Is It Accumulating?
Posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
(Waldo found: JHMR athlete Andrew Whiteford needs a snorkel. Tristan Greszko photo.)
Last week’s storm brought some impressive snowfall around the West, including 66 inches at Silverton and 82 inches at Alta. After the chart from my last post was compiled, another five feet of snow fell on Jackson Hole. The storm abated enough Monday for JHMR photographer Tristan Greszko to capture this spectacular gallery of creatures rising from the deep.
The timing couldn’t have been better, with the locals growing restless over a meager snowpack.
It also happened that Major White of Wilmington, N.C., was about to convene the Bojon Ski Team in Jackson Hole. That meant as resident guide I was going to experience the resort through visitors’ eyes, which always ratchets up the enthusiasm level. Two serious skiers, Mon Frere and Frankie Shoes, would be joining us from Steamboat. They like to get after it and would be demanding the most challenging terrain only Jackson Hole can deliver.
On the blustery drive up from Steamboat, Mon Frere phoned to inquire about conditions. It’s snowing, I told him (mindful of the 19 inches in the forecast), and it’s supposed to keep up through the weekend. His response:
“Is it accumulating?”
That became somewhat of a punch line throughout the weekend as the powder piled up deeper, deeper and deeper still.
(The crew prepares to board the gondola.)
We started with a ride up the $31 million Aerial Tram, the boys’ first trip on the new box, and stopped first at Wally World to pay our respects. By late afternoon we settled at mid-mountain, as the Casper lift offered untracked lines between the major runs. Mid-mountain at Jackson Hole is often overlooked, as the most hardcore skiers usually make a beeline for the summit and Thunder and Sublette chairs. Mid-mountain is also a good place to take visitors, with groomed terrain for intermediates and tree runs for rippers; everyone can rendezvous at the bottom or slopeside Casper Restaurant.
(This is in-bounds terrain, controlled by patrol.)
By day two we had worked our way from the north boundary on Apres Vous to the southerly Lower Faces. We made two laps on the Headwall, introducing Mark Austin of Wilmington to winter mountaineering, as he peered over the ridge into Granite Canyon of Grand Teton National Park. The arduous hike from the top of Bridger Gondola wasn’t for everyone — “I paid good money to keep these skis on the snow,” said Major — but it paid off with over-the-head powder. During the ascent, it seemed, nearly two inches accumulated on Mon Frere’s helmet.
We followed the start of the old World Cup downhill course in Tensleep Bowl, and I pointed out where the racers made a sharp right and launched over a cliff in the Downhill Chute. What a badass course, I thought, lamenting its passing; but then again, it’s a lot more fun to have a World Cup of powder, of which we were fully in the frenzy.
Steamboat and Jackson Hole share some history; the Werner run on Apres Vous is named for one of the early greats of U.S. ski racing, Buddy Werner, a native of Steamboat, where the resort’s main mountain bears his name. Werner was considered to head the Jackson Hole Ski School before he was killed by an avalanche in Europe in 1964; Pepi Stiegler was hired for the post.
Although they had skied here before, the Steamboat boys were once again in awe of the mountain, studying the nuances of the trail map and eyeing the crags of Casper Bowl with envy. The more gently sloped, rolling Colorado resort simply cannot match the sustained vertical of Jackson Hole and jagged terrain we often take for granted. Mon Frere is on the patrol at the ‘Boat, and Frank charges the backcountry, so they know their way down a mountain. But it’s safe to say the near-continuous face shots on the Headwall blew their minds.
The crew parted ways Sunday, the Wilmington boys contented — Major had added the phrase “snorkel deep” to his lexicon — and the Steamboat shredders still hungry for more. Oh, to be Bojon. The snow was still accumulating.
Jim Stanford edits the Mountain Murmur for Cloudveil and also publishes JH Underground. He is a writer, photographer and Snake River guide who lives in Jackson.
Shoes! Can’t believe you didn’t call me!
I thoroughly enjoyed this article, imagining myself along for the ride. I’m an intermediate skier who has skied in the mountains in only three trips (Winterpark, Steamboat, Kirkwood / Squaw Valley). I’ll arrive in JH this Saturday after a few weeks of worrying if more snow would bless the mountain. I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. So again, thank you for the article.
Steve Louvar
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Can’t believe we missed the dump. As we got on the plane headed back for Atlanta last week there were flurries. I am just happy my 10 and 7 yr olds got a day on a board, and a day on skis. I am sharing this story with them and they are begging to return to JH. My 10 yr old is asking for chores to save up $$ for next trip. JH what a mountain.
Great article. I am heading to JH on 2/5 with the Fresno Ski Club to ski for 6 days. I was worried a few weeks ago about lack of snow. Saw lots of closed runs. I am really excited now. We may miss the great POW but the coverage will be good. Great info about the trees on the Casper lift. Now I can ski with friends while I ski the trees and they ski the groomers
That’s my boy,Shoes.He couldn’t even ski when he graduated from Uof GA. The rest of us SEC guys are mighty jealous of the old Riggios range men and their friends from Duke.