It’s been a pretty incredible winter up on the pass.  We’ve enjoyed Endless Powder and a parking lot full of friends.  Jay Pistono, Friends of Pathways Pass Ambassador, has been impressed with the incredible cooperation on Teton Pass this year.  People are carpooling, ride sharing, parking close together, and choosing their lines wisely.

As the season comes to an end, we ask you to remember one more important thing: keep those dogs under control.  We suggest you bring a leash for controlling your dog when unloading.  When you’re ready to depart, you can let your dog off the leash.  Then, you’ll be sure to scoop that inevitable poop.  Also, bring your leash in case you encounter wildlife.  Please don’t let your dogs chase moose or any other animals.  It’s very stressful for them and winter is challenging enough.

The Pass Ambassador is a community-driven program with partner support from Friends of Pathways, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, and Wyoming Department of Transportation. The AmPassador program is also sponsored with generous direct support from Outdoor Research. Please remember to thank these great community-minded organizations!

Well it doesn’t take much observation to know that, this year, the Pass is full of SNOW – lots of it! According to FoP Pass Ambassador, Jay Pistono, the parking lot has been full over 400 times since mid-November. President’s weekend logged the most traffic, with the parking lot cycling through at least 6 times in a day. That’s a lot of cars and people visiting the top! To encourage good behavior up there, local businesses, ProBar, Skinny Skis, Pearl Street Bagels, Clean Snipe and Wilson Backcountry Sports donated reward items for Jay to distribute to those Pass goers who exhibited excellent Pass Protocol. According to Jay, there are a lot of you who make an effort to carpool, control your dogs, pick up your garbage and dog litter, park within designated areas and respect the terrain and your fellow drivers, skiers and boarders. Thank you!

The Pass Ambassador is a community-driven program with partner support from Friends of Pathways, Bridger-Teton National Forest,Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, and Wyoming Department of Transportation. The AmPassador program is also sponsored with generous direct support from Outdoor Research. Please remember to thank these great community-minded organizations!

Ride sharing is a popular way to begin or end a day skiing on Teton Pass. Pass Ambassador, Jay Pistono, offers some tips for safe and efficient ride sharing.  In the spirit of community driven solutions, it is up to all of us to travel and recreate with respect, responsibility, and thoughtfulness toward each other and the environment.  The goal of the partners in this program is to provide these guidelines to ensure enjoyable and safe experiences on Teton Pass.

Ride Sharing Incorrectly                  Ride Sharing Correctly

1. Ask for a ride in small groups of 3 or less. If you are part of a larger group, split up.

2. If you’re standing on the highway, stay on the berm, instead of the roadbed, for your own safety.  Don’t walk up the road with your thumb out, either walk up or wait to hitch.

3. Avoid ride sharing with dogs.  If you ski with your dog, devise a plan where you won’t need to ask for a ride with your dog.

4. Be completely ready to get into a waiting vehicle.

5. Remind the driver to get over as far as they can.  You, as the hitchhiker won’t get the ticket, the driver will.

6. Think about where you stage the ride sharing.  Think about visibility. As drivers may not see you, try to avoid being on the road.  If there is bad visibility, it’s unsafe for everyone.

7. Follow Capt’n Bob’s example: Offer the driver $2 for your ride to the top.

8. Please respect private property when waiting in front of Trail Creek or the Heidelberg.

9.  If someone gives you a ride to the top, they get first priority for your parking spot.

10. Listen to Highway Patrol and be polite.  They are trying to make the pass safe for everyone.

Keep the Peace,
JP

The Pass Ambassador is a community-driven program with partner support from Friends of Pathways, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, and others.  The AmPassador Program is also supported by Outdoor Research.

There is no next best place to Teton Pass, but it can get busy on a powder day.  This week, we caught up with Jay Pistono to give you tips for success from the moment you leave your door, until you park your car.

1. Before leaving your house, check the Avalanche Report and the Teton Pass Web Cam.  Know the conditions of the snow pack and make sure you’re prepared if it will be busy to park. If conditions are unsafe or if the parking lot is too full, consider alternate plans.  There is parking at Phillips or Cole Creek Trailhead.

2. Avoid congestion in the parking lot by:
Carpooling whenever possible
Parking at the bottom and ride sharing to the top
Parking tight (45 cars fit with a large space between them, 60 cars have fit on the best day.)

3. If you arrive and the lot is full, line up behind any waiting cars. Remember to keep the waiting line out of the way of the flow of traffic and try to keep room for commuters to stop to clear their wipers, adjust their chains, ect. Turn on your flashers on and communicate with the other drivers.

4.  When you’ve parked your car, prep for your day behind your car, so others can get in and out of the parking lot easily.  Keep your dog under control and maker sure you have the proper saftey gear for a backcountry trip.

If you plan to Ride Share, we thank you, enjoy our Tips for Ride Share success.

The Pass Ambassador is a community-driven program with partner support from Friends of Pathways, the Bridger Teton National Forest, Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, and others. The AmPassador program is also supported directly by Outdoor Research

Path22 West Segment – Snake River Bridge
Crews have completed all underground work on the central in-river pier, the first of the three in-river piers to be completed, and have now started work on the east pier. The exposed end of the 3’x5’ concrete base and embedded rebar of the central pier are now visible above the river bed, and the finish work to complete the hammerhead “cap” that supports the steel bridge girders will follow shortly.
As of last week, work on the east in-river pier had started and crews are currently in the process of driving sheet piles to build the coffer dam for the east pier. The coffer dam will extend approximately 30’ below the river bed and will allow crews to construct the below-ground components of the pier, a process that is expected to take several months. As soon as the sheet pile driving is complete crews will move on to excavating the interior of the coffer dam, driving H-piles, pouring the concrete seal cap, dewatering the coffer dam, and then begin the forming and pouring of the concrete pier itself. This process must be repeated for the west pier as well. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Path22 West Segment – WY390 Underpass
The contractor has received final approval from WYDOT and work is expected to start next week (September 30^th) on the underpass near the WY390/WY22 intersection. The project will install an 80’-long concrete culvert underneath WY390 approximately 450’ north of the WY390/WY22 intersection, connecting the existing pathways at Stilson Ranch to the future pathway that will extend through the new Rendezvous Park, across the Snake River, and east along WY22 connecting to the pathway system in the Town of Jackson.

Path22 East Segment – West Broadway
Work is ongoing on the East Segment – Phase I portion of the Pathway 22 Project, which will construct 1.1 miles of pedestrian and bicycle facilities on West Broadway (US89) between the Flat Creek Bridge and the “Y” intersection of WY22/US89, and on WY22 between the “Y” and Spring Gulch Road. The facilities generally include a 6-foot wide protected bike lane (“cycle track”) separated by 2-4 feet from an 8-foot wide pedestrian sidewalk on both sides of West Broadway, and a 10-foot wide pathway along the west side of WY22. The 6-foot cycle track will also continue on the east side of WY22 from the “Y” intersection up to Spring Gulch Road.
Crews are focusing this fall on the area near the new Walgreens at Budge Dr. and along the undeveloped hillside just west of the Flat Creek Bridge. Most of the prep work and major grading will be completed this fall, with actual pathway installation occurring in spring 2014. The project plans are available on the Teton County website at: http://www.tetonwyo.org/pathwy/topics/wy22-east-segment/252075/