• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

My Jackson Hole TR thread..January 24th-February 2nd..

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
Hey All,

I'll be leaving for Jackson Hole in 5 short days for my 6th trip there. This week they're under strong high pressure and inversions are in place with above freezing temperatures on the upper mountain..Luckily the high pressure is going to move out and be replaced with cooler temperatures and Pacific moisture for my trip. I'll be staying at the 49er and if anybody happens to be skiing Jackson Hole while I'm there be sure to PM me. There's a public computer in the lobby of the 49er so I'll try to post reports in this thread. I'll be skiing 8 days straight..most likely 7 days at Jackson Hole and 1 day at Grand Targhee.

Anyway for stoke, here's my Jackson Hole song..


I'm going to Jackson
I'll me maxing
the vert
until my legs start to hurt
enough snow to build a fort
rocking a mullet like Joe Dirt
No Cobains like Kurt
Powder is a Plus like Pert
You know the shampoo
gonna pity the fool
Like Mr. T
who doesn't beat me..
to first tracks from the peak
gonna stick out my beak
and smell the Rocky Mountain Air
The weather might be fair
or stormy try to ski till four B
and then let loose
at the Mangy Moose
right at the base
shit eating grin on my face
not gonna be chased
by the Booter mountain patrol
but I'm gonna eat a Grilled Steeze Sandwich on a roll
Jackson Holes got Soul and alot of steeps
in this thread..trip reports I'm gonna keep...

116 hours till lift-off..
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
T-minus 18 hours until I leave for Jackson..

The forecast looks great with chances of snow almost everyday of my trip and moderate temperatures. I spoke with my friend Tom who lives in Bozeman MT the other night and he is coming down to Jackson at the end of my trip from Friday evening to Monday morning. He has a baby and I didn't think he would make it down this year but his girlfriend is giving him a hall pass. Tom is a big Grand Targhee fanboy so we'll most likely hit GT up one day for the uncrowded slopes and less expensive lift tickets.

After 10 days of no snow..it's once again snowing in Jackson Hole...from the website...

Mountain Report
Winter has returned to Jackson Hole! Once again, the snow is accumulating, with 5 inches piled up so far, and no end in sight. The powder is dry and light, and the flakes are so tiny they remind me of little grains of sand... if sand were weightless and cold. The best part is the fact that the snow isn't localized at the top of the mountain - we've gotten almost as much down at the base as we have at the summit, so conditions should be consistent no matter where you go, your entire run. -AC
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
My flight from Allentown to Chicago was smooth and ontime..I'm now killing about 45 minutes here at O'Hare...flight to Jackson looks to be leaving ontime..4-9 inches expected in the tetons starting this afternoon more tomorrow and into the week..
 

Philpug

New member
Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
1,589
Points
0
Wish I knew you were here, we were on that first tram too. Coulda made some turns.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
Yesterdays Chicago to J-Hole flight was diverted to Denver..it was a shitshow at Denver and I could have had standby several hours later..I ended up renting an Impreza and had a nice 540 mile white knuckle drive over several mountain passes..in snow and fog...now 2.5 hours until the 8AM bus..I'm sick of driving...Holla
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
January 25th..Day 1 of 8..

Hey All,

I'm back from a fun session at Jackson Hole. After my 500AM check-in..I took an hour nap and hit up Pearl Street bagel for breakfast. I took the 8AM bus which arrived at Teton Village around 8:25AM..I secured my 6 of 8 day lift ticket..there were a couple hundred people in the tram line and several dozen in line for the gondola. With temperatures in the upper 20s, it was too warm to start off on the Gondi..So I ended up first in Line for Teewinot and due to my fast skating..I was first chair on Apres Vous with a 5 chair gap behind me. I was on my Nordica Supercharger Blowers for the first time. Untracked powder was had right under the Apres Vous chair with deeper shots in the adjacent woods. I then took the gondola and played in some powdery woods near Gros Verte and then traversed over to the Thunder quad. All the Tom Dick and Harrys were skiing Laramie bowl so I skied the woods skiers right of grand and they were deep. Jackson Hole received 12 inches in the past 24 hours and 18 inches in the past 72 hours...Before that they had 12 days in a row with no snow so there is a crust under the powder predominantly on South Facing slopes. I hit bottom a few times but no snowsnakes.

I then took the Sublette quad and had a safety meeting with some border kid..puff puff pass..then a sweet powderiffic run in Ten Sleep Bowl to the Cirque to the woods to the skiers left of Aphitheater. Back up Thunder..I tracked out the last few remaining pockets powder in Laramie bowl then took Sublette to Bivoac woods which had lots of remaining untracked to South Pass Traverse to Dicks ditch to the Gondola. Up the Gondola and down the woods to the skiers left of the Nastar area below the Casper chair..then down to Jackson Face which was nice but a few lurking rocks. Then up sweetwater to the Casper lodge which was packed..not one empty table..mainly due to some races taking place. I will say that the Blue mountain race team kids would whoop the Jackson Hole kids at racing but the JHOLE kids would whoop the BMRT at bumps and Poe. I had a soft pretzal and a Grape G2 Gatorade..$7.72...I ate outside in the fresh falling snow..then up the casper lift and I knew I needed to quit considering I'm mentally drained from my long overnight drive. I skied 9 runs in total for about 17,000 vert..I didn't tally up my totals yet from the trail map.

My fat skis are great..despite having a huge turn radius..they are great making short fall line powder turns..I know I linked a solid 20+ turns in the Cirque..MSY Mad Steezy Yo!!!...I have my camara with me and the next dry day..maybe Thursday...I'll take alot of pictures..Right now I'm returning my rental car to the airport..taking a shuttle back..and then naptime..I think I'm gonna get Bubbas BBQ for dinner. After a frantic start things are starting to shape up here nicely...looking at the snow falling now is enough to keep me uber-stoked..
 

Philpug

New member
Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
1,589
Points
0
With flights like yours getting stuck coming in..we couldn't get out. Kick ass day today, flying out tomorrow. Of you want to hit the brewery tonight, we will be there for brew & zza.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
January 26, 2009

Day 2 of 8..

Hey all,

I'm back from another fun ski session at Jackson Hole mountain resort. I took the 8AM bus and was first in the singles line at the gondola at 8:35AM. The temperature was in the single digits with light snow falling. 5 inches of new snow overnight for a total of 17 inches in the past 2 days. I first skied untracked powder on the side of Amphitheater bowl then up the Thunder lift and more untracked down Gannett..up the Sublette chair and down Bivoac..a couple inches of light and dry fluff..binding deep over chalky northfacing snow. Then all the way down to the base via lower Tramline which was cut up powder. Up the Gondola and I doodled in some untracked woods between Gros Verte and Amphitheater..over to Thunder..down Laramie bowl which was cut up powder..up Sublette..safety meeting with two dudes from Baltimore..then 10-sleep bowl to the Cirque which both had lots of untracked..alot of it knee deep..then over to the Casper Lodge for an early lunch.

I had Chili and Grape Gatorade on ice..then I skied down to the Gondola via Jackson Face which had some scratchy areas..then up the Gondola..down amphitheater up Thunder down Gannett which was cut-up powder with a few untracked swaths on the side then up Sublette another lap in 10-sleep to the cirque then down all the way to the base on Sundance..then my first time in the new Tram. There was a 2 cabin wait..about 20 minutes..then 9 minutes and 4100+ vert later I was at the top of Rendevous mountain. It was still snowing a bit but the sun was starting to come out. Nice snow in skiers right of Rendevous bowl..skier packed powder and I hit the underlying crust once or twice..then down Bivoac woods and by this point my legs were on fire..I decided to preserve my energy and I took Rendevous trail to South Pass Traverse all the way across the mountain to Apres Vous..then a mellow cruise to a waiting Red Line bus..$3..back to town. I quit for the day at around 140PM. I skied a total of 11 runs including 1 off the tram, 4 off the Gondola, 3 off the Sublette chair and 3 off the Thunder chair for over 24,000 vertical feet..alot of it powder.

The snow has ended..it looks like sunshine for tomorrow so I'll take my camara with me and snap some shots for the PASRs. Then another snowstorm is on tap for Wednesday. Anyway I'm just typing in the lobby of the 49er and my ski boots are still on..I think it's beer-thirty!!!!
 

TeleMac

New member
Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
53
Points
0
Location
in my head
Sweet start

You were exactly right about the change in weather and timed it almost perfectly (yikes -- rough drive, eh?). All is well that ends well. Keep on hitting it. Hard.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
I'm about to go out for dinner in a few...I can hear in the background a guy complaining about lost baggage..It makes me wonder..is it that hard for the airlines to put the correct bags on the correct planes. I'm almost positive that if I would have re-checked my baggage in Denver and tryed to fly stand-by...I'd still be waiting for my baggage. I still have the heebie jeebies a bit from the last hour and a half of my drive early yesterday morning through Hoback Canyon...The road is unplowed from 9PM-5AM..the downhill section is a solid 10 miles..and the road crosses the Hoback River in several areas..and there are alot of areas with no Guardrails..and a sheer dropoff into the Abyss below..I've read magazine articles about some of the worlds most dangerous roads. I'm much more comfortable on skis than behind the wheel of a car. Back in the day I used to think the Appalachian Gap by Mad River Glen was a hairy road..well that seems like the road to the mall in comparison.

Back to skiing..my Nordica Blowers are sweet in the powder..and carve pretty well..unless there's alot of new snow overnight I think I'll be on my my Scratch Sprayer BCs..at 88 underfoot vs 110 for the Blowers..it will be like being on slalom skis..There were two guys on my Tram carrying snowblades..hard to the core..OK time to go out to eat..I think I'm going to get sushi. You'd think the sushi here would be lackluster since Jackson is in the middle of the Rockies but fresh fish is flown in daily from the West coast..raw bars are popular hear and luckily I haven't come across Rocky Mountain Oysters..aka..Bull Testicles..mad Homer Simpson...Doh!!!
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
January 27th 2008...

Day 3 of 8...

Hey All,

I'm back from another fun session at Jackson Hole. It was 24 below zero this morning in town but it felt warmer than last week at Jack Frost. I took the 8AM bus up to the mountain and got right in the Tram line at around 835AM. I was the 6th person in the Tram line which ensured me a nice spot along the back window which yielded lots of nice pictures. At the top it was 14 below zero with 40mph sustained winds. It's a good thing I'm a little overweight because kids and skinny people were being blown all over the place. First run was a Windbuffed Rendevous bowl to Rendevous Trail to South pass Traverse to Gros Ventre to the Gondola..A 9 minute long run..the same length as the Tram. So at 920AM I already had 4100+ vert under my belt. Solo Gondola up and then a screaming fast run down Sundance to Croacky Point back to Sundance..it was so good I did that 2 more times..than I doodled around in some 2 day old powder between Casper Bowl and Sundance..then a screamer down Gros Verte. It was way to cold early on for me to consider riding the chairs and I racked up the vert at breakneck speed thanks to the Bridger Gondola which is over 2700 vertical feet.

Around 11:15AM I stopped for lunch in the upscale cafeteria at the top of the Gondola. I had beef stirfry over fried rice and a grape G2 Gatorade..$17something..but the views of the Headwall were worth the price of admission. After lunch it felt colder due to stronger winds and clouds dropping in. They say if you don't like the weather in Jackson Hole, wait 10 minutes and within 10 minutes it was snowing..big fat fluffy flakes. The groomers were pretty skied off so I spent the final 5 runs after lunch trying to find leftover powder stashes in the woods between the Gondola and Apres Vous. By 1:40PM my legs were on fire. My pace was a little slower because I took about 50 pictures but I still managed to rack up over 33,000 vertical feet in 12 runs including one off the tram, 10 off the Bridger Gondola and one off the Apres Vous lift. I also ran into the guy who sat across the aisle from me on The Chicago to Jackson(well really Denver) flight Saturday. He didn't get in until 1PM yesterday so I beat him to JHole by 32 hours..he apparently flew back to Chicago and spent Saturday and Sunday nights in Chicago...I wonder how the powder skiing was...lol..

Now I'm typing up a storm here in the lobby of the 49er..I'm thinking about getting Bubbas again or maybe I'll eat dinner at the Silver Dollar bar. I have three more solo evenings and three more solo ski days and then Friday afternoon Tom is coming down from Bozeman to spend the rest of my trip with me. It's looking like snow all night and into tomorrow with moderating temperatures..sounds good to me as it's currently a brisk 7 degrees..
 

prisnah

New member
Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
381
Points
0
Location
Norway, ME
What's up with all the 1:30 quitting times dood?

Ski Rule #76:
When you're in JH, no excuses, play like a champion.

Step your game up....Oh and pics or it didn't happen.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
What's up with all the 1:30 quitting times dood?

Ski Rule #76:
When you're in JH, no excuses, play like a champion.

Step your game up....Oh and pics or it didn't happen.

Pictures when I get back..skiing 8 days in a row in jackson Hole and 4-5 hours per day is fine...I'm a morning person..I am worthless after 2PM..
 

Trekchick

Active member
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
3,131
Points
36
Location
Reno - North Lake Tahoe
How Old Are you!?
I just read the JH TR by Philpug on Epic 7 pages long 30 posts per page and gobs of pictures of non stop all day skiing.
You seriously going to let Philpug out ski you?

C'mon Steeze, hit it hard and give up some goods!!!!!
We want pics!!!
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
How Old Are you!?
I just read the JH TR by Philpug on Epic 7 pages long 30 posts per page and gobs of pictures of non stop all day skiing.
You seriously going to let Philpug out ski you?

C'mon Steeze, hit it hard and give up some goods!!!!!
We want pics!!!


I took 50 pictures yesterday..they'll be online when I get back to work next Tuesday..I'm 29 and I'm not mature enough to quit when I'm fatigued..something I didn't do when I was younger..I ski hard in the morning..eat lunch..ski a few more runs and that's a good day for me. When my friend Tom comes down this weekend it will take the full day to ski 30K+ vert because he's pokey and we stop for safety meetings more frequently..but skiing alone..I really rack up the vert. Yesterday I was actually on pace for my single day Jackson Hole record of 61,000 vert..wth 9500 vert the first hour..
 
Top