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Wyoming Trip - Jackson Hole, Snow King, Grand Targhee

Smellytele

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Right where I want to be
That is straight up not true. The Parks and Rec department clears them.

It is Wyoming, not New York, there is an expectation that you will need to be able to handle some snow and yeah, you don't get to sue someone because you can't handle it.

PS, they make all the kids walk to school if they live within 1.5 miles, doesn't matter how cold it is, and it is regularly -20. People from the East would have a field day with that one I suspect.
Kids in my town in NH walk within a mile of the school.
 

crank

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That is straight up not true. The Parks and Rec department clears them.

It is Wyoming, not New York, there is an expectation that you will need to be able to handle some snow and yeah, you don't get to sue someone because you can't handle it.

PS, they make all the kids walk to school if they live within 1.5 miles, doesn't matter how cold it is, and it is regularly -20. People from the East would have a field day with that one I suspect.
oh it's true

Go for a walk in downtown Jackson in Midwinter and you can see for yourself.
 

kingslug

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Skiing JH for 25 years had no idea how big snowing really is...have to check it out!
They do clear the streets with a strange looking contraption that clears the streets and some of the sidewalk...
Staying in town the contraption woke me up every morning..
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AdironRider

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Skiing JH for 25 years had no idea how big snowing really is...have to check it out!
They do clear the streets with a strange looking contraption that clears the streets and some of the sidewalk...
Staying in town the contraption woke me up every morning..
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This looks like its from the Pedigree stage stop sled dog race. Pretty cool event that starts in Jackson every February and runs across Wyoming.


That said, the crews do clear streets and sidewalks starting at 1am when necessary for the normal day to day.
 

crank

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Just walk around downtown and you can see what i'm talking about.
Plus I've checked the local laws.

There's a lot there that is pretty rough and iced up... melts in the sun and refreezes just sayin'...
 

urungus

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I thought the sidewalks and roads in Jackson were a little dicey TBH, even days after the most recent storm. No sign of salt or sand. Anyway on to the next day…

Rented a condo with a bunch of old friends in Teton Village to ski Jackson Hole. They wanted to go straight to the Tram first thing in the morning to beat the lines, which I stupidly agreed to. Should have stuck to my usual practice of a few easier warmup runs to gauge the difficulty and snow conditions. Wait was about 20-30 minutes. The Tram covers the most vertical of any lift in North America, 4,139 vertical feet in 9 minutes. Last song they played as the tram got to the top was Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ which got me pumped up.

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At the top:
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At the top of the tram they serve booze and delicious waffles at Corbet’s Cabin:
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urungus

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View, skiers left, from top Tram Platform:
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After having a waffle, the usual way down from the top is to take the wide open Rendezvous Bowl:
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I had been planning on taking the traverse along the top of the bowl, but one of my “buddies“ went straight down the steepest part, and again against my better judgement, I followed. Snow surface was great. But sure enough, after only a couple of turns, I got going too fast, wiped out, and slid 40-50 feet down the bowl before I could arrest myself. A kindly skier brought down 1 ski that I left uphill, and I had to dig a little flat platform in the snow to get my ski back on. Very embarrassing.

At the bottom of the Rendezvous Bowl, the Rendezvous Trail offers some spectacular scenery:
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In background where people are gathered, the Wallys World and Bivouc trails drop off steeply from the Rendezvous Trail into the Cheyenne Bowl:
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Heading down into Amphitheater from the Thunder Quad. If you zoom into the upper left, below the rock face, you can see people about to drop into the Cirque, reached by the Tensleep traverse, which goes directly under Corbet’s Couloir (not visible here). Also visible at the top of the Cirque are the hardcore folks hiking up the Headwall (to Casper Bowl) as it slants upward and to the right.
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Bridgewater Gondola whisks you up from the base to the large Rendezvous Lodge at 9,095 feet:
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The second floor deck at Rendezvous Lodge has a great view of Corbet’s Couloir:
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Options for skiing down from Rendezvous Lodge:
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urungus

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Towards the end of the day we noticed the wait time for the tram was down to 20 minutes so we went for another lap. Was thrilled to ride the tram with a member of the legendary Jackson Hole Air Force, whose legendary cat and mouse games with the ski patrol resulted in the opening of back country gates not only at Jackson Hole, but nationwide. There is a great documentary on them called Swift, Silent, Deep

Here’s the guy on the tram and his patch:
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Back at the top, I had learned my lesson, and had a long time local friend guide me way out along the traverse before I dropped into Rendezvous Bowl. This time I made it down fine without incident. My buddies skied a more difficult line which allowed them to peer over the top of Corbet’s Couloir (none of them dared try it), here’s a photo one of them took:
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urungus

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On to day 2 at Jackson Hole, probably my most fun ski day ever.

The condo area in Teton Village has its own chairlift, the Moose Creek Quad, which takes you to the Union Pass Quad, from which you can ski down to the main base area, crossing under the tram. However we found it barely faster than just walking down from the condo to the base:
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Started the day with a few blue groomers off the Apres Vous chair:
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Skiers left is Werner, right is Moran:
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Top middle is Crag’s Run coming down from the top of the Teton chair. Some nice glades off this one:
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Amphitheater Traverse, above it is the Casper Bowl:
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Managed to share a chairlift with this guy, his friends said they were embarrassed by his jumpsuit. He claimed to have been skiing in a Russia-themed outfit the previous day “to keep things balanced”
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urungus

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Next up was Jackson Hole’s first annual Hot Dog Eating contest. As a fan of the 4th of July Coney Island contest, I was excited to be there to witness this historic event In person:
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Eventual women’s champion Kristen (smiling) came prepared, with her own gallon jug of water and three plastic cups for dunking. Also cool (and appropriate) Snoop “Dogg” shirt:
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The men’s result was a tie so they had a dog-off, where the first to finish an additional hot dog was the champion. The “Bear Dogs” they use appeared to be much larger (especially the buns) than the ones used at Coney Islad. Here is the men’s winner with his prize, a new pair of skis:
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Women’s winner enjoying a victory drink:
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urungus

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A few more photos from the local newpaper:

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The women’s champ had her own fan base:
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The winning moment of the ”dog-off“ tiebreaker:
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urungus

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Back to the slopes to ski the Laramie Bowl, probably my favorite run of the trip. Wide open, majestic, not terrifyingly steep:
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Back to Rendezvous Lodge for a late liquid lunch:
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Kids these days and their costumes:
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Lower Ashley Ridge
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jimk

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Been to JH 3 or 4 times in last decade. REading your report is so enthusiastic and like a fresh set of eyes. Nice!
 

urungus

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Saturdays in March at 3pm they have free live music under the Tram, so I skiied down to check out electronic duo Goldfish on their Snow Tour 2024 of ski resorts. Never heard of them previously but they put on a fun energetic set that got the crowd going. They incorporate live sax, standup bass, keyboards, which made it more interesting than the typical DJ set. Also was cool to occasionally see the tram move in and out of the shed above the stage.

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Goldfish Man takes the stage:
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Here’s a video from their performance at Red Rocks, queued up to a good moment, if you are interested in what they sound like:

Had to tear myself away before they were done because there is no way to ski back to the condo area from the base, so I had to take the last chairlift up before 4:00, in order to ski down Gros Venture to get to the Way Home trail:
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Tonyr

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Great report, looks like your having an outstanding time!
 
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