Jackson Hole, WY 01/28/08

It was absolutely nuking this morning. Got on the first chairs and did five beautiful knee- to thigh-deep laps on Saratoga Bowl (no photos, you could barely see ten feet in front of you, it was snowing so hard). Then, at 10:15, what felt like hurricane-force winds turned it into a total whiteout. By 10:30, they shut down the entire mountain. When I left the lodge to grab my skis, I was knocked off my feet by the wind, no joke.

I heard that a bunch of people were hanging on the Thunder chair for 40 minutes... that would have really sucked.

To the resort's credit, they made a class move and gave out ticket vouchers.

As I was waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the parking lot (the one I paid $5 for :evil, I was told that they weren't running because they didn't want people on the roads.

No idea if they're going to start up the lifts again today, but I'd be surprised. Back in town, there's barely any wind.

Oh well, tomorrow will be great.

That's a tough break. I've seen wind at Jackson, but it tends to be confined to the upper mountain. Saratoga Bowl was a great choice for the weather as the Rendezvous chairs were much more likely to close than Apres Vous.

This is a big, powerful storm. Five hrs of driving away, the Wasatch is getting absolutely hammered. The road up LCC closed indefinitely at 9:00a this morning.

From Snowbird's site at 1:00p:

Today:
Windy. Heavy snow and a slight chance of thunderstorms late in the morning...then snow showers through he afternoon. New accumulation 8 to 14 inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 20s. West winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 60 mph over the peaks. Chance of precipitation 100 percent.

Road Conditions
The canyon road is now closed. There is currently not an estimated time of reopening. Starting at 2:30pm Snowbird wil be under interlodge restriction. Starting at 3:00 pm shooting will begin on the canyon road.

Mountain Conditions*
There is a high wind warning today.Most lifts and inbound areas will be open today, with the exception of Mineral Basin, Road to Provo, Upper Tigertail, and High Baldy. Touring will also be closed today. Other closings may occur due to high winds and avalanche danger. Snow conditions today include powder, packed powder, and machine groomed runs.

Lift Status*
Aerial Tram (9am-3:45pm): Closed
Chickadee (9am-5:00pm): Closing @ 1:45pm
Gadzoom (9am-4:00pm): Closing @ 1:00pm
Mid-Gad (9am-4:00pm): Closing @ 1:15pm
Wilbere (9am-4:30pm): Closing @ 1:15
Little Cloud (9am-3:45pm): Closed
Mineral Basin Express (9am-3:30pm): Closed
Baldy Express (9am-3:30pm): Closed
Gad II (9am-4:00pm): Closing @ 1:00pm
Peruvian Express (9am-4:00pm): Closed
Peruvian Tunnel (9am-3:30pm): Closed
Baby Thunder (9am-3:45pm): Closed

As I sit here reading this in my 9th floor office... Looking at clouds over/hugging the mtns, but beautiful sunshine and 50+ degree temps on the front range of Colo...

Jackson can have some super fierce winds up top though. Once caught what ended up being the final tram of the day. We bounced (slammed really) into the station at the top (despite the op using manual controls to bring us in) and the first guy out literally was blown directly back into the tram after taking his first step... But good powder, and good the next day as well...

Oh well, when life gives you lemons...

Back at the Snow King ranch, where there was virtually no wind whatsoever :?, I skied untracked knee-deep pow in the trees all afternoon. I hope ChrisC is ok with that.

Everyone has their preferred spots at JH, mine are Saratoga and the Moran Woods. Not the most high-octane places on the mountain, but good enough for me.

We'll try again at JH tomorrow. Wow, it hasn't stopped snowing here since Saturday night.

Everyone has their preferred spots at JH, mine are Saratoga and the Moran Woods.

Click to expand...

You could also celebrate the 2nd anniversary tomorrow of Patrick's and my powder day with some long untracked runs on Rendezvous' lower faces (Hobacks through North Colter).

Snow King is to JHMR as June Mt. is to Mammoth, a handy escape from extreme weather and/or crowds but otherwise a distant second banana.

Looking good for today: 12" in the past 24 hours (which was pretty wind-hammered, I assume), 100% chance of snow, with 4"-8" forecast over the day.

The locals who, like us, bailed to SK were also stunned by the intensity of the top-to-bottom gales. Two of them weren't happy about having to braille their way down from the top of Sublette.