Conditions Report
Today Friday Feb. 3rd was the halfway point in Jackson’s season, and they are pacing a cool 712″ inches season total. Needless to say, there have been many deep powder days this season and Thursday Feb. 2nd was one of them. In fact, Thursday was my favorite type of day: a sleeper day, a storm day, and ultimately, a day full of refills and short Tram lines. There was a harsh wind at the top and low visibility throughout, but the powder skiing was the finest in the world.
I started early, but not too early. An 8:40 arrival and 2nd tram. The snow report was 6 inches at the top, and 4 mid-mountain. I spent the next 2 hours checking out the terrain. I skied Thunder, Sublette, and Rendezvouz, but Hobacks was where I’d found that classic open Teton terrain I was looking for.
Around 11, I met up with Chris Brownley. It began to snow heavily around this time, and the snow was getting deeper with each run, so we knew that it was time for some slack. It was around this time that we were condemned for the day to the White Room.
In the white room with black curtains near the station.
Black-roof country, no gold pavements, tired starlings.
Silver horses run down moonbeams in your dark eyes.
Dawn-light smiles on you leaving, my contentment.
– Cream
Speaking of Cream, the snow was wonderfully creamy:
Why Not was getting deeper and deeper, and Chris and I only had one goal – to ski powder. No cliffs, no jumps, no tricks, no taking off our skis and hiking…lift accessed powder was the name of the game.
Jackson is one of the best mountains to ski on deep storm days. Why? Because they have a steep pitch, and plenty of trees for visibility and reduced avalanche danger. Yes, there is alpine in Rendezvous of the Tram, but much of the mountain contains scattered trees, rocks, and the legendary cliff faces that define the Tetons. Deep powder often means getting bogged down and stuck in other resorts. Three thousand vertical of consistent pitch begins at Lower Rendezvous and goes down to the bottom of Hobacks. Let’s just say your in for a treat. Oh, and all of the terrain in these photos can be accessed when the Tram is closed.
We skied until the Tram closed at 3:30, both satisfied beyond measure with how the day played out. It snowed 8 inches while the lifts were open, and with a little wind, our tracks were non-existent by the time we cycled back again. Such a classic powder day!
Snow Numbers:
Forecast:
Now that we’ve established what an awesome time it’s been here at Jackson, and that we will continue to see significant snowfall for the foreseeable future, it’s time for some more photos:
Photo Tour:
