Conditions Report
Just ignore the last couple of conditions reports, because these are the conditions that you need to expect at Grand Targhee Resort for this weekend. We just got 28 inches of snow, and we’re cruising into an extended stretch of bluebird days with great, soft snow conditions. The cold temps are keeping things extra puffy for those of you who work and don’t camp out in the parking lots of ski resorts, thereby not being able to constantly be the first to cache the stash. Anybody who’s thinking about skiing this MLK weekend, you need to execute on that thought. There is no better time to fall in love with the Tetons than right now.
The Forecast:
That’s no joke, it’s going to be clear, crisp and sunny. Don’t worry, you won’t be cold as the sun here just radiates into your soul all day. For eager powderhounds, things will ramp up again next Tuesday:
Snow Numbers:
Conditions:
I waited for the fog to properly clear this morning before heading up to the mountain at 10:30 a.m. As I purposefully strode the 100 or so yard commute from the lot to the lift, I knew it was going to be one of those days. While there were plenty of tracks from the first hour and Wednesday, pockets and stashes were abound and there was a two minute lift line. I gazed hungrily at the terrain under the Dreamcatcher lift as I rode up.Â
Before smashing any powder, however, I knew I had to go look at the Grand. OK, so I smashed one Dreamcatcher lap and then went to look at the Grand:
After staring at the Grand for several minutes, I got down to business. At Targhee you can ski fast, but today was an exception; you could ski really fast. I was doing several laps an hour. After about 10 on the old dreamcatcher, I wiggled over to the old Blackfoot chair, where there were still plenty of stashes and groovy turns traversing over. There were also tons of wind drifts all over the mountain that just made for the perfect hitters all day…except when there are five of them in a row.
The powder was soft, velvety, and ripable. Not floaty dolphin turns pow, but the kind that you can really dig and edge into and cruise. Unlike the former, this stuff is stays good all day and doesn’t turn to thundery, ligament tearing piles after a couple hours.
The best good of the day were stashed in Cheif Joe’s bowl, where the smoke was of the cold variety:
The remaining dozen or so laps were all Dreamcatcher. The turns were just so succulent all day, regardless of how “cut up” it was. The ever present smoke train was following me around ceaselessly.
Photo Tour:
