C-Rex
New member
Ahhhh, Jackson. What a town. What a mountain! After having to cancel my trip to Red Mountain, BC due to lack of snow, Jackson was an easy choice. My travel agent got us an awesome deal at the last minute so off we went.
Days 1,2 and 3 were bluebird and warm. Definite spring conditions. Temps in the 50's in the afternoon but cold in the AM so we stayed on the Apres Vous chair until around 10-10:30. Once things softened up, we headed out to explore the mountain. What an awesome place. I loved the steepness and all the technical lines. We didn't have the right snow to do anything crazy but I could easily see the potential this place has on a powder day.
Corbet's was closed, and with good reason. A big rock was exposed right in the middle of where you'd land when dropping the cornice. Not that I would have tried it anyway. Maybe on a DEEP powder day, but otherwise...no. If you've never seen it in person, well, it's insane. The drop off is MUCH bigger, the chute is MUCH tighter, and the runout is WAY steeper than I had ever imagined. Big props to anyone with the balls to give it a go.
However, we did find some very exciting, high consequence lines that got our adrenaline pumping. Paintbrush was a favorite and the only trail name I remember. The Hobacks were closed the whole week due to wet slide danger. Same with the Saratoga bowl. Mashed potatoes snow made everything hard work, but provided solid edge hold so the confidence was there. The parks were good too, although we didn't spend much time in them. There was a mini park off of the Teewinot lift that was fun to play in at the end of the day when we didn't have the legs for anything else.
I think my favorite run was from the top of the Tram, down Dog Face to Pepi's run or Split Rock, and then to Lower Sublette, and all the way down to the Union Pass chair. 4k feet of vertical on leg burning, bumped-up steeps while dodging cliffs and weaving through chutes and trees.
It snowed about a foot on Tuesday but most came after the lifts closed so we didn't get to enjoy it before flying home. We did get some nice runs on the 5 or so inches that fell while we were there, but visibility was tough. I'd have given my left nut for one more day since Wednesday was bluebird with 12 fresh inches to carve up, but I was out of money and time. Such is life.
Days 1,2 and 3 were bluebird and warm. Definite spring conditions. Temps in the 50's in the afternoon but cold in the AM so we stayed on the Apres Vous chair until around 10-10:30. Once things softened up, we headed out to explore the mountain. What an awesome place. I loved the steepness and all the technical lines. We didn't have the right snow to do anything crazy but I could easily see the potential this place has on a powder day.
Corbet's was closed, and with good reason. A big rock was exposed right in the middle of where you'd land when dropping the cornice. Not that I would have tried it anyway. Maybe on a DEEP powder day, but otherwise...no. If you've never seen it in person, well, it's insane. The drop off is MUCH bigger, the chute is MUCH tighter, and the runout is WAY steeper than I had ever imagined. Big props to anyone with the balls to give it a go.
However, we did find some very exciting, high consequence lines that got our adrenaline pumping. Paintbrush was a favorite and the only trail name I remember. The Hobacks were closed the whole week due to wet slide danger. Same with the Saratoga bowl. Mashed potatoes snow made everything hard work, but provided solid edge hold so the confidence was there. The parks were good too, although we didn't spend much time in them. There was a mini park off of the Teewinot lift that was fun to play in at the end of the day when we didn't have the legs for anything else.
I think my favorite run was from the top of the Tram, down Dog Face to Pepi's run or Split Rock, and then to Lower Sublette, and all the way down to the Union Pass chair. 4k feet of vertical on leg burning, bumped-up steeps while dodging cliffs and weaving through chutes and trees.
It snowed about a foot on Tuesday but most came after the lifts closed so we didn't get to enjoy it before flying home. We did get some nice runs on the 5 or so inches that fell while we were there, but visibility was tough. I'd have given my left nut for one more day since Wednesday was bluebird with 12 fresh inches to carve up, but I was out of money and time. Such is life.
