Northern Rockies/Alberta Targhee conditions right now?

[ella_g]

@SnowbirdDevotee glad you made it. Conditions were very nice for skiing sat and sun, though not for racing, you probably saw the racer kids moping around after their race got cancelled bc too much snow ha.

 

[James]

i made it to GT. Turns out they had a huge fleet of rental cars parked at JAC and the rental gave me an SUV for $20 more. Good choice, because it basically hasn't stopped snowing since I got here Saturday morning. I keep hearing this "grand foggy" and although the top of the the mountain off the highest lift had fog it was reasonable and the rest was fine. First run was knee deep untracked and then skied rest of day making nothing but powder turns. At 3pm the skiers left and it started snowing hard again, so enjoyed a few more runs in filled in snow. Not a mogul in sight yesterday at GT!!

Targhee strikes again!
Are you staying over there?

 

[wyowindrunner]

go into the runs between the trees below the good bad and ugly will find some bumps there- just filled in. Can't get there from my neck of the woods this morning- ID 33 and US 26 both closed- blowing and drifting snow0 4" digts in the driveway this morning.

 

[wyowindrunner]

Snow day at GT. Heard a few folks complain about the refrozen glop from the warm weekend weather followed by cold. I was enjoying the same thing at Red Lodge (Better Known as Rock Dodge although that may be ending this year as they just got 32" Sunday and Sunday night- the day we left. When the snow comes there it does come in bunches!), but Targee's dependable snow was filling stuff in fast. I was finding some good stuff- head wall was good as usual. Plowed my drive when I got home tonight. went into Idaho Falls and got home about 10. Had another 4" of snow in the drive and still coming down. The hounds will be out early tomorrow.

 

[wyowindrunner]

Liked reading the posts from the gathering at JH and the side trip to GT. You sure got some uncommonly nice weather that weekend. Back to the more common this week- pics from Tuesday. Stick of Truth said four inches so more on top and light snow most of morning- and the upper parking lot was only half full.

From Dreamcatcher halfway up.

The little spine that separates lower Chief Joe's bowl from the stuff under steam vent. Below the fog.

 

[wyowindrunner]

practicing social distancing at Targhee.

Not a huge concern. The usual snow fog mix.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Not a huge concern. The usual snow fog mix.

The locals call it "Grand Foggy" for a reason...

 

[wyowindrunner]

Headed up to GT this morning -18" overnight- I realize it's Friday and a powder day but where did all these people come from? Traffic backed up from Teton Creek road turnoff up at 8:30 this morning. Seven mils out. Never experienced this before. Turned around and went home. Still a stream of cars headed up.

 

[AmyPJ]

Headed up to GT this morning -18" overnight- I realize it's Friday and a powder day but where did all these people come from? Traffic backed up from Teton Creek road turnoff up at 8:30 this morning. Seven mils out. Never experienced this before. Turned around and went home. Still a stream of cars headed up.

That's insane. We are here for the weekend on a little road trip that started at Big Sky. Sorry to add to the congestion--I can relate as Snowbasin has been overrun horribly this year, too.

I have a feeling a lot of the traffic GT is seeing this year is from Jackson skiers who can't get a reservation at Jackson, OR Mountain Collective passholders who are now taking advantage of having access to GT, or both. I noticed when we were here in January that it was much busier than what we're accustomed to. I get text alerts for GT parking and it seems parking is 100% full in a hurry, too.

 

[ejj]

The combo of the Big Pass, mostly crappy snow, work from everywhere whenever, and many vacation/rec activities curtailed, has not been easy on the skier experience this year. It seems anytime we get snow now it’s insanity. If we get snow on a weekend day forget it.

 

[AmyPJ]

The combo of the Big Pass, mostly crappy snow, work from everywhere whenever, and many vacation/rec activities curtailed, has not been easy on the skier experience this year. It seems anytime we get snow now it’s insanity. If we get snow on a weekend day forget it.

We left Ski Hill Rd condo at 7:35 and waited coming up the hill. Headed to Sac, waited in line for 30 minutes. Visibility everywhere else was too much for me especially with having to wait in insane lines. I’ve never remotely seen this place like this.

Is it the same on Sundays anymore?

 

[Fuller]

Where are all these people coming from? Whitefish too is inundated. I've been so spoiled for so long...

 

[ejj]

We left Ski Hill Rd condo at 7:35 and waited coming up the hill. Headed to Sac, waited in line for 30 minutes. Visibility everywhere else was too much for me especially with having to wait in insane lines. I’ve never remotely seen this place like this.

Is it the same on Sundays anymore?

I think people are also early for ski week this year. But yes, most decent weekend days are not like the old days. I hope it is just a 2020-2021 anomaly. All the good slightly off the radar areas are seeing this.

 

[noobski]

I think people are also early for ski week this year. But yes, most decent weekend days are not like the old days. I hope it is just a 2020-2021 anomaly. All the good slightly off the radar areas are seeing this.

Maybe...but just think what will happen when foreigners can start visiting again... Maybe it will be offset by US nationals flying to foreign lands though. But add in the covid-concerned waiting until 2022 and it's going to be a big 2022.

 

[ejj]

Maybe...but just think what will happen when foreigners can start visiting again... Maybe it will be offset by US nationals flying to foreign lands though. But add in the covid-concerned waiting until 2022 and it's going to be a big 2022.

Good point--part of that was the deals struck between airlines and ski-areas that guaranteed quotas on certain routes, subsidized some planes, etc.

 

[AmyPJ]

After spending the week at Big Sky, Targhee, and Jackson Hole, I truly believe that the lift lines are mostly attributable to not loading lifts to full capacity. The parking situation at Targhee had me scratching my head, though. We've skied many a Saturday there and have been able to leave Ski Hill Road at 8ish and have never had issues parking very close to the front. I hope it's just that fewer people are carpooling or riding the shuttles, but based on behavior in the lodges and on the hill, I'm not so sure. I was pretty mortified by how busy it was inside the lodges, particularly at BS. The lift lines across the board are quite hideous at times this year. Snowbasin's Strawberry side is a joke, but it's mostly due to it being one lift serving essentially 1/3 of the entire mountain, including some of the best glades and intermediate terrain anywhere.

Anyway, I digress. We chose to ski Jackson Hole on Sunday vs. Targhee because we had a not-so-fun day at Targhee on Saturday due to the fog and crowds and wind. The snow had been chewed up the day before, leaving huge piles that you couldn't see. You know it's bad when Dreamcatcher doesn't have much of a line and people are leaving at 11. The fog at Targhee definitely makes it more of a crapshoot place to ski vs. other resorts with more trees. Hit it on a sunny day with fresh snow (fresh snow is not hard to get at GT, they get refills frequently, with incredible snow quality) and it's heaven. Hit it on a foggy day with wind, and it's not a very pleasant experience unless you are young and fearless with really good vision.

 

[BS Slarver]

Be glad you didn’t stick around here this weekend. Although we did get a sweet storm cycle, 12-18” the place was a zoo and parking was at capacity by noon forcing those who were late to park in town and be bused up.

One skier reported a 2+ hr from 4corners, which is closer than Bozeman.
Lift lines Saturday were the longest I’ve ever seen. Gotta think It’s a COVID thing when the 8 pack goes up with only 3 and 4 people.

 

[AmyPJ]

Be glad you didn’t stick around here this weekend. Although we did get a sweet storm cycle, 12-18” the place was a zoo and parking was at capacity by noon forcing those who were late to park in town and be bused up.

One skier reported a 2+ hr from 4corners, which is closer than Bozeman.
Lift lines Saturday were the longest I’ve ever seen. Gotta think It’s a COVID thing when the 8 pack goes up with only 3 and 4 people.

We determined that weekend skiing this year is just hideous no matter where. We'll be back to BS next season, and my skill set is improving daily so I'll ready to do a lot more exploring stashes. I was ready to this week, but my friend was nowhere near ready. It was her first experience in powder and chop, and she had a fantastic attitude (she's really brave for 55, too!) My husband helped her a ton, too.

 

[OnEdge]

Be glad you didn’t stick around here this weekend. Although we did get a sweet storm cycle, 12-18” the place was a zoo and parking was at capacity by noon forcing those who were late to park in town and be bused up.

One skier reported a 2+ hr from 4corners, which is closer than Bozeman.
Lift lines Saturday were the longest I’ve ever seen. Gotta think It’s a COVID thing when the 8 pack goes up with only 3 and 4 people.

11am on Sunday at Big Sky, and the Ramcharger line extended past the ski check up to the ski school meeting point. Swifty line on up the slope on one side and to the magic carpet on the other. Things got better as some of the other lifts [re]started. Crowds thinned significantly in the afternoon between the Sunday afternoon returns to Bozeman and the Superbowl. Definitely a day for an early lunch.

 

[noobski]

Beside the work from anywhere's there's also just a lot of people moving out west. I hope it's not the new normal, however there'll obviously be a push to open more resorts...i,e. next door to Deer Valley as one example. Probably more to follow if this keeps up.