in Jackson, but never thought I would end up back here,” she says. In 2008, Curry came back for a summer teaching position at Teton Science Schools. She was twenty-six at the time. “My plan was to explore Western towns after the [term] was over,” she says. That plan went similarly to her parents’ though. Curry was offered a full-time teaching position. “Everyone else in the world seemed to want to move to Jackson, and I had this opportunity to be here and make a difference,” she says. Since 2015 Curry has been making a difference as the founding executive director of Astoria Park Conservancy, a nonprofit responsible for preserving one hundred acres of riparian ecosystem on the banks of the Snake River and also the redevelopment of the historic Astoria Hot Springs, which, after almost ten years of planning, opened last August.

Q A

RYAN DORGAN

Q: The original Astoria Hot Springs closed in 1998; did you go there as a kid?

PBC: I grew up swimming there. It was a very special place.

Q: What does it mean to you to be such a part of bringing it back?

PBC: Mostly it gives me goose bumps. I’m really honored. One thing I heard over and over was that this isn’t the kind of project that comes around very often. There are very few pieces of our cultural fabric in Jackson Hole that we’ve lost that we have the opportunity to bring back and reinvent for a new era.

Q: Astoria Hot Springs’ earliest soakers were Native Americans. In 1961, structured pools were built and an RV park followed. What does Astoria’s new era look like?

PBC: The anchor is conservation. There were over 200,000 square feet of development planned for this area, which isn’t able to support that type of development. We saved one hundred acres from that. Five acres are the hot springs pools that we see as places for people of all backgrounds to connect. The other ninety-plus acres show that it is possible to protect natural resources, but also provide public access. That’s an important message today.

Q: Why is that an important message?

PBC: There’s a tension I have seen: People ask, what’s the good of protecting spaces in the outdoors if people aren’t inspired by them? I’m not a proponent that every single acre should have public access, but there is a balance where you can create spaces that inspire and educate the next generation of conservationists.

Q: What inspires you about the land conserved by Astoria Park?

PBC: Its location between the [BridgerTeton National Forest] and an elk feed ground makes it a critical migration corridor in winter; it’s also critical winter habitat for birds, insects, and other animals because of its geothermally influenced ponds, which have water that can be accessed all winter.

Q: Do you have stand-out memories of Astoria Hot Springs from your childhood?

PBC: When Astoria was open before, it was really seen as the great equalizer in our community. Everyone soaked there, from cowboys to raft guides, ranchers, and families. I’d meet people from all parts of the community. I think this— connecting people from different backgrounds—is so much more important now than even twenty years ago, and my dream is for the new Astoria to do this. JH

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JH Living LOCALS

Pete Lawton

PETE LAWTON GREW up ski racing and training on Snow King Mountain. Fastforward thirtyish years and Lawton is CEO of the Bank of Jackson Hole and skis the King during his lunch hour. “I always have skis in my car,” says Lawton, whose father, a high school principal, was one of the initial investors in Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. After pulling into the parking lot at the base of the Town Hill, he’ll put his ski jacket and pants over his work outfit, which is almost always a suit. “I’ll eat a sack lunch on the chairlift,” he says. Lawton, who was the quarterback that led the Jackson Broncs to a state championship in 1981, graduated from Jackson Hole High School in 1982, and went on the University of Wyoming. After ten years in Laramie, during which he started his career in banking, Lawton returned to Jackson. “There are incredible opportunities for outdoor recreation around the state, but what is different about Jackson is that you can ski at Snow King at lunch, or float the Snake River after a day at work,” he says. Even after a lifetime here, Lawton says he takes advantage of this easy access as often as possible, but admits, “I don’t ski as many days a season as I’d like to anymore.”

Q A

BRADLY J. BONER

Q: What are some of your other favorite places in the state?

PL: The Sheridan area—the Bighorn [mountains] are incredible. And, closer to Jackson, the Wind River Range is the same thing. And then places like Sundance, or outside of Laramie. There are so many beautiful places in Wyoming.

Q: Jackson Hole is often described as being in Wyoming, but not being of Wyoming. As someone who knows much of the state, can you comment on that? PL: There is a lot more wealth in Jackson, and that creates a different perception toward it. A lot of Wyoming communities are blue collar and not oriented toward

tourists like Jackson. But, even with these differences, I think people are drawn to Jackson because of Wyoming values.

Q: How would you describe Wyoming values?

PL: It is about the land—open space and being outdoors.

Q: Favorite ski run?

PL: There is nothing like the Hobacks on a powder day. I traveled ski racing all over the country and Canada and have never seen anything comparable to a powder day in the Hobacks, except heli skiing in Canada.

Q: You have two sons, who are now in their late 20s, and, like you, grew up in Jackson. How were their childhoods here different from yours?

PL: I grew up ski racing and playing football. One [of my sons] grew up ski racing and the other playing hockey. They had the same tight community I experienced growing up, but more diversity, which was a positive thing.

Q: You’re active in the valley’s nonprofit community. With so many nonprofits doing important work, how did you pick the ones with which you’re involved?

PL: Back in the early ’90s, it was tied to my kids—the Ski Club (now the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club) and Little League baseball. Then I got involved with the [Grand Teton] Music Festival board. Then the [Jackson Hole] Community Counseling Center and the Community Foundation [of Jackson Hole]. My longest-standing [involvement] has been with the Jackson Hole Land Trust, which is a passion of mine; it’s about the open spaces that are so important to Wyoming. Maybe this is funny coming from a banker, but protecting open space is so important.

Q: Jackson Hole has always had casual dressing in offices, but you’re still a suit and tie guy. Can you even buy a suit and tie anywhere in the valley?

PL: I think it’s bankers and people working in the courts who still do suits and ties. Ties are an easy gift, so I get a lot of ties as gifts. Otherwise, I think it’s just TJMaxx. JH

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JH Living LOCALS

Sofia Tozzi

“I DEFINITELY SPEND more of my time awake at Snow King than anywhere else,” says seventeen-year-old Sophia Tozzi. “I couldn’t even guess how much time I’ve spent there over the years. So much though.” Tozzi, with the rest of the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club (JHSSC), spends several hours five days a week between November and April training on Snow King. This year she is a high school senior and one of the top junior ski racers in the Mountain West. Last season was a breakthrough one for her, even though races in late March and April were cancelled due to Covid-19. In January she made her first career International Ski Federation (FIS) podium, finishing third at Schweitzer Mountain. (FIS racing is the highest level of ski racing, and skiers are ranked internationally by a point system; the lower your point total, the better ski racer you are. “Once you get into the ten-point range, you are most likely on the World Cup,” Tozzi says.) At the end of the shortened season, Tozzi was fifth in the women’s FIS regional standings and the winner of the Western Region Kyle Warren Memorial Award, given to the region’s top junior. “I was super happy with how last season went, and I wasn’t expecting it at all,” says Tozzi, who attends the Community School. “It was my first season of FIS skiing. From now on, it’s all FIS though. Races will be bigger and more difficult, and the competition at a higher level.”

Q A

PHOTO CREDIT

RYAN DORGAN

Q: How did last year’s shortened season affect you coming into this one?

ST: At the time it was a huge bummer, but it helped that everywhere was cancelled. If it was just the U.S. races, that would have been hard. But it was everywhere. Now I’m over the disappointment and just have extra motivation for this season.

Q: Do you have specific goals for this season?

ST: I haven’t thought about points or podiums, but I know what I want to work on to improve my technique.

Q: Ski racing has four different events: slalom, giant slalom (GS), super-G, and downhill. Do you do them all?

ST: I’ve always done all the events I could. Last year was the first I was allowed to race downhill.

Q: What was different about last year that you could do downhill?

ST: The rules are that you have to be sixteen to do it. It’s the one in which you go the fastest.

Q: Besides speed, how are the four events different?

ST: The biggest difference is the radius of the turns. Slalom is the smallest and quickest turns. And GS is after that. A lot of people consider that medium turns— not super fast like slalom, but not as long as super-G. By the time you get to downhill, you’re pretty much going straight.

Q: Are you equally good at the different races?

ST: Super-G and downhill are not as great for me as the tech events [slalom and GS].

Q: What do you do when you’re not skiing?

ST: I’m usually really tired so I’ll rest and hang out with my family.

Q: Have you ever thought about quitting racing?

ST: I really like to ski and all of the people involved. The group of girls I race with now, we all moved up together. Racing is “normal life” for me.

Q: Are you as determined and focused in other areas of your life as you are with skiing?

ST: I work hard and get things done in whatever I’m doing. I don’t procrastinate. You’d expect this means I do well in school, but I am definitely not the greatest student.

Q: Do you know what you’re going to do after graduation?

ST: I haven’t really started to think about that.

Q: Some people might say that’s procrastination.

ST: Except not much in the world seems to be following people’s plans right now. JH

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