Snowboarding
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Jackson Treehouse: Trendy Gear & Apparel Store
Specializing in snow, surf & skate with snowboard, ski and bike rentals. Located in Teton Village.
(307) 690-7997
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Bridger Bowl Skiing - Best Value in North America
Adult all day = $47, Kids 7-12 = $16, and child 6-under are FREE. PowderHound Ski & Stay packages = $65/person/day (double occupancy) or $52/person/day quad occupancy.
(800) 223-9609
Story by Shannon Brooks
KMTN Weather Report: "Today will be a snowy one, folks, with accumulations of four to six inches in the valley and eight to ten inches in the mountains. Look for the storm to increase intensity this evening, with overnight accumulations of four to five inches."
My childhood friends Colin and Elizabeth arrive on the last SkyWest flight from Salt Lake City, thrilled at their good fortune: Jackson Hole is in the middle of a storm cycle. Both are snowboarders from the East who have yet to experience the nirvana-esque experience of floating upon layers and layers of bottomless snow. The darkness is unable to hide the monstrous white flakes that coat the luggage and my car, which needs a good wipe down after a 15-minute idle in the airport parking lot. Our drive back to town has the dizzying effect of traveling at warp speed, with strobe-like flurries bombarding the windshield.
Despite their request to sleep in, the next morning Colin and Elizabeth are up before I am, running in and out of the house in disbelief at the new 10-inch carpet of snow. In search of their mountain legs and lungs, we decide to hit the convenient in-town slopes of Snow King for a few hours. Snow King, as usual, is void of lift lines and we lap the steeps of Grizzly and Elk runs, the continuing snowfall filling in our tracks before we can make it back up. The lunchtime crowd arrives so we escape into the trees and find big, deep pillows to slash. Our afternoon is spent checking out the shops in town, and while rummaging through the racks at the Boardroom, Snow King lights up in preparation for night boarding. We head back to the King for some final night runs on Bison and Bighorn, littered with pockets of fluff from the days dump.
Grand Targhee Snow Report, 1-800-TARGHEE: "Weve received fourteen inches of snow since yesterday morning, with six inches overnight. Bluebird skies this morning guarantee that today will be an amazing one. Get out here!"
Were on one of the first Dreamcatcher chairs of the day, blinded by the early morning sunshine glittering off of the slopes of Targhee below. We pause at the top to inspect Marys Nipple, deciding its the perfect warm-up for our plan to hike Teton Pass tomorrow. But first well hammer the in-bounds, with a trip into the powder fields of Blackfoot Bowl. After a few screamers down the groomed thoroughfares of Big Thunder and Sitting Bull, we duck into the deeps off the north side. A quick refuel at Snorkels energizes us for the afternoon and we head to Targhees newest lift, Sacajawea quad, finding some great stashes under the lift. A final trip up Sacajawea, a traverse, and a boot-pack lead us to the bowls of Marys Nipple, where we ride, jump, and play until our legs are numb. Pitchers at the Trap Bar are the perfect end to the day.
Bridger-Teton National Forest: "The ridge of high pressure that arrived yesterday will continue for most of today. By the end of the day another large trough of Pacific moisture arrives, bringing more significant snowfall across western Wyoming."
Bellies full of Noras huevos rancheros are not the jet fuel we had hoped for - we struggle at the start of our hike up Glory Bowl on Teton Pass. But the haul to the top is worth it - the pristine slopes are dotted with pines and scarred with the occasional track, but most have chosen the expanse of Glory Bowl, and we are on our own. We chase each others huge white plumes down the meandering slope and arrive at the bottom much too soon. The south side of Teton Pass allows for several descent options, so we travel the up-and-down ridgeline to Edelweiss Bowl. The snow is bottomless, and we want to continue lap after lap but our legs turn to rubber on our second run. We agree to call it a day and hike out to the road to grab a ride back up to the car.
JHMR Snow Phone: 1-888-DEEP-SNO: "This new storm system is delivering what Jackson Hole is known for: light, fluffy cowboy powder. Six inches arrived overnight and were expecting another six today ."
The Big One has been saved for the final day of Colin and Elizabeths vacation. We tackle the upper mountain first, working our way over to Thunder and Sublette chairs from the Gondola, finding that areas like Tower Three, Mushroom Chutes, and Bivouac Woods have much more than the reported six inches of snow. The Hobacks are prime and we drop off into their steep open expanses, filtering into the gullies that deliver us back to the base area. A quick stop by the superpipe and terrain park finds the crew busy keeping the features ridable during the heavy snow. We try to hit as many of the bowls as we can - Cheyenne, Laramie, Bernies - and our final run of the day has us ducking the trees and boulders in Saratoga Bowl, a somewhat secret stash due to its location adjacent to mellow intermediate terrain.
A farewell dinner, a bottle of wine, and Colin and Elizabeth are ready to return to the flatlands, having experienced the best that riding in Jackson Hole has to offer.
Shannon Brooks, now with Stanwood and Partners Public Relations, spent the last few years handing out complimentary lift tickets to film crews and dignitaries at the Jackson Hole Resort. This year shes looking for paybacks, especially after 10 inches of new snow.
Other pages you might find helpful:
Jackson Hole Snowboard
Snowboarding info on AllJacksonHole.com.
network of Travel Guides