Jackson Hole, Wyo.-AAA again bestowed its five-star rating on Jackson Hole’s Four Seasons Resort. It was the third straight year the hotelier snared top marks from the travel authority. The 2009 list also included two new ‘four diamond’ lodgings – Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa and the Wort Hotel. Other ‘four diamond’ winners were the Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa, Jenny Lake Lodge, Snake River Lodge and Spa, Wild Sage Restaurant and the Westbank Grill.     

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At the ‘Bottleneck,’ 28,000 feet above sea level, the lack of oxygen begins eating away at muscle tissue and grey matter. A climber at altitude is slow to think and react; he is dying.

It was September 1978 when Rick Ridgeway became the first American to summit K2. That was before Mount Everest’s second-highest perch got its reputation as the toughest peak in the world to bag, but locals were already calling it “Savage Mountain.” Without ropes or oxygen, his fingers blackened, and brittle with frostbite, he remembers asking himself, “Am I gonna live through this?”

Ridgeway, now nearing 60, told the Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) he can no longer trust his body to such rigors. But he does remain impressively active. Ridgeway’s current pet project is the “Freedom to Roam” initiative, an effort to create wildlife corridors so many of the planet’s migratory animals can move around in their ancient rhythms to homelands now cut off by development.

Ridgeway’s first effort toward the cause was to follow the Wyoming pronghorn 200 miles on foot, through the ‘Bottleneck’ near Daniel, Wyo., and into the Red Desert. Expect the two-week trek to be written up in National Geographic Adventure magazine soon.

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“Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any worse for Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee, Wyoming, the lowest-scoring team in major college football, came to town.” That’s the way the AP story began last weekend; the one that appeared in the sports section of dozens of major papers across the country, including, unfortunately for Tennessee fans, GoVolsXtra and Rocky Top Talk.

The Wyoming Cowboy football team has suffered through a dismal season this year, but the Pokes can look to one bright spot after they traveled to Tennessee as 26-point underdogs Saturday and upset the Volunteers 13-7. 

“I should be apologizing to the fans and everybody for this whole week coming about,” said the Vols’ lame duck coach Phillip Fulmer, who announced days earlier he would be leaving the team after this season.

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“Trepidation,” is a way to describe area ski resorts as they brace for a ‘down’ season. The sour economy is expected to cut into ski travelers’ budgets and, if the weather doesn’t comply, things could get really dire. 

There may be some relief for air travelers. The Denver Post is reporting a Jackson Hole airfare special: Purchase three airline tickets to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and the third ticket is free. Restrictions apply, and the purchase must be made over the phone (888-838-6606).

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Recently reelected County Commissioner, Andy Schwartz told the Casper Star Tribune that a plan to consolidate town and county governments is again on the table. 

The Legislature’s Joint Interim Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivision will resume discussion of a reunification plan on Nov. 18 in Cheyenne.

Schwartz said unification makes sense because Jackson is the only municipality in the county and contains roughly half the county’s population. “We really have a close relationship with [the town],” Schwartz said. 

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Cyclist Terry Rimmer told his local paper, the Huddersfield Examiner, in Upper Cumberworth, UK all about his 2,000-mile trek across America last summer. The coast-to-coast mission raised almost £10,500 for WaterAid, a charity that provides drinking and sanitation for third world countries.

When asked about his most memorable place, the cyclist gave up the love.“If I had to pick a favorite place it would be the Tetons, they are simply incredible. I love mountains and these made me feel so small as I stood at the base,” he told the Examiner. PJH