Wyoming Trip - Jackson Hole, Snow King, Grand Targhee

[urungus]

Capped off a fun day by returning to the Mangy Moose for dinner and another show





Mangy Moose restaurant had many local items on the menu such as Elk Stroganoff, Venison Chops, Bison burger etc. Food was much nicer than I was expecting (with prices to match)
Menu: https://mangymoose.com/pages/restaurant-menu











What better place to do my FIRST EVER SHOT-SKI than the Mangy Moose, with ULLR liquor no less:

 

[urungus]

Then in the Mangy Moose concert venue, we watched one of the weirdest acts I have ever seen, magician / one man band That1Guy



He plays a “Magic Pipe” that he built, combining metal tubing, electronic triggers, and strings:


As he plays the pipe, he frequently triggers sound effects with his foot:


He plugged in a boot and tapped on the sole for an electric shoe solo:


Singing sock puppet segment:


He did various card tricks like making them float between his hands:


Youtube video of his antics, shot last year in Milwaukee:

 

[jimk]

Hot dogs, music, bars, waffles, town, Snow King, etc, you got the prize for most eclectic JH trip report. Great photos.
I stayed slopeside once at Snow King, but only skied JH. They definitely seem to be looking to compete for more of JH's customers. New gondi, chair and terrain, awesome.

 

[urungus]

Back to the slopes for 5th and final day of skiing.

Started off at the Apres Vous chair. Below is view from top, if you look across the flat valley floor, you can see Snow King in the distance, above the large tree in the center. Was hoping to try the Saratoga Bowl, but a test run along ungroomed St John’s along the edge of the bowl was pretty crusty - from what I have heard (and experienced) this is a known drawback of Jackson Hole, because of its relatively low base elevation, the snow can get manky fairly quickly without frequent refreshes.



Casper pod has nice blue groomers like Sleeping Indian. Casper Lodge and bottom chairlift terminal are visible at bottom:


They have cool sculptures using locally sourced wood in their Burton Stash terrain parks:

 

[urungus]

Tried to find the Gannett trail under the Tram and Thunder chairs but went too far right, onto Grand


My buddies skied the off-map but well-known Toilet Bowl between Paint Brush and the Tower Three Chute, it has the funniest trail sign ever - I wonder if someone closes the lid when it is not skiable ?



Note small lettering under ”OPEN”


A few more ridiculous jumpsuits:




Chewbacca leading his flock:

 

[urungus]

After 5 straight days of skiing and many adventures, time to head back to reality. Jackson Hole has one of the nicest airports I’ve been to, with mountain views, artwork, leather seats by a fireplace, and free booze for regular passengers



FREE BOOZE !!

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Great work documenting with all the pics, brings back some memories.

Looks like that airport still requires you walk on the tarmac to the plane. I remember everyone standing around the stairs as the flight staff called out for people “needing assistance” to board first, and all the broken legs in wheelchairs went up the stairs backwards ‍

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

Absolutely love those small/ish airports of the mtn west. I'll be flying in Redmond next week <psyched>

 

[Abominable]

I feel like any time you get off a plane onto the tarmac, you're in for a good time. Far flung tropical destinations, mountain resorts, etc...

(No doubt some of you that have served or worked in some far flung destinations would disagree... just from the fishing / hunting / skiing / adventure travel crowd I mean)

 

[urungus]

My pint glass collection is already out of hand, now I have 7 more:

 

[urungus]

Final Thoughts

I am already planning my return visit. Need to check out Grand Targhee next time, which gets more snow than Jackson Hole and is more oriented towards intermediates.

Favorite run was Laramie Bowl. JH Trails on my list for next time:

* Tensleep Traverse -> Cirque -> Amphitheater - I only did Amphitheater, I regret not attempting the upper part - it looks majestic, plus it goes right by the bottom of Corbet’s Couloir
* Hobacks, Saratoga Bowl - lower mountain conditions were iffy on the day I was considering
* Dick’s Ditch - my buddies skied this natural halfpipe but said conditions were unpleasantly icy, so I skipped it this time
* one of the runs into a Cheyenne Bowl like Bivouac
* explore more under the Thunder chair (Gannett, Thunder, etc) - tried to do this but didn’t go far enough to the left and wound up on Grand

Note to self: the Gros Ventre trail is pronounced “Grow Vaunt” (as the French would say it) - had more than 1 person correct me on this

I skied Jackson Hole Fri, Sat, Sun and there were lots of people but they have a ton of capacity out of the base and using singles line I don’t think I ever waited more than 5 chairs, except of course for the tram. Some of the easier single blue square groomers did get a bit more crowded than I cared for, but those runs are not what I came to JH for.

Teton Village (Jackson Hole Mountain Resort) and the town of Jackson are only 13 miles apart, and the bus is only $3, but the traffic is horrendous. Was glad to have stayed a couple nights in town to minimize the amount of back-and-forth.

Don‘t let excitement overrule common sense (as it did for me) - don’t take the Tram as the first chairlift ride of your visit - work your way up to it.

Next time I will bring grippier shoes for walking the icy downtown streets.

I was worried about altitude and safety bars. All chairlifts at both Snow King and Jackson Hole had safety bars, the Cougar lift was the last holdout at Snow King but it had safety bars installed just a few years ago. I only felt the effects of altitude once, a little lightheadedness after my first run down Rendezvous Bowl from the top of the Tram on my first day at JH. The adrenaline from the 40 foot slide probably had something to do with it, LOL

 

[crippity]

great trip thanks for sharing. At bachelor two weeks ago i got on chair with young couple and after the first 100 meters or so i politely said do you guys mind if i put the bar down, my feet need a break (which was half true, i dont like bar up)? The girl replied yes i do mind i get claustrophobic. i was like ok, too bad going down. Lesson learned don't be polite just give the nice loud timely warning, bar down.

 

[jimmywilson69]

LOL who says no to the bar...

Urungus great trip report thanks for posting and updating!

 

[BodeMiller1]

Neat, sometimes it's fun to pronounce words right to upset the locals. There's no way a s becomes a w.

 

[urungus]

Snow King new summit Planetarium and Observatory grand opening June 1

Snow King Observatory & Planetarium to host Bill Nye for grand opening, June 1

Join in on an afternoon of humor and intellectual curiosity as Bill Nye the Science Guy solves some of the world's most complex challenges through science.

buckrail.com

 

[raisingarizona]

great trip thanks for sharing. At bachelor two weeks ago i got on chair with young couple and after the first 100 meters or so i politely said do you guys mind if i put the bar down, my feet need a break (which was half true, i dont like bar up)? The girl replied yes i do mind i get claustrophobic. i was like ok, too bad going down. Lesson learned don't be polite just give the nice loud timely warning, bar down.

The anti bar down thing is so dumb. It's really only become a thing over the last handful of years. I don't get it.

 

[jimmywilson69]

I won't always pull the bar down, but I certainly won't tell someone they can't. why do people suck...

 

[djd66]

great trip thanks for sharing. At bachelor two weeks ago i got on chair with young couple and after the first 100 meters or so i politely said do you guys mind if i put the bar down, my feet need a break (which was half true, i dont like bar up)? The girl replied yes i do mind i get claustrophobic. i was like ok, too bad going down. Lesson learned don't be polite just give the nice loud timely warning, bar down.

I’m just reading this,… what the fuck is it with people???

I was at Big Sky and someone gave my wife shit about putting the bar down. I just dont get why any would care

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

The anti-bar down mentality is simple. Stupid, but simple. If you're capable of falling out of a chair then you're an idiot and shouldn't be riding the lift. If you have fear of falling out of a chair then you're a pussy and shouldn't be riding the lift. Either way, you suck and they resent being forced to accommodate to your suckiness.

Edit. In the case of teenagers and young adults there could be rebelliousness involved too. "I've been told to do xyz my whole life so fuck you"

 

[Razor]

Bar down especially with footrests. We oldsters need the footrests to give our legs a break. It maybe prolongs our ski day by an hour or so. So think of others once in a while.