[Want to modify the number of weekly emails you receive? Find out how at the end of this post.]
Here’s your news roundup for the New Year’s week of December 29th, 2024:
Monday, December 30th, at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) hosted a meeting at Cedar Creek Center to gauge interest in forming a Winter Recreation Club. About 20 enthusiastic people attended and discussed preliminary steps needed to form the club. The group went over the SVRA Chartered Clubs Policy (which requires a minimum of 10 SVRA members in good-standing) and also briefly discussed goals and activities to include establishing a collaborative and cooperative relationship between skiers and sledders on the Ranch. I thought it was a positive first meeting for a club that could ultimately do a lot of good things for the community. I’ll keep you posted on how this potential club progresses.
Tuesday, December 31st was New Year’s Eve followed by a snowy New Year’s Day on January 1st. While not as much snow as the storm that came through during the Christmas week, we probably got another 6” to 8” at my house. Throughout this New Year’s week the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew was busy opening and maintaining our local trails for snowshoeing. Here are a few notes they’ve passed along on trail conditions:
The Trail Crew noted some sketchy avalanche conditions on Cedar Creek Trail beyond the Spruce Grove during the past week and recommends no solo snowshoeing. Additionally, please remember to always carefully evaluate avalanche conditions before hitting the trails and bring appropriate avalanche gear with you as conditions warrant.
Snow conditions on the Vista-Prater Trail were considered very good following the latest round of snow with no signs of instability or slides from Vista Drive to the Valley View intersection. The northern end of this trail, however, should be avoided in Prater Canyon until the avalanche conditions improve.
Lastly, be cautious on the Vista-Prater and Valley View trails as a female moose and calf were spotted this week not far from the Green Canyon Trailhead and near the Valley View / Vista-Prater trails intersection.
A couple of photos from the week courtesy of the SVR Trail Crew.
Thursday, January 2nd, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Public Works Department (PWD) was out in force clearing snow from town roadways. Along with the road grader, I got the opportunity to see “Big Larue” in action for the first time. Big Larue is the nickname of the town’s new D55 class two-stage loader-mounted snow blower. Wow! Can that beast throw some snow! Here are a few photos I took and while the pics aren’t that great, they’ll give you an idea about the capability of Big Larue if you haven’t already seen her in action yourself. Thanks PWD for all the road clearing work over these past two holiday weeks!
Other news and notes for the week:
A resident provided this photo of a healthy red fox spotted traversing their property earlier in the week. In recent months it seems to me there has been an uptick in red fox sightings around town. I think that’s terrific as these graceful canines really help keep the voles in check!
Thank you Victor and Pam for sharing this photo! Since the recent refresh of the TSVR official website, there is now a News List page where you can find posts about key information of interest to town residents. Be sure to use the News List page as another resource to keep yourself up-to-date on TSVR happenings.
Avalanche conditions are currently rated as considerable for the Bridger Teton National Forest, Salt River Range, and Wyoming Range. You can obtain the latest avalanche forecast for our area by visiting the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center. Stay frosty and safe out there folks!
On a sobering note, from today’s Star Valley Independent (SVI) we learned of a skier fatality that occurred yesterday (Saturday, January 4th) from an avalanche on Togwotee Pass. You can read the SVI news story here. Tragically, this is a stark reminder that no matter the avalanche conditions always be prepared and have a plan before an accident occurs.
Here are calendar items for next week:
Tuesday, January 7th, at 10am the TSVR will conduct a swearing in ceremony at Town Hall for newly elected Councilman Katie Toolson and returning Councilman Taylor Ellis. Immediately following the swearing in ceremony, the TSVR will hold a Special Meeting (see the Special Meeting agenda here).
During the Special Meeting the Council will vote to accept the resignation of Mayor Buyers and then proceed to appoint a member of the Town Council to serve out the remainder of the Mayor’s term. My understanding is this meeting will be streamed live on the TSVR YouTube page for those unable to attend.
Tuesday, January 8th, at 5pm the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.
Final thoughts—it’s a New Year and I’m feeling optimistic! I don’t know about you, but I’m also feeling recharged after the last couple of holiday weeks. It has been good to spend time relaxing and enjoying the company of friends and family. This weekend I did finally manage to get my cross-country skies waxed and now I’m ready to get out on the trails. I’m a bit chagrined I haven’t gotten out for a ski already, but I wasn’t kidding when I said I’ve just been relaxing the past couple of weeks. Actually, it has been more like lolling about and eating way too many Christmas cookies! Time to get cracking on those New Year’s resolutions—am I right? I hope your New Year was as rejuvenating as mine was! Talk to you next week!
That’s all for today—hope you enjoyed the read. And thank you for being a subscriber! If you have Star Valley Ranch news or photographs to share, please drop me an email at close2home307@gmail.com. And, if you find this weekly email useful, please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307. Your support and feedback are very much appreciated!
Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.