GIven my luck with destination trips planned weeks or months in advance (especially in the East), I guess that it was time for a market adjustment. After hearing all about the biggest season opening in Jackson Hole's history, 171 inches YTD, it was a bit deflating to get off the plane and walk through a light, but steady rain. And it wasn't one of those "it's raining here, but snowing at the mountain" setups. The temps were too warm for that. So I turned on my windshield wipers and left the airport.
I arrived at Snow King at 1:30 for some warmup turns. Gotta love how you can park right next to the lift:
In something that comes straight out of Icelantic's playbook, the rain turned the powder from Friday into soft spring butter, so I did high-speed laps until 4 pm. Not a very photogenic day and certainly not what you travel 2,000 miles to ski, but better than I had expected while driving in from the airport:
Today at Jackson Hole was similarly warm, but no rain. Although more than 600 (!) University of California students were in town for a massive snowboard trip, it was pretty desolate. Here's the gondola at 2 pm:
I met with an acquaintance from my Epicski days, Bob Peters, who has lived in Jackson for almost four decades. A few years ago, he posted a detailed Unofficial Guide to Skiing Jackson Hole (and the Unofficial Guide to Skiing Jackson Hole/Steep Terrain): an excellent resource. We skied and chatted for 2.5 hours; he knows every inch of that mountain.
Unfortunately, the rain had done a number on the huge mounds of snow from Friday. Going off-piste was doable, but not advisable for mere mortals like yours truly. So we did a bunch of long groomer laps off the gondola and were surprised at how soft most of them were. Once again, not what I had envisioned a week earlier, when they were ringing up powder day after powder day, but a great time, especially while getting an education on Jackson Hole from someone like this guy.
Late in the day, I found some nice snow in the trees on the Moran Faces:
I wasn't aware that from the beginning of the season until Dec 22, they've been running an incredible deal: $79 per day gets you a lift ticket, a slopeside condo, and lunch at Nick Wilson's. Based on quad occupancy, but still.
Snow is supposed to move into the area tomorrow, so things should improve.
I arrived at Snow King at 1:30 for some warmup turns. Gotta love how you can park right next to the lift:
In something that comes straight out of Icelantic's playbook, the rain turned the powder from Friday into soft spring butter, so I did high-speed laps until 4 pm. Not a very photogenic day and certainly not what you travel 2,000 miles to ski, but better than I had expected while driving in from the airport:
Today at Jackson Hole was similarly warm, but no rain. Although more than 600 (!) University of California students were in town for a massive snowboard trip, it was pretty desolate. Here's the gondola at 2 pm:
I met with an acquaintance from my Epicski days, Bob Peters, who has lived in Jackson for almost four decades. A few years ago, he posted a detailed Unofficial Guide to Skiing Jackson Hole (and the Unofficial Guide to Skiing Jackson Hole/Steep Terrain): an excellent resource. We skied and chatted for 2.5 hours; he knows every inch of that mountain.
Unfortunately, the rain had done a number on the huge mounds of snow from Friday. Going off-piste was doable, but not advisable for mere mortals like yours truly. So we did a bunch of long groomer laps off the gondola and were surprised at how soft most of them were. Once again, not what I had envisioned a week earlier, when they were ringing up powder day after powder day, but a great time, especially while getting an education on Jackson Hole from someone like this guy.
Late in the day, I found some nice snow in the trees on the Moran Faces:
I wasn't aware that from the beginning of the season until Dec 22, they've been running an incredible deal: $79 per day gets you a lift ticket, a slopeside condo, and lunch at Nick Wilson's. Based on quad occupancy, but still.
Snow is supposed to move into the area tomorrow, so things should improve.
