Wyoming Part IV, January 27, 2022          

Snow King Mountain

Early in our trip planning, Ian had to decide if he wanted to go skiing or mushing as both are expensive and would take a full day. But when we found out that our only day we could mush would be on a Wednesday, we had an extra day in our itinerary. Grandpapa decided Ian shouldn’t have to decide between the two winter activities so we made Thursday reservations for skiing.

Jackson Hole Resort was a special trip for Brinn to have his chance to ski the harder runs without being weighed down by beginners. His day of skiing with Ian would be 100% in instructor mode. When looking over our options, we decided Snow King would probably be the safest bet for Ian because it was just a few blocks from Antler Inn, so if Ian got tired, hungry, or cold we could easily take him back to his room to lie down for a while. Joke was on us because Ian didn’t want to stop at all!

After another breakfast cooked in our suite, we loaded up Brinn and Ian along with all their layers and we drove the short distance to Snow King. As the mountain is quite literally in town, it’s affectionately known as “Town Hill.” After a quick trip to the rental shop, the boys were outfitted and ready to go. Grandpapa and I stood at the top of the magic carpet to watch Ian cruise down the practice hill until he felt like he remembered what he was doing, then he was off to the lifts to head up the mountain. Grandpapa and I found squashy chairs by the big windows in the restaurant and were able to sip on cocoa as we waited to see the boys complete their first run.

After a few runs, the clock hands were creeping towards midday, and the boys came inside to join us with big appetites. After some burgers and dogs, Ian was ready to jump on the Gondola and try his hand on the longer runs. Grandpapa and I saw him off, then trudged through the snow back to the car. We decided to hit the grocery store before returning to Antler Inn so we could restock on groceries. Knowing that the boys would be exhausted, Grandpapa suggested we pick up frozen pizzas and mac and cheese to make for an easy dinner. We filled our cart, navigated self checkout, and headed back to Antler.

While Grandpapa and I were taking care of rations, Brinn was trying to get Ian down a very steep mountain. He decided the best course of action would be to follow the cat tracks with big sweeping turns. One trip took an hour, and at that point Brinn was worn out. His legs were still burning from JHR, and Ian was ready to play, so they returned to the practice hill.

After perfecting his moves on the practice hill, Ian decided he was ready to show off and he called me to ask that I come and watch him. I pulled my boots back and drove the short distance to find Ian working on his jumping skills. Snow King had set out some cones, boxed ramps, and a small quarter pipe. Someone had also taken the time to pack snow to form little jumps. This worked really well for the boys as it gave Brinn the chance to coast backwards while taking pictures and videos of Ian having a big time.

Ian probably would’ve stayed in the kid area until until the mountain closed, but his adults were tired. I had laundry to attend to, and the Fosters’ flight was almost to Jackson Hole. We had dinner to eat, and a big big Friday to prepare for!