Northern Rockies/Alberta Jackson Hole 2017/2018 Season Reports

[TPJ]

Conditions were generally harder today than they were yesterday. The North faces are holding up well, but the groomers down low on après Vous and Casper had some very slick spots. It was definitely windy and the light was flat. The best things I skied were Cheyenne Woods and Pepis Run.

 

[mcl116]

Currently have a trip booked to Squaw for Jan 28th - Feb 2nd but I'm thinking of changing my destination due to lack of snow out there.

Considering Jackson Hole as one of my alternative destinations. Was there a few years ago but conditions were not great at all, mostly hard and slick.

Looks like JH is due snow just about every day for the next 10 days. Based on local forecasts/knowledge, what are current conditions like and what type of conditions might I be looking at by the end of January?

Any advice/suggestions are very welcomed!

Thanks

 

[PisteOff]

Currently have a trip booked to Squaw for Jan 28th - Feb 2nd but I'm thinking of changing my destination due to lack of snow out there.

Considering Jackson Hole as one of my alternative destinations. Was there a few years ago but conditions were not great at all, mostly hard and slick.

Looks like JH is due snow just about every day for the next 10 days. Based on local forecasts/knowledge, what are current conditions like and what type of conditions might I be looking at by the end of January?

Any advice/suggestions are very welcomed!

Thanks

If you don't like the conditions at JH head through the Teton Pass and visit Grand Targhee. It's 30 some miles from JH. The snow was fantastic and there were hardly any lines. We had a lot of great runs on fresh boot to knee deep off Blackhawk. In the afternoon Sacajawea and Dreamcatcher were getting tracked out but that was late in the day on what we were told was the busiest day they'd ever had. Even then there was tons of fresh lines through the trees. Lots of folks from California, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado were at Targhee and JH over the holidays due to the lack of snow "back home".

 

[Tom K.]

Currently have a trip booked to Squaw for Jan 28th - Feb 2nd but I'm thinking of changing my destination due to lack of snow out there.

Considering Jackson Hole as one of my alternative destinations. Was there a few years ago but conditions were not great at all, mostly hard and slick.

Looks like JH is due snow just about every day for the next 10 days. Based on local forecasts/knowledge, what are current conditions like and what type of conditions might I be looking at by the end of January?

Any advice/suggestions are very welcomed!

Thanks

IME, JH is a fickle mistress.

Overall coverage matters, but what comes a few days before your arrival and what happens while you're there matters most.

Generally, your time window is an excellent bet. I've been going the week before that for, well, about a billion years, and I'd say 3 of 5 years are great, 1 is very good, and 1 is so-so.

Such is the nature of alpine skiing!

 

[palikona]

I noticed Corbet's opened today...never done it. Is the drop easier/less in the early season before the cornice builds up? Or conversely, is the couloir harder when it's thin?
How steep is the slope below the initial drop?

 

[Slide of Hans]

IME, JH is a fickle mistress.
!

Any insight on how fickle mid to late March is?
JH doesn't have a good exposure so I'm not sure if it will get baked to rock hard conditions- do temps stay cold enough on mountain through most of March?

 

[Tom K.]

I noticed Corbet's opened today...never done it. Is the drop easier/less in the early season before the cornice builds up? Or conversely, is the couloir harder when it's thin?
How steep is the slope below the initial drop?

I've skied Corbet's when it was what seemed like a million foot drop onto a hardpack crater (80/81), and I've also skied it when you cold make a single check turn into it (81/82 IIRC). Of course it's dependent on total snowfall, but also wind patterns, the mood of Mother Nature, etc. You just gotta go look over the edge. It's not like you waste a run doing so. About 45 degrees.

Any insight on how fickle mid to late March is?
JH doesn't have a good exposure so I'm not sure if it will get baked to rock hard conditions- do temps stay cold enough on mountain through most of March?

@Bob Peters would be the go-to guy on this since it's been a long time since I went in March, but as a kid my folks used to drag me from MN to JH the last week of March (lucky, I know!). I recall skiing both powder, and refrozen melt so hard that we saw a mama moose run across the slope with her baby right under the Casper lift. That was a two run day.

I have to say that although JH is my spiritual skiing home, I'd personally pick another spot for a late March trip, although you never know when you'll hit the perfect corn week!

 

[mcl116]

IME, JH is a fickle mistress.

Overall coverage matters, but what comes a few days before your arrival and what happens while you're there matters most.

Generally, your time window is an excellent bet. I've been going the week before that for, well, about a billion years, and I'd say 3 of 5 years are great, 1 is very good, and 1 is so-so.

Such is the nature of alpine skiing!

What is overall coverage like currently? It seems that JH has gotten the most total snowfall so far out of any mountain I have checked in on...

Looks like you're about to get multiple days of snow as well. Will these storms bring in a couple of feet or looking more like a few inches?

 

[Bigtinnie]

I’m driving to Jackson from SLC tomorrow. Considering there may be a small bit of snow what is the best route please?
I’ve driven in snow before but do not have a lot of experience doing it.

 

[Bob Peters]

I've skied Corbet's when it was what seemed like a million foot drop onto a hardpack crater (80/81), and I've also skied it when you cold make a single check turn into it (81/82 IIRC). Of course it's dependent on total snowfall, but also wind patterns, the mood of Mother Nature, etc. You just gotta go look over the edge. It's not like you waste a run doing so. About 45 degrees.

All of that is dead on except the 45 degrees. Once you've done the drop, the remainder of the skiing is 39 or 40 degrees plus-or-minus a degree or two.

@Bob Peters would be the go-to guy on this since it's been a long time since I went in March, but as a kid my folks used to drag me from MN to JH the last week of March (lucky, I know!). I recall skiing both powder, and refrozen melt so hard that we saw a mama moose run across the slope with her baby right under the Casper lift. That was a two run day.

I have to say that although JH is my spiritual skiing home, I'd personally pick another spot for a late March trip, although you never know when you'll hit the perfect corn week!

This is the ongoing controversy about mid-to-late-March skiing at Jackson Hole. Like you say, I've had every imaginable condition during March, including a great deal of excellent full-on powder skiing in April. Still, the weather is changing despite what our Pres says. You're more likely to run into freeze-thaw cycles in later March now. I think that can be outstanding skiing but not everybody agrees with me.

What is overall coverage like currently? It seems that JH has gotten the most total snowfall so far out of any mountain I have checked in on...

Looks like you're about to get multiple days of snow as well. Will these storms bring in a couple of feet or looking more like a few inches?

Current coverage is excellent above around 8,000 feet of elevation. Below that is still sketchy off piste. Based on reports I'm getting from people who have skied elsewhere, we're better than just about anybody right now with the exception of Grand Targhee.

I’m driving to Jackson from SLC tomorrow. Considering there may be a small bit of snow what is the best route please?
I’ve driven in snow before but do not have a lot of experience doing it.

The route I almost always take is north on I-15 to Idaho Falls, east on US Hwy 26 to Swan Valley, north on Idaho Hwy 31 to Victor, east over Teton Pass on Ida/Wy Hwy 33/22 to Jackson Hole. This has a minor pass between Swan Valley and Victor plus a major pass (Teton Pass) between Victor and Jackson. Thousands of people drive both of these passes every day with minimal difficulty but Teton Pass in particular can be very snowy with poor visibility and is occasionally (rare but it happens) closed for avalanche control. You can eliminate both passes by continuing east on US 26 to Alpine, Wyoming, then following US 89 to Jackson. That alternative adds about 30 minutes to the drive to Jackson but eliminates all of the high-elevation driving.

There is a fair amount of snow still in the forecast, although they've dropped the major snow event from the forecast (it missed us!). The snow is expected to be accompanied by quite a lot of wind at high elevations. That means that Teton Pass COULD be kind of hairy. If you're not in any big hurry, take the route that goes through Alpine and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Good luck!

 

[Bigtinnie]

This is the ongoing controversy about mid-to-late-March skiing at Jackson Hole. Like you say, I've had every imaginable condition during March, including a great deal of excellent full-on powder skiing in April. Still, the weather is changing despite what our Pres says. You're more likely to run into freeze-thaw cycles in later March now. I think that can be outstanding skiing but not everybody agrees with me.



Current coverage is excellent above around 8,000 feet of elevation. Below that is still sketchy off piste. Based on reports I'm getting from people who have skied elsewhere, we're better than just about anybody right now with the exception of Grand Targhee.



The route I almost always take is north on I-15 to Idaho Falls, east on US Hwy 26 to Swan Valley, north on Idaho Hwy 31 to Victor, east over Teton Pass on Ida/Wy Hwy 33/22 to Jackson Hole. This has a minor pass between Swan Valley and Victor plus a major pass (Teton Pass) between Victor and Jackson. Thousands of people drive both of these passes every day with minimal difficulty but Teton Pass in particular can be very snowy with poor visibility and is occasionally (rare but it happens) closed for avalanche control. You can eliminate both passes by continuing east on US 26 to Alpine, Wyoming, then following US 89 to Jackson. That alternative adds about 30 minutes to the drive to Jackson but eliminates all of the high-elevation driving.

There is a fair amount of snow still in the forecast, although they've dropped the major snow event from the forecast (it missed us!). The snow is expected to be accompanied by quite a lot of wind at high elevations. That means that Teton Pass COULD be kind of hairy. If you're not in any big hurry, take the route that goes through Alpine and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Good luck!

Thanks Bob. I’ll do the longer route. I’ll get to drive the pass in a few days when I take a day at Grand Targhee.

 

[PisteOff]

We drove the Teton Pass on 12/23 both ways. It was closed for a few hours prior to 5am for avalanche control. There was a handful of cars that didn't make it through the pass that day, as witnessed by there accident scenes. Fortunately none of them went over a serious pitch which there is no shortage of through there. I've been through a lot of mountain passes over the years in cars, trucks, trucks pulling trailers, and motorcycles and I have to say that the Teton Pass is one bad ass drive. We chained up in the little town (started with an M) on the East side of the pass going through to ski Targhee at the gas station just prior to the first grade. There is a gas station shortly out of the pass on the West side where we unchained and then chained back up when we went back through.

 

[TPJ]

Me and my client were disappointed that the big storm that was predicted missed us. Our early Tram ride was still worth it even though Corbets was closed.... Darn.... It looked pretty big and burly. The top of the bowl was a bit sastrugi like, Conditions improved as we moved right and dropped in elevation. Bivouac was fantastic first thing as it was freshly groomed and covered with a very consistent layer of wind deposited powder. Sublette lift was on wind hold all day so we did lots of Thunder laps. It was a good day to utilize the C Pass traverse and ski Pepis Run and the Alta chutes. The snow was great there and the traffic was very light. The North faces on Thunder including Paintbrush and Hoops Gap were in pretty good shape as were the bumps on the North leeward side of the ridge leading down to Hoops. The Tram line was long because of the Sublette closure so we only did one of those and used it to access the headwall hike through East Ridge. Ten Sleep Bowl was pretty nice with some smooth wind deposited powder. The hike was easy and we only saw a few other skiers over there. We skied a deep untracked line all the way from the top down through Casper Bowl. Stuff that wasn't skiing particularly well today included any groomed runs later in the day. Lots of patches of hardpack were appearing where the natural snow was getting skied off. I saw Ruthie Peters on the early Tram.

 

[Slide of Hans]

I'm moving up my visit from 3/21 to 3/8 for a little more $. I'd rather have more winter than spring. The "onthe snow" historical Data shows good snow in March at times, maybe this la Nina sticks .

I read that the ride up from evenston WY and through Cokeville northward was an good alternative drive to avoid sketch conditions in teton pass.

 

[ella_g]

@TPJ wheres the C pass traverse? We did a bunch of thunder laps today but couldn't figure out how to get over to everything you can access from sublette ... In other exciting news we saw two sleeping (resting?) moose (mooses?).

 

[Bob Peters]

@TPJ wheres the C pass traverse?

He could tell you, but then he'd have to...

you know the rest.

Think far-right and then high-right Laramie Bowl. That's as many hints as we can give.

 

[Bob Peters]

Me and my client were disappointed that the big storm that was predicted missed us. Our early Tram ride was still worth it even though Corbets was closed.... Darn.... It looked pretty big and burly. The top of the bowl was a bit sastrugi like, Conditions improved as we moved right and dropped in elevation. Bivouac was fantastic first thing as it was freshly groomed and covered with a very consistent layer of wind deposited powder. Sublette lift was on wind hold all day so we did lots of Thunder laps. It was a good day to utilize the C Pass traverse and ski Pepis Run and the Alta chutes. The snow was great there and the traffic was very light. The North faces on Thunder including Paintbrush and Hoops Gap were in pretty good shape as were the bumps on the North leeward side of the ridge leading down to Hoops. The Tram line was long because of the Sublette closure so we only did one of those and used it to access the headwall hike through East Ridge. Ten Sleep Bowl was pretty nice with some smooth wind deposited powder. The hike was easy and we only saw a few other skiers over there. We skied a deep untracked line all the way from the top down through Casper Bowl. Stuff that wasn't skiing particularly well today included any groomed runs later in the day. Lots of patches of hardpack were appearing where the natural snow was getting skied off. I saw Ruthie Peters on the early Tram.[/QUOTE]

She told me she saw you. Small world, huh?

They also managed to do Bivouac about the same time as you and said it was stellar. Her report was that Blacktail was too!

I guess our local weathercaster has been absolutely flabbergasted that these two or three recent allegedly-healthy shots of snow have missed us entirely.

Man plans, God laughs.

 

[Tom K.]

It was a good day to utilize the C Pass traverse and ski Pepis Run and the Alta chutes.

Now THAT is reaching back! I believe that my last season was the last year of the B Pass/C Pass stuff (80/81).

Were you there back then?!

 

[ella_g]

Thanks @Bob Peters 4 the tips will report back Sunday hopefully with success.

 

[TPJ]

Now THAT is reaching back! I believe that my last season was the last year of the B Pass/C Pass stuff (80/81).

Were you there back then?!

My first winter was 89/90.