2009-2010 Jackson Hole Snow Reports

Tony,

Was more curious than anything. We want to do a long trip up that way including winter touring Yellowstone and Grand Teton, thus the interest. At this point, I'm definitely more inclined to just try to go for it next January or early February assuming they don't have another year like this one...
 
Jackson yesterday was pretty cruddy given the amount of new snow they had just a couple of days before. Still pockets of drier snow in non-sun affected areas.
Definitely needs another storm to make the lower half skiable as there are many small trees pocking through the snow pack.
Hopefully sunday gives us a foot.
 
I've been out there once or twice every year for the past 10 years to ski and visit family-in-laws. I have had my best skiing in February and March and have been powderless on every excursion in January. Might be my luck, but I have had good powder days out at JH, Teton Pass and Targhee outside of the month of January. I'll be out there next Wed thru Monday and I'll report back. BTW: I can't find our beacons ](*,)
 
Personal experience is rarely a good indicator of weather probabilities, as my extensive Utah experience can attest. Post mid-February you need a dump of 18 inches minimum to bury the likely sunbaked subsurface. Jackson is a high snowfall area, so it does happen but the odds in a given week are probably in the 20% range. In January you are much less likely to have a melt freeze, so small refresher storms can also result in good powder skiing
 
My friend from Jackson is here in Utah with me. He got a call on Monday from his friend in JH who said it was an 18" powder day. Things have recovered well there, however, it has probably been baked in the last few days. JH is really only good in an active storm cycle. It just doesn't do well sitting in the sun when it is dry and bluebird.
 
Hey, if you want to trust a marketing video put out by the ski area vs. several independent experiences from late season at Jackson, go right ahead and book your trip in March. But don't say we didn't warn you.
 
Hi guys,

First time on this forum. Found it while looking for first hand reports for JHMR conditions. I'm heading to JHMR on Saturday (six day trip). This is my first time to JHMR and I was looking forward to the legendary steeps. I'm coming from L.A. (I'm used to riding Mammoth) We're getting three days of riding and one day of snowmobiling at Yellowstone. Couple questions:

Are the conditions really bad in-bounds? (ie: icy conditions??) I was so happy to see they opened all trails but two so far. I was hoping to find hidden powder stashes. The NWS says its gonna snow a little from Friday to Sunday/Monday (maybe an inch a day). I'm assuming that won't really make much of a difference if the conditions are bad now.

I already bought my multiday lift tix for JHMR. Would it be better to go to Targhee instead to get better conditions?

Is there a backcountry guide I could hire (if I'm not happy with in-bounds conditions)?

Thanks
 
Icy ??? Marketing BS or not, watch that video shot in the past few days. I'm sure the conditions will be very good in bounds at JHMR. May not be virgin powder (although the mountain often gets more snow than what is predicted). Have a great trip. Jackson Hole is, IMHO, the single best ski mountain in the US. Remember what Jean Claude Killy is reputed to have said: "if there is a better ski mountain in the US, I have not seen it".
 
Yeah, just watched it. It looks AWSOME!! I'm just concerned cuz this trip is pricey. Plus I've had bad luck with prior out-of-state trips where snow conditions REALLY sucked (ie: went to Whistler and the bottom half of the mtn was still DIRT/MUD #-o ](*,) absolutely no snow. you had to ride the lift back to the bottom. it was so sad). Plus, my local mountains during that trip were getting dumped on.
 
There are 2 issues here.

1) The season snowfall and snowpack is subpar. The lower faces, which are prime powder skiing terrain, are open but still a bit thin. Some of the super steeps that are skiable in good years might not be now. If you get fresh snow this factor is relatively unimportant.
2) The more important issue, discussed many times here, is that the prevailing exposure is southeast. This means that if it's sunny and the temps are greater than about 20F you will get a melt/freeze. And unlike north facing, the melt/freeze will be more severe on steeps than flats. When does it get warm enough to melt/freeze a lot of the ungroomed terrain? Of course that varies with the weather in each particular season. But I would say mid-February is the typical time that the odds start to turn against you. Your trip is a little earlier than that, and if you are getting a decent shot of fresh snow you'll be fine in any case.

I'm just concerned cuz this trip is pricey
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That's why I :dead horse: that advance booking these trips in March, when you need massive dumps to cover up the melt/frozen crap, is a really dumb idea. Early Feb. is a reasonable time. There are no guarantees with weather. Mid-January is better on average, but it sure wouldn't have worked out this year since the snow came later than that.

Jackson Hole is, IMHO, the single best ski mountain in the US
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You have an argument if you're judging by the sole criterion of terrain quality. But when the length of season with decent snow conditions is 1/3 what it is at Mammoth or Alta/Snowbird, I'm not buying it.
 
I'm not considering the length of the ski season, but just looking at the ski terrain available. Admittedly, snow and weather conditions might play a bigger factor in how JHMR skis, compared to some other areas, but, under the right conditions, it is hard to beat in the US.
 
You live in Massachusetts, so I suspect you're not going to Jackson Hole based on a forecast of an impending dump. If you're planning trips with the usual lead time necessary for air travel, it's dumb not to take the historical trend of snow conditions into account. The late March 1986 trip to JH remains the only time I've ever had to leave a destination resort and go somewhere else for the week because conditions were so bad. You can book these trips to Alta/Snowbird months ahead and have 95+% confidence that ski conditions will not be a problem.
 
tn_whiner.jpg
 
Yea, I would not pre-book a ski trip to JH for March, although you can get good snow at that time in the Tetons (and I don't have the numerical evidence for the number of powder days at JH in the month of March over the past 30 years). As I've said before, snow conditions probably play a larger role in the quality of the ski experience at JH, given the amount of ungroomed and steep terrain at the mountain. But I still maintain that, given the right snow and weather conditions, it is hard to beat the overall ski experience at JH - over 4,000 feet of continuous vertical accessed by a 9-minute tram ride, a tremendous varierty of ski terrain - groomed, ungroomed, open bowls, tree skiing, moguls, powder skiing, some of the best and most extensive intermediate skiing in the US on Aprez Vous and Casper Bowl, beautiful scenery, great ski town. What's NOT to like?
 
berkshireskier":2mwh1l34 said:
What's NOT to like?
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I was in JH late feb/early march (before I started reading these forums btw) for my first trip out west. It hadn't snowed in a week or so and conditions were plain terrible. Made the mistake of trying the Hobacks which led to close to an hour of survival skiing through a breakable crust, miserable and ruined that day. On the flip side I went out 2 winters ago in late January and it snowed 5ft in 7 days and the mountain was amazing. If you can get JH on a great day/week I agree that in my experience there's nothing better, but that's luck for most people flying there.

I should note that conditions at Targhee were better on my trip out to JH in March; a small 1-2 inch storm mid week dumped close to a foot at Targhee and the "cloud" kept the sun off everything. I had a multi day ticket but ended up just throwing a day out to ride the Targhee express again. Just something to consider.
 
Thanks for the info/opinions. I guess I lucked out on this trip. I had no idea when the best time to go to JH would be. Tried to find info on it before I booked but was unsuccessful. I just know that prices for accomodations go insanely sky high starting President's day wkd and forward. So my decision to book for this coming week was mainly based on housing costs.

Well if the critera for a melt/freeze is sun and/or 20+ F temps, then at least based upon NWS predictions I should be good, at least until about Tuesday. I think thats about when the clouds are suppose clear out and temps might get warmer. But from Saturday to Monday-ish, theres a cold front coming down from Canada and its suppose to snow a little (ie: an inch a day). So no sun :-D

Here's to hoping that Berkshire is right and it snows more than what is predicted.

Thanks again.
 
Have a great trip, Ryback. JH is a great mountain, and I'm guessing the skiing (snow wise)will be very good. Not uncommon for the mountain to pick up more snow than what is predicted.
 
March and Jackson Hole.

Totally agree with Tony on this one. Yeah, how many times have I agreed with him over something? So it can be real good.

On the 2006 trip I did at JH, I skied 4 days in late January. Coverage was great, conditions were great at Targhee, Big Sky/Moonlight Basin and Bridger the previous 4 days. The first day at JH, hardpack, so much that I went to get my ski tuned that night and I generallt ski ice. Jackson Hole on old, packed down snow, that can make it a real small area if you stay inbounds. Most of the ungroomed stuff was far from great, I can just imagine once the freeze-thaw cycles hit. And the groomed stuff at JH represent only a small proportion of the area and it's not why the place is one of the best areas in North America terrain wise. However if it would turn to corn everywhere early, then it might be okay. :-k

Oh yeah, about my 4 days in Jackson, the storm moved in after that 1st day and skied powder for the next week, 3 days of them in Jackson. \:D/
 
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