DeweySki
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Somewhere over the Tetons:
Arrived in Jackson Saturday evening via an easy breezy Delta flight from SLC that was half empty. The Jackson airport is small, but there was free orange juice for kiddos and mimosas for adults! JH was in the middle of a little music festival when we arrived so the village was lively. We stayed at the Hotel Terra, which is a great location, but I would say not worth the price. Last year we stayed in town, so this year we wanted to see what it was like to stay in Teton Village. Hotel Terra is supposed to be ski-in/ski-out but it was all melted out when we got there. It does have an awesome hottub/infinity pool that has partial views of the mountain and we were able to see the fireworks on Saturday night from the hottub, so that was awesome. There’s also a more traditional hottub on the roof of the other tower (the hotel is two towers connected by a skybridge), but that one does not have any views. This hotel is partially individually-owned condos and seemed to be popular with families. There were many children at this hotel, one of whom even pulled the fire alarm on Saturday night! The staff was pleasant and even called each room to follow up on the fire alarm incident.
Melty part outside of the hotel:
Sunday: Took an all-day lesson. Lessons at JH are pricey--$150 without lift and $215 with lift--but, like many things, you get what you pay for. I have taken at least a half-day lesson at every major western mountain resort I’ve been to and JH is hands down the best. I asked at the ticket counter what the group limit was and the employee said there is no limit to group size, however my lessons at JH have been 4, 5, and 6 people, so I would say that’s a safe average. I was placed in the “Advanced” group with an instructor named Pete. Their pre-lesson interview is EXTENSIVE and you will have it with the person at the ticket counter, the lesson coordinator, and the assigned instructor.They will ask: Have you skied JH before? If so, what runs? When’s the last time you skied? Where do you usually ski? What kind of terrain do you ski at your home mountain? And the best of all questions: What do you want to work on? I really appreciate this as someone who was stuck in an intermediate rut for a while. I was pretty open to what we did, so I said something like, “I want to do bumps, jumps, or steeps. I don’t want to work on pole plants again.” They said, “Then you’re in the right group!”
Near Teewinot lift, where lessons meet:
Gondola:
We immediately headed up the Gondola and did a little ski assessment off of the Amphitheater run. One adjustment was made to the groups and we were on our way. We headed over to the Thunder chair as it had the best “corn” snow at that time in the day. We did a lap down Grand and them immediately got into working on bumps and continued for what felt like 75% of the lesson. Pete did a wonderful job of taking us around the mountain as conditions changed/got better throughout the day. It was a pretty warm day and a lot of runs were getting slushy, which was actually perfect for working on steep bumps. He acknowledged that there is more than one way to ski bumps, and kind of just said, “Well, this is how I like to do it.” At some point he took us down Buffalo Bowl and we cut back over to the tram line. After lunch at the top of the Gondola, we headed back down to take our first Tram lap!! So exciting!! We did Rendezvous bowl, which I would categorize as “Icy death bumps.” They probably weren’t that icy in the grand scheme of things, but there were definitely huge and steep. My SO was with us on this lap and and watched me suffer/survive down the bowl as he waited with my instructor. He said those bumps were some of the biggest and steepest I will encounter in skiing, so everything should be easy as pie after that! Right…
After the monumental lap down Rendezvous bowl, we started to taper the lesson a bit and worked our way across the mountain. Some of us had expressed interest in jumping off of stuff, so Pete showed us how to jump of the edge of a traverse when they have a little lip on them. At my home mountain this would get one yelled at by mountain safety, so it was definitely a hoot to do it at Jackson. We lost one person in the group who was just wiped after the first half of the day, and I’m not gonna lie, my quads were on fire too by 4:00. I know it’s because I spent a lot of the day scared and nervous and therefore in the back seat. But that’s why Jackson instructors are so great--they push you to the edge of your ability and then some so you actually progress as a skier.
I think at the top of Apres Vous:
On taking the Tram for the first time: I was in a group of 4, which was three men and one woman (me!). My instructor was also male. The guys in my group asked early on in the lesson if we could take a tram lap and the instructor said something like, “That’s the plan, hopefully after lunch.” After my abysmal performance in the bumps before lunch I was worried that I had ruined it for my whole group and we wouldn’t be going up the tram anymore. But we still went! I think this was really a gender thing and the guys being adamant. The big takeaways for me from this whole series of events: if you want to do something in a lesson, SPEAK UP! The instructor will probably say “yes”
Also, don’t be so scared! Easier said than done, right? I skied more days and IMHO had better on-piste technique than the guys in my group, but they were absolutely fearless, especially off-piste. I know we’ve talked a lot on this forum about gender differences in skiing, but it was crazy to see it manifest before my very eyes. Skiing with a group of men all day way eye-opening and will hopefully help me be better about trying new things on the mountain, even if I’m not 100% positive that I’m ready.
Concert under the tram:
Monday: big cold front came through, so the mountain was actually kind of crusty. I did a few runs and realized that my legs were still shot, so I called it a day. I knew that there was a storm blowing in that night, so I wanted to make sure that my body was well-rest and ready to go.
Tuesday: I skied with my SO (who is an expert boarder). It was forecasted to snow all throughout the day, so we tried to be strategic about what would be best early and what would fill in as the day went on. The visibility was pretty bad, but who cares when you have fresh snow? We got up super early and went up the Gondola, down Amphitheater, up Thunder chair, down Grand, and over to the Sublette chair to get early tracks on Rendezvous trail (one of my faves). It felt like a race with other skiers to get over there, but the mountain was actually pretty empty. After that we headed to Casper chair to check it out, but that immediate area was actually pretty busy. Decided to do a run called Kemmerer that I had done in my lesson and really liked. NO ONE was over there. By then there was at least 6” of fresh on top of the pre-existing bumps. It tough because I didn’t really know what I was skiing on--sometimes I landed in the gut of a mogul and at one point I realized I was skiing on top of rocks covered in freshies. My bases took a beating but they’re like a badge of honor. We kept doing laps over there, as it continued to be empty and our tracks were filling in by the time we circled around.
Looking up to Rendezvous bowl (with an Instagram filter):
Casper chair:
Overall: a wonderful trip. I skied my Atomic Elysians all three days. My instructor even complimented my skis! They were especially great on the third day when a single turn could start in powder and end in hardpack/ice. I had brought my Armada TSTws as well, but never got them out. They just don’t do as well with edge hold. Maybe next year!
Jackson Hole is obviously known for being a steep and serious mountain. It can be intimidating as an advancing intermediate/low advanced skier, but there really is something for everyone. The people on the mountain, from JHMR employees to other skiers, are super friendly and just really stoked on being there. Taking lessons has been clutch, especially for navigating the mountain and since instructors are keen on pointing out their “secret stashes.” After three days at JH and doing some black runs on this notorious mountain, I feel like I can confidently try some black runs on other mountains.
For whatever reason, the mountain looked especially steep after dinner:
Arrived in Jackson Saturday evening via an easy breezy Delta flight from SLC that was half empty. The Jackson airport is small, but there was free orange juice for kiddos and mimosas for adults! JH was in the middle of a little music festival when we arrived so the village was lively. We stayed at the Hotel Terra, which is a great location, but I would say not worth the price. Last year we stayed in town, so this year we wanted to see what it was like to stay in Teton Village. Hotel Terra is supposed to be ski-in/ski-out but it was all melted out when we got there. It does have an awesome hottub/infinity pool that has partial views of the mountain and we were able to see the fireworks on Saturday night from the hottub, so that was awesome. There’s also a more traditional hottub on the roof of the other tower (the hotel is two towers connected by a skybridge), but that one does not have any views. This hotel is partially individually-owned condos and seemed to be popular with families. There were many children at this hotel, one of whom even pulled the fire alarm on Saturday night! The staff was pleasant and even called each room to follow up on the fire alarm incident.
Melty part outside of the hotel:
Sunday: Took an all-day lesson. Lessons at JH are pricey--$150 without lift and $215 with lift--but, like many things, you get what you pay for. I have taken at least a half-day lesson at every major western mountain resort I’ve been to and JH is hands down the best. I asked at the ticket counter what the group limit was and the employee said there is no limit to group size, however my lessons at JH have been 4, 5, and 6 people, so I would say that’s a safe average. I was placed in the “Advanced” group with an instructor named Pete. Their pre-lesson interview is EXTENSIVE and you will have it with the person at the ticket counter, the lesson coordinator, and the assigned instructor.They will ask: Have you skied JH before? If so, what runs? When’s the last time you skied? Where do you usually ski? What kind of terrain do you ski at your home mountain? And the best of all questions: What do you want to work on? I really appreciate this as someone who was stuck in an intermediate rut for a while. I was pretty open to what we did, so I said something like, “I want to do bumps, jumps, or steeps. I don’t want to work on pole plants again.” They said, “Then you’re in the right group!”
Near Teewinot lift, where lessons meet:
Gondola:
We immediately headed up the Gondola and did a little ski assessment off of the Amphitheater run. One adjustment was made to the groups and we were on our way. We headed over to the Thunder chair as it had the best “corn” snow at that time in the day. We did a lap down Grand and them immediately got into working on bumps and continued for what felt like 75% of the lesson. Pete did a wonderful job of taking us around the mountain as conditions changed/got better throughout the day. It was a pretty warm day and a lot of runs were getting slushy, which was actually perfect for working on steep bumps. He acknowledged that there is more than one way to ski bumps, and kind of just said, “Well, this is how I like to do it.” At some point he took us down Buffalo Bowl and we cut back over to the tram line. After lunch at the top of the Gondola, we headed back down to take our first Tram lap!! So exciting!! We did Rendezvous bowl, which I would categorize as “Icy death bumps.” They probably weren’t that icy in the grand scheme of things, but there were definitely huge and steep. My SO was with us on this lap and and watched me suffer/survive down the bowl as he waited with my instructor. He said those bumps were some of the biggest and steepest I will encounter in skiing, so everything should be easy as pie after that! Right…
After the monumental lap down Rendezvous bowl, we started to taper the lesson a bit and worked our way across the mountain. Some of us had expressed interest in jumping off of stuff, so Pete showed us how to jump of the edge of a traverse when they have a little lip on them. At my home mountain this would get one yelled at by mountain safety, so it was definitely a hoot to do it at Jackson. We lost one person in the group who was just wiped after the first half of the day, and I’m not gonna lie, my quads were on fire too by 4:00. I know it’s because I spent a lot of the day scared and nervous and therefore in the back seat. But that’s why Jackson instructors are so great--they push you to the edge of your ability and then some so you actually progress as a skier.
I think at the top of Apres Vous:
On taking the Tram for the first time: I was in a group of 4, which was three men and one woman (me!). My instructor was also male. The guys in my group asked early on in the lesson if we could take a tram lap and the instructor said something like, “That’s the plan, hopefully after lunch.” After my abysmal performance in the bumps before lunch I was worried that I had ruined it for my whole group and we wouldn’t be going up the tram anymore. But we still went! I think this was really a gender thing and the guys being adamant. The big takeaways for me from this whole series of events: if you want to do something in a lesson, SPEAK UP! The instructor will probably say “yes”
Also, don’t be so scared! Easier said than done, right? I skied more days and IMHO had better on-piste technique than the guys in my group, but they were absolutely fearless, especially off-piste. I know we’ve talked a lot on this forum about gender differences in skiing, but it was crazy to see it manifest before my very eyes. Skiing with a group of men all day way eye-opening and will hopefully help me be better about trying new things on the mountain, even if I’m not 100% positive that I’m ready.Concert under the tram:
Monday: big cold front came through, so the mountain was actually kind of crusty. I did a few runs and realized that my legs were still shot, so I called it a day. I knew that there was a storm blowing in that night, so I wanted to make sure that my body was well-rest and ready to go.
Tuesday: I skied with my SO (who is an expert boarder). It was forecasted to snow all throughout the day, so we tried to be strategic about what would be best early and what would fill in as the day went on. The visibility was pretty bad, but who cares when you have fresh snow? We got up super early and went up the Gondola, down Amphitheater, up Thunder chair, down Grand, and over to the Sublette chair to get early tracks on Rendezvous trail (one of my faves). It felt like a race with other skiers to get over there, but the mountain was actually pretty empty. After that we headed to Casper chair to check it out, but that immediate area was actually pretty busy. Decided to do a run called Kemmerer that I had done in my lesson and really liked. NO ONE was over there. By then there was at least 6” of fresh on top of the pre-existing bumps. It tough because I didn’t really know what I was skiing on--sometimes I landed in the gut of a mogul and at one point I realized I was skiing on top of rocks covered in freshies. My bases took a beating but they’re like a badge of honor. We kept doing laps over there, as it continued to be empty and our tracks were filling in by the time we circled around.
Looking up to Rendezvous bowl (with an Instagram filter):
Casper chair:
Overall: a wonderful trip. I skied my Atomic Elysians all three days. My instructor even complimented my skis! They were especially great on the third day when a single turn could start in powder and end in hardpack/ice. I had brought my Armada TSTws as well, but never got them out. They just don’t do as well with edge hold. Maybe next year!
Jackson Hole is obviously known for being a steep and serious mountain. It can be intimidating as an advancing intermediate/low advanced skier, but there really is something for everyone. The people on the mountain, from JHMR employees to other skiers, are super friendly and just really stoked on being there. Taking lessons has been clutch, especially for navigating the mountain and since instructors are keen on pointing out their “secret stashes.” After three days at JH and doing some black runs on this notorious mountain, I feel like I can confidently try some black runs on other mountains.
For whatever reason, the mountain looked especially steep after dinner:
I am interested to hear how things will shape up with the new lift they put in.
If you do drive, try to come into town via Teton Pass during the day if it is clear out as it is a nice way to see the valley your first time. 
