Snowave has told us that Targhee is becoming more popular, and that was certainly our first impression. Arriving at 9:45 on a Saturday we were directed to the lowest of 3 lots and it was at least 2/3 full. View from there at the end of the day:
On my prior 5 visits I’ve always been in the upper lot with an easy walk to the base, but this time we were on a shuttle bus. While the base area was very busy, the lift lines on both Dreamcatcher and Sacajawea were in the 5 minute range all day.
On Friday we arrived in Driggs before sunset and drove out to Tetonia to see the lot my son Adam and his wife Alexa bought in 2020. We arrived just in time for the perfect view.
On Saturday weather was thick overcast with temps 17F at the base and 10F up top. The upper mountain was shrouded in fog, which I later noted started at Tower 19 out of 24. We first skied Crazy Horse, a groomer with Targhee’s longest fall line, slightly south of west. The snow conditions were all packed powder, moderately softer than at Jackson. I attribute the softer snow to lower skier density. Despite the full parking lots groomed runs had much less skier traffic and ungroomed areas not nearly as many moguls.
We figured the fog would be above Sacajawea so we moved over there. View south from top of Sacajawea:
We started far skier’s left with this view into the Teton Valley.
We ended up in a long traverse into the Wachable Woods. With so little recent snow we stick to the traverse, but this is surely a good stash on powder days.
We skied 4 more groomers plus the ungroomed Powwow, which was 80% packed powder with a little crunch when facing more south. I left Sacajawea via the gate but couldn’t see a clean line through the cliff band up here with a good view of the southern part of the main mountain.
I had to traverse quite far skier’s left to get through.
At the base we had read there was a Junior Freestyle completion. I wondered if that would be happening in the weather but When I was looking through that cliff band I could hear noise off to my right.
So when we returned to Dreamcatcher we headed over there to check it out. Here’s the first skier we saw from Telluride dropping this double jump.
The second pic is well timed mid-jump but his dark outfit blends in with the rock he’s jumping.
Another skier from AltaBird on the upper rock with sluffing snow through the lower rocks:
Top of the course with contestants waiting as someone drops in:
Some of the skiers turn on the speed in the middle of the course.
I’d be in a lot of trouble that far in the back seat but he did just fine.
There was a rollover at the bottom not obvious in the light where one competitor did a backflip that I did not see. So later on I tracked that area and caught this guy mid 360.
In the weather we got cold after watching 4 people and skied down for a short thaw break. Our late afternoon runs were off Sitting Bull Ridge. From our 2012 trip we remembered how good the snow was on the Good, Bad and Ugly runs dropping north off that ridge.
Liz on The Good:
Last run on The Bad:
We finished up at 3:30 with 22,000 vertical.
On my prior 5 visits I’ve always been in the upper lot with an easy walk to the base, but this time we were on a shuttle bus. While the base area was very busy, the lift lines on both Dreamcatcher and Sacajawea were in the 5 minute range all day.
On Friday we arrived in Driggs before sunset and drove out to Tetonia to see the lot my son Adam and his wife Alexa bought in 2020. We arrived just in time for the perfect view.
On Saturday weather was thick overcast with temps 17F at the base and 10F up top. The upper mountain was shrouded in fog, which I later noted started at Tower 19 out of 24. We first skied Crazy Horse, a groomer with Targhee’s longest fall line, slightly south of west. The snow conditions were all packed powder, moderately softer than at Jackson. I attribute the softer snow to lower skier density. Despite the full parking lots groomed runs had much less skier traffic and ungroomed areas not nearly as many moguls.
We figured the fog would be above Sacajawea so we moved over there. View south from top of Sacajawea:
We started far skier’s left with this view into the Teton Valley.
We ended up in a long traverse into the Wachable Woods. With so little recent snow we stick to the traverse, but this is surely a good stash on powder days.
We skied 4 more groomers plus the ungroomed Powwow, which was 80% packed powder with a little crunch when facing more south. I left Sacajawea via the gate but couldn’t see a clean line through the cliff band up here with a good view of the southern part of the main mountain.
I had to traverse quite far skier’s left to get through.
At the base we had read there was a Junior Freestyle completion. I wondered if that would be happening in the weather but When I was looking through that cliff band I could hear noise off to my right.
So when we returned to Dreamcatcher we headed over there to check it out. Here’s the first skier we saw from Telluride dropping this double jump.
The second pic is well timed mid-jump but his dark outfit blends in with the rock he’s jumping.
Another skier from AltaBird on the upper rock with sluffing snow through the lower rocks:
Top of the course with contestants waiting as someone drops in:
Some of the skiers turn on the speed in the middle of the course.
I’d be in a lot of trouble that far in the back seat but he did just fine.
There was a rollover at the bottom not obvious in the light where one competitor did a backflip that I did not see. So later on I tracked that area and caught this guy mid 360.
In the weather we got cold after watching 4 people and skied down for a short thaw break. Our late afternoon runs were off Sitting Bull Ridge. From our 2012 trip we remembered how good the snow was on the Good, Bad and Ugly runs dropping north off that ridge.
Liz on The Good:
Last run on The Bad:
We finished up at 3:30 with 22,000 vertical.
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