The search for snow

Written by Sam

Sunday, 31 January 2010

It’s the end of January and ski season continues to plod along in Southwest Montana. We have not been fortunate enough to receive any type of consistent snowfall lately, but the coverage is adequate to ski the majority of the lines at Bridger Bowl. Robb Gaffney recently made the journey from Tahoe to visit his family and partake in a classic Bozeman hardpack cycle. The good Dr. brought several of his buddies from CA along which allowed us to play an epic game of G.N.A.R. (Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness) in order to break up the routine. Actually, we did manage to ski an incredible number of lines in the two days the guys were in town. Hopefully they can come back when we have better coverage. Following the departure of our friends from sunny Lake Tahoe, I was restless to get on the road and attempt to ski some fresh snow. Salt Lake City is my go-to destination and it just so happened that they were in the depths of a massive storm system when I arrived. Unfortunately the snow was deposited with a significant amount of wind and the avalanche danger kept both the ski areas and transportation department struggling to get anything open. Long lines and limited terrain was the name of the game at Alta/Snowbird but I did manage to link up and ski with Kenny, FlyLow Dan and Megan Michelson. Jeff Wright, AKA The Godfather was even kind enough to put aside his hectic schedule for a few hours and not only devour some powder, but a quick beer as well. In order to escape the crowds I wanted to go for a tour, but the level of instability in the snowpack left us with limited options. Andy Rosenberg called and suggested I meet him at 0515 for a notorious BDEL tradition known simply as “Dawn Patrol.” We were physically on the skintrack by 0540 and in true Wasatch form there were two other parties of skiers out sampling the goods as well. Storm skiing by headlamp in the timber is a somewhat disconcerting experience, but I suggest you give it a go at some point. After a few fish tacos and a series of phone calls, Luke and I formulated a plan to meet in Jackson Hole. Conditions had improved significantly since my visit earlier in the month and the weather looked promising. Once I rolled into town, our first order of business was a quick lap on Teton Pass. We arrived at JHMR in Teton Village the following morning bright and early and ran laps until literally last chair (they made us ride up with this cone, and then shut the chair down right when we got off). It has also come to my attention that the Village Café has really stepped up their efforts in the sticker department. Overall it was an excellent week on the road. I was able to ski good snow with great friends and explore some new terrain. None of these trips would be possible without the assistance and generosity of several key players. I would like to thank Kenny and Jenn Atkin for being such gracious hosts, Luke, Andy and Robb for making this whole thing come together and everybody else for being so much damn fun to ski with.