The Best Week Of My Life

Jackson Expedition - Video Maker

We walked into the airport, 6 ski bags and about 10 bags filled with gear, as far as anyone else knew we were pro skiers. At least we looked like we were. We handed all the gear over and made our way to security. As we waited for everyone we noticed Chris was missing. Chris had been brought back into security because he had left a snow saw in his carry-on. 20 minutes later we were on our way to the gate.
    As we walked through the airport it still hadn't hit me yet, we were on our way to Jackson hole! We got to the gate and boarded the plane to fly down to Texas, it was going to be my first time in Texas and it was going to be a short stay. Have you ever heard someone say everything's bigger in Texas? well its true, as i order my medium drink they handed me what had to be a gallon of soda, i thought to myself "i cant drink this", so i shared it with my buddy as we walked to our next gate.
    We loaded onto our next flight, ski boots at my feet. This was going to be a long flight as we were flying right into Jackson hole. I was tired but i couldn't fall asleep so i got myself a coffee and started day dreaming about what the next week was going to be like. We made our way over Colorado and i got my first birds eye view of some of the mountains below, I couldn't help it as a big smile appeared on my face, I was Stoked like a little kid in a toy store.
    We finally got over Wyoming, the mountain ranges were crazy and at this point i was wide awake with excitement. As the plane circled down we landed and this was my first time unloading off a plane right onto the runway. As i stepped off the plane i looked to my left and the Grand Teton was right there in my face. My jaw dropped, my dream was becoming a reality, i couldn't believe it. We made our way to the front where we met our guide Jake. Jake was just as stoked as we were. We loaded up the Van and left the airport. As soon as we left i looked to my right and there were 3 moose, we continued driving and then on the left there was a herd of hundreds of elk, i had never seen anything like it. I knew right from that point, this was going to be the best week of my life. The only thing between me and skiing was avalanche training and a 6 mile hike up 2,800' to our yurt the next day. I went to sleep and the whole week was a dream turned reality.

The Dream Week In Targhee National Forest

   Last year I went on a trip of a lifetime out to Jackson hole Wyoming to ski some backcountry with some fellow students from Lyndon State. We Spent a week living out of a yurt on Baldy Knoll about 5 miles into the Targhee National Forest.

    Ever since I was a kid I would dream about going out to Jackson Hole to ski some powder, its where all the pros were skiing and the best lines were being thrown down.  When I got to go last year I was like a little kid again, my dream had come true.  This dream didn't come easy, it took a lot of hard work and training so I was in prime physical condition for the trip.

   I can specifically remember dropping in on some “Hot Teton Pow” for my first time and I couldn't help but holler with joy.  Each turn was fluffy and smooth, the best run of my life is by far our trophy run which took 6 miles of hiking to get to and 6 miles to get back from, it was incredible. That whole week was like living in a dream for me and I can’t wait to share the experience .

THE TOP GRAPH IS OF JOHNSON STATE COLLEGE EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS LYNDON STATE- For our Data Story, Eric and I thought it would be interesting to investigate some of the statistics that we are surrounded by on an everyday basis—our peers. It is easy to say that Vermont exists as a state that is not extremely ethnically diverse. In fact the United States Census Bureau for Vermont shows that as of 2013, Vermont’s population has consisted of approximately 95.2% white individuals and less than 2% of every other ethnic background. That being said, Eric and I were not entirely surprised but still interested to see that the student body of Lyndon State College is made up of 90.8% white individuals, 2.2% African American individuals and less than 2% of every other ethnicity. After investigating these statistics, we were left with the curiosity of what the ethnic makeup of other Vermont colleges consisted of. We decided to compare our Lyndon State to Johnson State College, seeing as the populations of these two schools are slightly similar. Our findings were not entirely what we expected as 83% of the students attending Johnson State had reported identifying as white, 7% as American Indian, 3% Native Hawaiian, and less than 2% of every other ethnicity. Because the numbers for both Vermont, as a state, and Lyndon, as a reflection of Vermont, had proved to be so dominantly White, we were surprised that the numbers for Johnson did not reflect that same pattern. However, what Johnson’s numbers included that neither Lyndon’s nor Vermont’s did, was a large number of unreported ethnicity. About 8.2% of students had never reported what background they identified as, which left a great deal of room for speculation. Continuing to search for interpretation behind the numbers, Eric and I sought out the admissions office of Lyndon State, to better understand what drew certain ethnic groups to particular places. The admissions office informed us, that while Lyndon may not be extremely diverse, the college is always working on programs and different ways to attract people from all over the country and even the world to its facilities. They also mentioned that despite the number of ethnically diverse students, Lyndon State does in fact have the largest amount of out of state students, then all other state colleges within Vermont.

News Map, Making News Easier To See

So while searching around the internet i came across this website called "newsmap". News map is an online data visualizer that shows the more important news in bigger and more visual boxes, while the less important news is in smaller font in smaller boxes. While this isn't a story, if you click on any of the boxes it will bring you to a news story.i picked this website because it really makes it easy to see all the different news, you can get any news from around the world as well. What i really like about this is that the important stories are clear and easy to see, nothing is confusing about it and it actually makes it more interesting. Along with that all the boxes are color coded to match the story with its category. To be honest there is not much i don't like about this. while there was no story told on this website it did make it easier to see what stories are important and what the headline story is. It was definetily easier to go find out news on this website than any original news site.

Podcast Recently Eric and I got in touch with World Champion White Water Kayaker, Dane Jackson, age 21, in order to get a little insight into his career as well as some advice for future endeavors. We were thrilled with the opportunity to speak with him and when asked, what inspired him to keep going and how he pushes his limits, Dane answered, “I just love kayaking every day, so every chance I get on the water, whether it is white water or just taking people boating for the first time, it’s never hard to remember why I’m kayaking. For me it’s all about just pushing the sport and really staying true to the fact that I would be kayaking even if I wasn’t a professional or even if I didn’t have any sponsors and I was just working and kayaking whenever I could. I would still be doing that just because it’s such an incredible sport to be a part of. So that understanding that I am not in it just for the money really allows me to enjoy each day on the water and push the sport.” While Eric has experience with white water kayaking, I myself have never truly explored the sport. So being able to sit down with the world champion, I was curious to get his advice for beginners. He answered, “In the end it’s really a sport that anyone who loves water at all or even just loves getting outside should try. I think that the most important thing for people to remember is that they can go at any pace they want with kayaking. There is always some form of white water or something easy around that people can get on. They don’t have to worry about jumping right into some of the hardcore stuff, they can progress at their own pace, they can learn with other people. In the end people enjoy kayaking even if it is just flat water, it’s as simple as that, so any form of white water is exciting for most people defiantly when they are starting. So just take it at your own pace and just enjoy being on the water.” And finally, seeing as he has achieved so much in his lifetime, we wanted to know how he would encourage any individual, with any goal. How would he motivate and inspire youths and adults alike, to reach their full potential and achieve their goals. His response was, “Just remember to have fun each day because as long as you are having fun it is easier to enjoy yourself and to think about stuff you can try and where you can go next.” Dane is currently training to compete in the Adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship, an event which takes place on the "Wellerbrücke” river in Austria's Oetztal Valley. This event will be taking place on the 2nd and 4th of October 2014. For further information on this event, visit www.adidas-sickline.com/en/race-info/ .

Dane Jackson: World Champion Whitewater Kayaker

For my podcast i got in touch with Dane Jackson the world champion for whitewater kayaking right now. Dane was more than willing to have a chat on the phone with me so i did a phone interview with him. The phone interview went well and i cant wait to share it.

AMBER ALERT

12 year old, 5 foot 95 pound French boy  Zachary Lee residing in Sunderland Vermont is missing.

Possibility of mother abducting the son and running away with him is in the air. Prior attempts to take off with her son have been made so police are worried.

Zachary arrived in Vermont in Late august after he was repatriated from France so he does not know the area well. Zachary was last seen when he was dropped off at the foot of the driveway to his foster home at 2327 North Road in Sunderland Vermont but never made it inside.

Patricia Kane is Zachery’s mother who is also from France. Authorities have been concerned that Patricia may take off with Zachery, this concern is based on documented history of such attempts while the kid was in the custody of the Republic of France. Patricia Kane is a 49 year old white female, approximately 6 feet tall, weighing in at 125 pounds, has white or blonde dyed hair, brown eyes and speaks with a French accent. Her direction of travel and mode of transportation is unknown.

As of right now Zachary is absent under circumstances inconsistent with his behavior, Since he has only been here since August 29^th 2014 he is unfamiliar with the area. Vermont state police have concern for his welfare because he is under 13 years old. Law enforcement agencies are using all available techniques and resources to investigate this situation and get it dissolved and bring Zachary home.

ANYONE with information please call 802-442-5421 or submit an anonymous tip to www.vttips.info or send a txt to “CrIMES” (274637) with keyword VTIPS