Jackson Hole, WY

[Justin10]

Not exactly NE related, I know. But I was just wondering how many of you guys here have skiied/boarded out there. Looking to head out west in early/mid March of this year. Jackson Hole has been a place I've sort of been eyeing for a while. I would consider myself relativley advanced...won't see me hitting up the steepest of chutes however. But still looking for a lot of good, challenging terrain. Not really looking at money as of now....heading out there isn't cheap anways. I've been to Vail, Breck. and The Canyons before.....any opinions or comments about JH would be greatly appreciated!

--Thanks!!

 

[John84]

Due to the fact that most of it's terrain faces south, you might want to book your trip earlier than March, as lower elevations that haven't received snow recently can be sloppy.

 

[goldsbar]

Great place. Nothing like the Canyons - maybe a bit like the 9990 peak. Haven't been to the other two you mentioned. I've been in March and it was E-P-I-C and once in February when it was just good so March can be good. I agree with John84 overall, though, about the potential direction and elevation problems.

BTW, most of the the chutes aren't all that hard if the snow is good.

 

[koreshot]

Scary terrain... most challenging resort I have been to. Beautiful, lots of choice on and off the mountain. Every serious skier should check this place out at some point, definitely a special place. As others have mentioned, if you are interested in soft snow, you better plan on going in January of early February. The only way you are going to get soft snow in March is if it dumps while you are there, even then, the snow will bake and turn to crap within a day of sunny March weather. In January, the colder temps keep the snow fresh a bit longer, but even then, even if it stays under freezing temps, the sun really does a number.

 

[catskills]

IMHO - Everyone must ski Jackson Hole at least once. As for me this will be my 7th consecutive year. I only wish I found this place earlier. We will be out there Feb 4-11.

Note there is no TRAM this year and next year at JH. You missed the last year for the old TRAM. :-(

So you want to know about JH. www.epicski.com is the place to go. Check out posts by local Bob Peters. Here is one of his better posts on Jackson Hole.

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=13762&highlight=Thunder

Here is another on Springtime in JH
http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=40810

As for Chute's I am sure you can do Central Chute. As chutes go, Central Chute is tame.

For a real Cowboy experience and ski in/walk to lifts experience, check out www.hostelX.com. Its the best plywood hotel experience you may ever stay in.

You could fly into Salt Lake City, ski Alta, Snowbird, Powder Mtn, and then take the shuttle up to Jackson, WY. Then fly home from Jackson, Wy

 

[SkiDog]

Dont Hesitate!

Put simply Jackson Hole ROCKS.......

Personally I am waiting until they open the tram again before returning, but I dont think it would in any way effect how great that mountain is...super steep....all right in your face....super sweet..

Take a side trip to Grand Targhee FOR SURE...you can buy the bus ride and lift ticket package right in the mangy moose building....super deal..SUPER snow...not as steep but man the pow pow...gotta go...plus its where that crazy dude jumped the 200+ ft...HA...

anyway...just go...Jackson Hole is synonymous with BIG MTN SKIING..Plus I believe they've been having a SUPER snow year thus far...

Enjoy..its my favorite place on earth I think...

M

 

[dmc]

Not exactly NE related, I know. But I was just wondering how many of you guys here have skiied/boarded out there.

I'm headed out there in March.. Staying at a friends... Psyched...

Place rocks.. Been a bunch of times.. Will always consider it one of my favorites..
I never really ski the lower mountain much... Stay up high...

 

[kcyanks1]

I'm headed out there in March.. Staying at a friends... Psyched...

Place rocks.. Been a bunch of times.. Will always consider it one of my favorites..
I never really ski the lower mountain much... Stay up high...

Been there twice. I agree my favorite runs are up high (Tower 3 and Alta chutes), but the Hobacks and lower faces are a lot of fun, and are low down.

 

[boardman]

J-Hole is my favorite place. This January will mark the 4th winter in a row I've been. It is steep, it is intimidating, and it is just an awesome big mountain environment. I've been in early March ('04), mid-February ('05), and late January ('06). March was incredible - 50 degrees, soft corn everywhere; in short, perfect spring skiing. Things would harden up at night, so we'd hit the groomers (fastest, steepest damn groomers you've ever been on!) until the sun worked its magic, then hit the rest of the mountain by 10 or 11 am when it had softened up. In mid-Febuary, it was a little unpredictable. Warm, perfect conditions the first day hardened into tough conditions the rest of the week, except on North-facing slopes, where the riding was great, albeit limited. Last January, 3 out of 5 days were just epic. We caught 12+" of fresh the last two days. If you get that kind of snow, hike up to the Crags and run it ALL the way down through the Moran Woods to the nordic track. It's about a mile hike/ski back to the base, but oh, it's so worth it! And bomb the Hobacks into submission! The last several years, I've noticed that the period between Christmas and late January seems to be when the snow flies most often, so this year, we're headed out Jan 15-21, hoping to get the goods.

I second what somebody else said - get in a day a Grand Targhee. It is a spectacular place, with an unparalleled view of the Teton Range, and you will be amazed at how utterly uncrowded the place is.

I've always booked my trips through Jackson Hole Central Reservations. I've priced other comparable western destinations, and nothing really comes close to J-Hole. This year, with flight (into Jackson), hotel (fireplace suite, 6 nights, incl. breakfast), transfers, lift tickets (4 days at J-Hole, 1 at GT), and the GT Express bus, the whole shebang is costing us $940/ea. Pretty hard to beat, unless you really want to dirtbag it (not that there's anything wrong with that!). On the lodging, btw, I would recommend staying in Jackson - there's not many dining/drinking options on the mountain (esp. reasonably-priced ones).

Do breakfast at The Bunnery at least once while you're there - it's SO good. Don't miss the burgers at the Cadillac Bar (sit in the diner area in front, the cooks are very entertaining). And close down the Mangy Moose at least one night (there's plenty of public transpo options back to Jackson). Avoid the Wort Hotel bar - the nastiest, most unfriendly bunch of locals I've ever encountered anywhere.

Finally, rent a locker at the mountain and leave all your stuff there (skis/board, boots, helmet, etc.). You'll be glad you did.

Anyway, good luck and good sliding.

 

[pepperdawg]

I've been there in Late March - as mentioned above most area is in the sun, but I ride, so I was in heaven in the soft slop. Nothing like riding wet corn in a tee shirt and then ending the day in the sun with some tasty adult beverages.

Bring suntan lotion and use it.

The one down side I found, duirng the warm/sunny week I was there, was the one day it got cold and everything set up bullet proof.

Aside from that - no Tram this year.

Saratoga bowl and the Hobacks were my favorite areas. Lots of fun goodies in both locations.

 

[koreshot]

Targhee is definitely sweet. Last year I made the drive over from Jackson to Targhee, on a powder day, Sunday. I skied pow 9am to 3pm. Snow conditions are indeed amazing, mainly cause the ghee has much better exposure than Jackson. It is also often foggy at the top, which helps preserve the snow I suppose.

The challenge is nowhere near that of Jackson. I felt like I in powder half of the runs at ghee can be just straighlined - think single black at Killington steepness with super forgiving snow. There are some runs that are pretty tricky, off the Sacajewea or whatever lift, but mostly you will be bombing making GS turns all the way down if the snow is right. The ghee runs that shuttle deal that picks you up in Jackson - the ride back and forth plus lift ticket works out cheaper than the ticket alone in Jackson.

 

[SkiDog]

Targhee is definitely sweet. It is also often foggy at the top, which helps preserve the snow I suppose.
.

Had this "foggy" experience once myself there...I think a nickname of Grand FOGEE.....

Super fun nonetheless...seeing is way overrated anyway

M

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I went to JHMR for the first time last year. It's overwhelming in the amount of challenging terrain, variety, and multiple aspects that catch each storm differently. It took me most of a week to even gain a semblance of a clue as to how to find the snow.

Snow King is a great hidden jewel. Small by Western Standards. (Medium sized by NE.) but it has some awesome terrain up to and NO traffic.

The cat skiing at Targhee is a good take. (Not super steep, but fresh all day long.)

Plenty of other things to do, Sno mo, dog sled rides, BC, etc.. I found it to be a little on the expensive side, but, in fairness, the group I went with wasn't all that careful about keeping the cost down.

I'd have to concur, JHMR is a must ski.

 

[SkiDog]

I went to JHMR for the first time last year. It's overwhelming in the amount of challenging terrain, variety, and multiple aspects that catch each storm differently. It took me most of a week to even gain a semblance of a clue as to how to find the snow.

Snow King is a great hidden jewel. Small by Western Standards. (Medium sized by NE.) but it has some awesome terrain up to and NO traffic.

The cat skiing at Targhee is a good take. (Not super steep, but fresh all day long.)

Plenty of other things to do, Sno mo, dog sled rides, BC, etc.. I found it to be a little on the expensive side, but, in fairness, the group I went with wasn't all that careful about keeping the cost down.

I'd have to concur, JHMR is a must ski.

I did the snow mo thing..it was great...just I suggest NOT doing yellowstone as there is a speed restriction and truly...its not as much fun if you can't open those suckers up to about 50mph... ;-)

Again Targhee Rocks...

Snow King is great as well...I think there is a saying in that area...Snow King has the Steepest run..can't remember the name...skiers left off the main lift...I think. Targhee gets the snow due to its exposure, and JH has the most variety.....least thats how I remmber it....

In any way you cut it.. JH is AWESOME.

M

 

[kingslug]

The inversions can be weird. 20 below zero at the bottom, 20 above at the top. So you pretty much froze as you went down. Great place, even though they had not gotten snow in 3 weeks. Want to see insane mogul runs, like miles long. Awesome town too, but can be expensive. And the occasional moose wandering around.

 

[SkiDog]

The inversions can be weird. 20 below zero at the bottom, 20 above at the top. So you pretty much froze as you went down. Great place, even though they had not gotten snow in 3 weeks. Want to see insane mogul runs, like miles long. Awesome town too, but can be expensive. And the occasional moose wandering around.

The inversions are in a word INCREDIBLE.....last time Iw as out there we had 3 days of snow and 5 days of blue bird.....with big inversions..so nice mid mtn..you had jacket off sunning yourself.

As for the moose....I ran into one in the woods in the hobacks...darn near ran into it literally.....and that same trip the entire week a mother and her baby hung out in the space between the hotel and the mangy moose...in front of the one little ski shop I think it was...pretty amazing...she got quite testy if you cam too close to her baby... ;-)

JH RULES..

M

 

[Justin10]

Thanks everyone for responding...it sounds great! A day at Grand Targhee sounds like a great idea.

Catskills, thanks for those link to the other forum. That guide to the mountain is really helpful.....the mountain does seem pretty intimidating, so that was a great find.

Boardman, that deal you got was pretty ridiculous. Definitly will look into booking through those guys.

Thanks again to everyone that replied. Seems like a mountain you can really get adventureous with and not have to worry about getting bored with at all. The suggestions and comments were greatly appreciated. Its really nice to get lots of opinions from people that know the place first hand.

In the meantime, pray for some SNOW

Cheers!:grin:

 

[klrskiah]

I'll be out at JH from Feb 17-23, Boardman it sounds like you basically booked the same deal as us, I think it worked out to be around $1,000 a piece for plane tix, 6 nights hotel, 4 days at JH and 1 at targhee, and shuttle from downtown jackson each day!!!! and it's on school vacation week too!

costs a little more $$ than the trip to SLC last year but way cheaper than big sky, or colorado.

I'm so psyched to get out there and ski some real

 

[ski_adk]

If you go to the Ghee, check out the cliff drops. There are some BIG ones there.

 

[goldsbar]

OK, now that you know JH is so good, I'll plan your next two trips for you:

*Whistler - you'll think the terrain at JH is scary until you go to Whistler which takes everything to another level. Downside is it's more crowded and the snow generally isn't as good. And that long flight + drive...

*Alta/Snowbird - Just a bit lighter on the terrain side (opinions vary) but generally much better in the snow catagory.