Teton Pass

Written by Sam

Sunday, 10 January 2010

For whatever combination of reasons, the Western US has been experiencing a slow start to the 2010 ski season. Shallow snowpacks and deep instability are a common theme in the Northern Rockies, but I needed to venture out and do some exploring for myself. Long time Bridger Bowl local turned road warrior Luke Driessen was headed on a mission to Teton Pass and needed an accomplice. Considering the fact that I had a grand total of zero obligations in Bozeman I joined in on the fun. Questionable coverage and a spooky snowpack kept us off the dynamic terrain and confined to low angle pitches. However, Luke and I are veteran meadow skippers, so we proceeded to cycle untracked powder laps until our legs seized up. There was a point in time when Teton Pass was a staple of my ski season, but I abandoned it several winters ago in favor of closer venues. It turns out this is a problem I need to correct, and I look forward to getting back down there later in the year when conditions are appropriate to tackle some of the larger descents. One thing always strikes me as odd when I arrive in Jackson Hole though. Attitude. I have been fortunate enough to ski a respectable amount of places in North America, Europe and Scandinavia. Without a doubt, Jackson possesses the most attitude and hype of any of location I have ever visited. It’s hard to say why people are so aggro there, so I attempted to track down some locals and gain a bit of perspective. In the end, all I could find was a bunch of guys from Vermont who had lived there for two seasons. I guess this particular issue will always remain a mystery to me. Hopefully the severe clear weather pattern will break up and intense storm cycles will grace the Rocky Mountains on a regular basis in the near future. In the meantime, Teton Pass is an excellent option. The majority of the terrain can be accessed by skins or a bootpack in a reasonable amount of time and car shuttles/hitch hiking is almost painless. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, the Jackson Hole Ski Atlas is a great place to start and available at Teton Mountaineering. As usual, this trip would not have been possible without the assistance of several individuals. I would like to thank Luke for giving me an excuse to hit the road, and give maximum respect to Dave Wilkins for his general insight during our visit to Teton County.