I recently attended Jackson Hole’s Steep and Deep Camp. I am an advanced (but definitely not expert) skier who enjoys skiing the whole mountain and wanted to improve my off-piste and powder skills. I had skied Jackson before and always enjoyed the mountain, but was apprehensive about exploring the gnarly stuff by myself due to concerns about getting overterrained or cliffed out. As such, I felt the camp would be a great way to learn the mountain better as well as get some instruction along the way. Prior to the camp, I was definitely worried about being the worst skier there. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the camp caters to skiers of varying abilities (intermediate and above) and is very good about grouping skiers of similar skill levels (and swapping them around if need be).
The coaches are all PSIA level 3 instructors who really enjoy the kind of stuff JH is known for. They have all been at Jackson for several to many years and know the mountain’s nooks and crannies like the back of their hand. We rarely skied runs that are named on the trail map, but everything seemed to have some title recognizable to the locals. In addition, all of these folks can rip hard. Half the enjoyment of the camp was just watching the coaches shred the lines in front of you. Poetry in motion. I would describe the overall experience as a hybrid of guiding and instruction. At least in our group, it was a lot more skiing and a lot less talking. This was great, especially given the epic conditions that we had. Our instructor (who I will definitely be seeking out in the future) was great at giving us one or two items to focus on at any given time, and finding a great line to practice on. This instruction model worked really well for me.
This particular camp was sponsored by GoPro. I signed up for this camp mostly because the dates worked, but the GoPro aspect was a nice addition to the camp. GoPro sent three reps (whose jobs are to ski/surf/skate/bike/etc in epic locations and promote GoPro products-tough gig, right?) to get gear in our hands and teach us how to use it. They basically had optional sessions in the evening where they were available for questions about the equipment, software, and editing. They also skied with us all day, bouncing around from group to group filming and answering questions. They also had spare gear on them (batteries, sim cards, mounts, etc) if you needed it or wanted to try something. As a side note, these dudes could shred pretty hard and were great skiing companions outside of their corporate role.
Also skiing with us and bouncing around was JH Pro Andrew Whiteford. Just stick his name into youtube or vimeo if you’re not familiar. The video speaks for itself. He is a super chill dude with a great sense of humor, who also happens to be an AMAZING skier. We’d just be skiing along and he’d nail these sick lines you that didn’t even register as skiable. While he wasn’t the primary coach for anyone, he’d ski with each group for a half day or so and offer tips/tricks that I found really helpful for skiing gnarly off-piste stuff. Skiing with him was definitely a high watermark in my skiing career.
Just for reference, basic areas and named runs we skied included Rendezvous Bowl (front and backsides), Cheyenne Bowl, Wally World, Central Chute, Elephant Tree, Flip Point, Tower 3 Chute, Toilet Bowl, Alta Chutes, Paintbrush, Broken Goggle, Expert Chutes, Dick’s Ditch, Bernie’s Bowl, Bird in the Hand, Gannett, Headwall, Coombs, Riverton Bowl, North Colter Ridge, Anemometer, etc.
Day 1:
It was snowing pretty hard as we boarded the early tram at 8:15. Hung in Corbet’s Cabin for about 30 minutes, snagged a waffle. Mountain opened at 9:00. We were given a single warmup run down the Rendezvous Bowl (very low visibility, 40 mph winds, variable surfaces, but starting to accumulate fresh snow) to the top of Cheyenne Bowl. Coaches skied to the bottom and sent us down two by two (over a field of large but pretty soft bumps in Cheyenne Bowl) to be judged. This was the ski-off which determined our fate for the week. I skied OK (not an amazing bump skier) and was placed in group two (with group one being amazing shred-heads and group four having a really great attitude). My group of five (plus coach) became fast friends and turned out to have very similar attitudes, preferences, and ability levels. Very cohesive. We spent the day pretty much entirely on Sublette and Thunder chairs with one more tram ride after lunch in the Village (catered, in the Gabe Room of the Bridger Center). We skied a lot of bumps, trees, and (as it continued to dump) some fresh powder. No air on day one for us. We mostly did not ski on named runs, but rather in cool little stashes of powder and gnar to which our coach guided us expertly. We only hit the lower mountain (skied down Gros Ventre) to get back for lunch and at the end of the day. All of the expert lower mountain terrain was closed due to poor coverage (Hobacks, etc). Even with all the dumping up top, it was 35 degrees and raining in Teton Village. We had a nice little après-ski at The Spur with free apps and a free drink ticket and many additional non-free drinks. A great time was had by all.
Day 2:
Eight inches of fresh fluff up top in the morning, and continued to dump all day long. Boarded the early tram at 8:15. Up at Corbet’s Cabin just after 8:30 trying to stay warm in the 60 mph winds with blowing snow and very poor visibility. Due to wind and avalanche mitigation, the tram didn’t start running again and the mountain didn’t open until about 10:00. At that point we were released; a mad dash ensued to capitalize on all the freshies Ullr had to offer. Pretty deep powder (at least knee-high in spots), but a bit tricky as it was somewhat windblown and had a heavy crust layer with soft stuff underneath and hardpack underneath that. Definitely got some first tracks in a bunch of places. Sublette was initially closed, so we stuck to Thunder for most of the morning. Much of the same un-named terrain as Day 1, but with some new focus: powder and cliffs. Our guide was great about assessing our ability and willingness to take to the air, and did a great job selecting relatively non-threatening drops for us to warm up to the idea. We started out small and progressed a bit as the day went. We did some cliffs ranging from about 5-10 feet and progressed to having to clear rocks and do some mid-air redirection. Definitely put me a bit outside my comfort zone, but in a good way. Also started hitting some shorter chutes and straightlines. Lunch was provided at Spur from a prix-fixe menu. Very good. After the day was done, we had a GoPro guru session where we learned about the equipment, apps and editing. Not particularly helpful, but the GoPro guys were pretty great (and skied with us throughout the day) and very willing to give out tips and hand out equipment to try.
Day 3:
Woke up to 6 more inches of fresh pow and (close to) bluebird skies, though that turned to storm conditions by about 10:00, and it continued to dump all day long. Loaded the tram at 8:15 and headed to the Cabin to wait for the 9:00 bell. We skied the first half of the morning with a pro photographer who filmed us (for later analysis). Also joining us this morning was JH Pro Andrew Whiteford. He was just there to shred with us and offer tips on technique and tactics in the deep pow and on gnarly lines. Given all the fresh snow, we focused on riding pow and (again) a lot of bumps, trees, steeps, as well as some pretty narrow chutes and a few small cliffdrops. One of the groups dropped into Corbets (4/4 washed out and slid to the bottom), but we elected not to, as the entrance was still pretty sketchy. Lunch was catered at the Teton Mountain Lodge. Excellent. Back up the tram after lunch and a few quick runs on Sublette/Thunder before heading in a bit early to do motion analysis on our video from the morning. This was followed by a GoPro editing session which featured pizza and beer. A nice way to cap the day.
Day 4:
Dumped another 16” in the past 24 hours, and continued to snow hard all day long. Hopped on the 8:15 tram, but got stuck in Corbet’s Cabin (WAFFLE TIME!!!!) until they opened the mountain. We hit the fresh pow hard, doing more steeps/chutes/trees/bumps. We skied with the GoPro guys for a while and got some great footage. Catered lunch in the Bridger Center. Met up with our backcountry guide at lunch, but given the multiple avalanches that happened that morning, we did not leave the resort. Instead, we went up the tram, hiked the Headwall and skied off that for a while. We did spend some time doing avalanche safety training and general backcountry awareness stuff. A few runs on the lower faces opened (for the first time this year) in the later afternoon, so we hit those before calling it a day. That night, there was a rowdy banquet dinner at Nick Wilson’s with an open bar, buffet dinner, video presentation, and awards/prizes. Swag that was handed out included some goggles, helmets, hats, two GoPro cameras, a pair of Rossi Soul 7’s, and a voucher for a free Steep and Deep camp for next season. Total blast. Much merriment and many shot-skis of Jagermeister. Great send off.
Overall, this was the best four days of skiing I have ever done. Granted, we got a total of about 32” of snow during that time, but the course is just unbelievable. The whole staff was great; really easy to work with. Everything was really well organized, and there was good communication throughout. The value was incredible. The cost was $1250 without lift tickets or $1650 with. Lift tickets alone are $135/day at the window. Four full (and I mean FULL) days of guiding and instruction in a small group (5 skiers plus coach), four lunches, four après-ski get-togethers, professional videography with motion analysis, backcountry half day with additional guide and instruction, early trams (with first access to the fresh stuff), some free swag. Any way you slice it, it’s a lot for your money. I’d recommend this course to anyone who wants to expand their horizons, get off the groomers, and have a friggin’ blast. Go get some.
The coaches are all PSIA level 3 instructors who really enjoy the kind of stuff JH is known for. They have all been at Jackson for several to many years and know the mountain’s nooks and crannies like the back of their hand. We rarely skied runs that are named on the trail map, but everything seemed to have some title recognizable to the locals. In addition, all of these folks can rip hard. Half the enjoyment of the camp was just watching the coaches shred the lines in front of you. Poetry in motion. I would describe the overall experience as a hybrid of guiding and instruction. At least in our group, it was a lot more skiing and a lot less talking. This was great, especially given the epic conditions that we had. Our instructor (who I will definitely be seeking out in the future) was great at giving us one or two items to focus on at any given time, and finding a great line to practice on. This instruction model worked really well for me.
This particular camp was sponsored by GoPro. I signed up for this camp mostly because the dates worked, but the GoPro aspect was a nice addition to the camp. GoPro sent three reps (whose jobs are to ski/surf/skate/bike/etc in epic locations and promote GoPro products-tough gig, right?) to get gear in our hands and teach us how to use it. They basically had optional sessions in the evening where they were available for questions about the equipment, software, and editing. They also skied with us all day, bouncing around from group to group filming and answering questions. They also had spare gear on them (batteries, sim cards, mounts, etc) if you needed it or wanted to try something. As a side note, these dudes could shred pretty hard and were great skiing companions outside of their corporate role.
Also skiing with us and bouncing around was JH Pro Andrew Whiteford. Just stick his name into youtube or vimeo if you’re not familiar. The video speaks for itself. He is a super chill dude with a great sense of humor, who also happens to be an AMAZING skier. We’d just be skiing along and he’d nail these sick lines you that didn’t even register as skiable. While he wasn’t the primary coach for anyone, he’d ski with each group for a half day or so and offer tips/tricks that I found really helpful for skiing gnarly off-piste stuff. Skiing with him was definitely a high watermark in my skiing career.
Just for reference, basic areas and named runs we skied included Rendezvous Bowl (front and backsides), Cheyenne Bowl, Wally World, Central Chute, Elephant Tree, Flip Point, Tower 3 Chute, Toilet Bowl, Alta Chutes, Paintbrush, Broken Goggle, Expert Chutes, Dick’s Ditch, Bernie’s Bowl, Bird in the Hand, Gannett, Headwall, Coombs, Riverton Bowl, North Colter Ridge, Anemometer, etc. Day 1:
It was snowing pretty hard as we boarded the early tram at 8:15. Hung in Corbet’s Cabin for about 30 minutes, snagged a waffle. Mountain opened at 9:00. We were given a single warmup run down the Rendezvous Bowl (very low visibility, 40 mph winds, variable surfaces, but starting to accumulate fresh snow) to the top of Cheyenne Bowl. Coaches skied to the bottom and sent us down two by two (over a field of large but pretty soft bumps in Cheyenne Bowl) to be judged. This was the ski-off which determined our fate for the week. I skied OK (not an amazing bump skier) and was placed in group two (with group one being amazing shred-heads and group four having a really great attitude). My group of five (plus coach) became fast friends and turned out to have very similar attitudes, preferences, and ability levels. Very cohesive. We spent the day pretty much entirely on Sublette and Thunder chairs with one more tram ride after lunch in the Village (catered, in the Gabe Room of the Bridger Center). We skied a lot of bumps, trees, and (as it continued to dump) some fresh powder. No air on day one for us. We mostly did not ski on named runs, but rather in cool little stashes of powder and gnar to which our coach guided us expertly. We only hit the lower mountain (skied down Gros Ventre) to get back for lunch and at the end of the day. All of the expert lower mountain terrain was closed due to poor coverage (Hobacks, etc). Even with all the dumping up top, it was 35 degrees and raining in Teton Village. We had a nice little après-ski at The Spur with free apps and a free drink ticket and many additional non-free drinks. A great time was had by all.
Day 2:
Eight inches of fresh fluff up top in the morning, and continued to dump all day long. Boarded the early tram at 8:15. Up at Corbet’s Cabin just after 8:30 trying to stay warm in the 60 mph winds with blowing snow and very poor visibility. Due to wind and avalanche mitigation, the tram didn’t start running again and the mountain didn’t open until about 10:00. At that point we were released; a mad dash ensued to capitalize on all the freshies Ullr had to offer. Pretty deep powder (at least knee-high in spots), but a bit tricky as it was somewhat windblown and had a heavy crust layer with soft stuff underneath and hardpack underneath that. Definitely got some first tracks in a bunch of places. Sublette was initially closed, so we stuck to Thunder for most of the morning. Much of the same un-named terrain as Day 1, but with some new focus: powder and cliffs. Our guide was great about assessing our ability and willingness to take to the air, and did a great job selecting relatively non-threatening drops for us to warm up to the idea. We started out small and progressed a bit as the day went. We did some cliffs ranging from about 5-10 feet and progressed to having to clear rocks and do some mid-air redirection. Definitely put me a bit outside my comfort zone, but in a good way. Also started hitting some shorter chutes and straightlines. Lunch was provided at Spur from a prix-fixe menu. Very good. After the day was done, we had a GoPro guru session where we learned about the equipment, apps and editing. Not particularly helpful, but the GoPro guys were pretty great (and skied with us throughout the day) and very willing to give out tips and hand out equipment to try.
Day 3:
Woke up to 6 more inches of fresh pow and (close to) bluebird skies, though that turned to storm conditions by about 10:00, and it continued to dump all day long. Loaded the tram at 8:15 and headed to the Cabin to wait for the 9:00 bell. We skied the first half of the morning with a pro photographer who filmed us (for later analysis). Also joining us this morning was JH Pro Andrew Whiteford. He was just there to shred with us and offer tips on technique and tactics in the deep pow and on gnarly lines. Given all the fresh snow, we focused on riding pow and (again) a lot of bumps, trees, steeps, as well as some pretty narrow chutes and a few small cliffdrops. One of the groups dropped into Corbets (4/4 washed out and slid to the bottom), but we elected not to, as the entrance was still pretty sketchy. Lunch was catered at the Teton Mountain Lodge. Excellent. Back up the tram after lunch and a few quick runs on Sublette/Thunder before heading in a bit early to do motion analysis on our video from the morning. This was followed by a GoPro editing session which featured pizza and beer. A nice way to cap the day.
Day 4:
Dumped another 16” in the past 24 hours, and continued to snow hard all day long. Hopped on the 8:15 tram, but got stuck in Corbet’s Cabin (WAFFLE TIME!!!!) until they opened the mountain. We hit the fresh pow hard, doing more steeps/chutes/trees/bumps. We skied with the GoPro guys for a while and got some great footage. Catered lunch in the Bridger Center. Met up with our backcountry guide at lunch, but given the multiple avalanches that happened that morning, we did not leave the resort. Instead, we went up the tram, hiked the Headwall and skied off that for a while. We did spend some time doing avalanche safety training and general backcountry awareness stuff. A few runs on the lower faces opened (for the first time this year) in the later afternoon, so we hit those before calling it a day. That night, there was a rowdy banquet dinner at Nick Wilson’s with an open bar, buffet dinner, video presentation, and awards/prizes. Swag that was handed out included some goggles, helmets, hats, two GoPro cameras, a pair of Rossi Soul 7’s, and a voucher for a free Steep and Deep camp for next season. Total blast. Much merriment and many shot-skis of Jagermeister. Great send off.
Overall, this was the best four days of skiing I have ever done. Granted, we got a total of about 32” of snow during that time, but the course is just unbelievable. The whole staff was great; really easy to work with. Everything was really well organized, and there was good communication throughout. The value was incredible. The cost was $1250 without lift tickets or $1650 with. Lift tickets alone are $135/day at the window. Four full (and I mean FULL) days of guiding and instruction in a small group (5 skiers plus coach), four lunches, four après-ski get-togethers, professional videography with motion analysis, backcountry half day with additional guide and instruction, early trams (with first access to the fresh stuff), some free swag. Any way you slice it, it’s a lot for your money. I’d recommend this course to anyone who wants to expand their horizons, get off the groomers, and have a friggin’ blast. Go get some.
