Little preparation went into the Jackson Hole trip. And that's why it was so special.
(Posing in front of the Grand Tetons)
When Chris mentioned he was driving out alone to meet the Road Trip America crew (the lucky few who skipped out on three weeks of work to ride Whistler and many other resorts on the way), I suspected a few of us might be welcome to tag along…
In a matter of days, I was packed and ready to go—not 100% sure if my boss was serious when he agreed to give me the days off after discussing the matter over drinks at Ski Bar. With fingers crossed, I was ready for my another glorious snowboard trip.
Four of us, Chris, Gergz, Cole and myself, charged ten hours in the dark to meet six others (Bex, Gav, Mansy, Stan, Nat, Josh & Stacey) soundly sleeping in a sweet ass condo in Teton Village.
We were in Jackson Hole. The name alone promised a legendary mountain experience, although, I had yet to discover why.
Four thousand, one hundred, thirty nine vertical feet of stunning terrain, including awesome steeps, glades, moguls, gnarly rocks drops and ridiculously scary cliffs blanketed under 9 inches of fresh pow (20 including the day before). It was time to shred.
After two or three runs tearing up fresh lines of pow pow not far from the in chairlifts, we began to wonder why so much great snow was left untouched. We soon realized that most Jackson Hole locals and visitors would rather hike out to a few great untouched spots than taste sweet pow accessible on the trail map. Riding up the chairlift, we watched ants hiking in a row up to find bigger, better terrain.
CORBETS COULOIR
After a couple warm up laps, we found ourselves situated at the top of the famous Corbets Couloir.
It’s a drop some say as large as 120 feet, supposedly perfect if you’re the first one down on a powder day. Unfortunately today, the snow was less ideal. Watching Gergz drop off a creatively difficult / psychotic side, falling the distance six or seven times his size, I reasoned I was smarter than that, lacking some much needed testosterone.
A handful of other friends followed, taking the slightly more traveled path, plunging ten feet before landing in a violent side slip, then having a few of the best turns after that.
I, on the other hand, followed a smaller crew around the side and enjoyed making some good turns in safer grounds.
The adrenaline kicked in, and our crew was charged.
CASPER BOWL
Hiking to the top of Casper Bowl was a gigantic workout for a woman with short legs.
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But well worth it once we reached the top.
CODY BOWL
TIMBER RIDGE MILE
We stepped out of bounds and into heaven when we left the Jackson Hole boundary from the rendezvous bowl. Powderlicious! Apart from the 300 foot cliffs, it was all our playground.
Jackson Hole is a backcountry rider’s paradise.
We enjoyed making smooth knee deep turns through the glades and even found a super fun kicker to hike and throw down a few tricks.
This area is considered part of the Bridger Teton National Forest. We were stoked when we realized we could ride it all the way home to our very doorstep (which was coincidentally named Timber Ridge. Thus, the Timber Ridge Mile was born.
J HOLE NIGHTLIFE
It was a treat to casually chat over apres nachos and beers at the Mangy Moose and feel like I was truly on vacation. I think we explored a total of seven bars in Jackson Hole--though I was a little disappointed I did not go shopping...
You know it was a good night when you unknowingly leave the bar with pockets full of peanuts.
BYE JACKSON HOLE
Somehow, I survived the ten hour return trip with the boys, putting up with all things "man"--the jerky, the farts, and the porn.
In short, Jackson Hole was steep, deep, and awesome.
I think we were all a bit wiped out after that.
