GladeDuchess
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So just a week ago I got the exciting opportunity to ski Jackson Hole. I had to fly in and out of there for work, so no way was I going to go all the way there and not ski!
Getting there was actually quite easy, with just one layover at Newark EWR, and then direct to Jackson. Bit of a longer flight than I'm used to, but honestly not much more hassel than going to Buffalo, White Plains, or usual work stops. The descent into Jackson is stunningly breathtaking as well. Teton Village, the base of operations for JH, is less than an hour from the airport too. This is only my second time skiing the west and it just struck me as right convenient, being used to most larger east coast hills being a bit of a trek from ANYWHERE.
Got my rental car, and as luck would have it they upgraded me to a large JEEP! It was noisy, I did have to sort of throw myself into it, it sat up so high, but it did make me feel adventurous!
Duty called in neighboring Idaho first, but heading back to Wyoming on Sunday lent itself to a fabulous drive and stunning views through some parks and along Palisades Resevoir. I also took the opportunity to scope out Teton Village and took the sky tram to the top. Smashing views and a waffle hut all above 10,000’
After just taking it all in for some time, I headed down to procure my ski rentals for the next day. Okay, so maybe I’m getting a bit bougie in my skiing now, but I balked when they brought me some clunky Rossis. So demos it would be and it was almost surprising to hear myself. Mind you I’d not done rentals in over a year, and ignorantly took whatever they handed me. Now here I was chatting with this bloke about what I wanted, how I ski, and what I planned to do. I’ve learned so much here on The Ski Diva! They set me up with some K2 Mindbender 90s and I hoped for the best.
Rounding out my recon day at Teton, I enjoyed a wonderful apres with our very own @snoWYmonkey ! We’d been chatting in the weeks prior about my trip, and here we were finally meeting. I got the scoop on the mountain, what was still good, and we chatted away on a beautiful 65 degree afternoon. I can’t thank her enough for all the tips she gave me heading into this adventure.
Later that evening I also checked out Jackson and found it a lovely town to walk around. I’m also one who hates crowds, and though late March is not a booming time here, it was perfect for me to explore in the late ski season lull, but before the hordes of national park tourists begin to descend upon the town.
Everything is made to look like a log cabin, lol. The Hampton inn where I stayed, the local car wash, even the TJ Maxx all looked like log cabins or something out of the old west. So wild!
Skiing on Monday was absolutely wonderful. Mostly sunny, soft spring conditions, and yes it was rather odd to be skiing ribbons of snow among rocks and dirt. But it was Monday, no crowds, no lines, and a whole new place to explore.
JH is no easy mountain for sure. The runs are long, the blue squares would be blacks in most places, and though I suffered no altitude sickness, I did find I got winded a bit easier and took longer to recover. The soft corn snow was not unfamiliar to me, but just a bit deeper than anything I’ve encountered and took some effort to get through. It was an easy mountain to navigate though, and basically got more difficult as you moved left across the map. I did rather enjoy the Mindbenders too, and found them nimble and very akin to my Blaze 94s.
I also felt rather silly at one point, exiting a gondola at one point and realizing it kept going? Really? These things make stops like a trolley? Never had I seen this before, but got back in and continued up.
It was quite thrilling to see how much confidence I’ve gained in the past year too. Here I was at a rather challenging mountain, all alone, and nothing felt overwhelming, or particularly scary. I think I did one short section of a black that day, but found the most challenging run I did to be a double blue called Sundance, which put me up against a rather steep pitch with Volkswagon size moguls at the top. In some spots you could not really pick your own path through, with dirt and protruding rocks dictating the path for you, but I took my time and just had a ball with it in the soft hero snow.
At the bottom, outside the rental shop, I found some woman bemoaning to her family how horrid the conditions were. I just sort of shook my head thinking if brisk air and waist deep powder were your goal, you planned this all wrong. We’re two days shy of April, dandelions are popping up at the base, but you got to spend a Monday skiing in a fabulous place. Come east and ski glacial trails of hell mid winter and it puts it all in perspective, lol.
I think the ski gods had really done me a favor too as when I departed the next day it was rainy and JH was socked in with fog.
Anyway, it was an absolute blast, even if I only got to ski one day. I’ve not a lot to compare to, my only other ski out west being Bogus Basin, but I would totally vote JH for Diva West in 2028!
Getting there was actually quite easy, with just one layover at Newark EWR, and then direct to Jackson. Bit of a longer flight than I'm used to, but honestly not much more hassel than going to Buffalo, White Plains, or usual work stops. The descent into Jackson is stunningly breathtaking as well. Teton Village, the base of operations for JH, is less than an hour from the airport too. This is only my second time skiing the west and it just struck me as right convenient, being used to most larger east coast hills being a bit of a trek from ANYWHERE.
Got my rental car, and as luck would have it they upgraded me to a large JEEP! It was noisy, I did have to sort of throw myself into it, it sat up so high, but it did make me feel adventurous!
Duty called in neighboring Idaho first, but heading back to Wyoming on Sunday lent itself to a fabulous drive and stunning views through some parks and along Palisades Resevoir. I also took the opportunity to scope out Teton Village and took the sky tram to the top. Smashing views and a waffle hut all above 10,000’
After just taking it all in for some time, I headed down to procure my ski rentals for the next day. Okay, so maybe I’m getting a bit bougie in my skiing now, but I balked when they brought me some clunky Rossis. So demos it would be and it was almost surprising to hear myself. Mind you I’d not done rentals in over a year, and ignorantly took whatever they handed me. Now here I was chatting with this bloke about what I wanted, how I ski, and what I planned to do. I’ve learned so much here on The Ski Diva! They set me up with some K2 Mindbender 90s and I hoped for the best.
Rounding out my recon day at Teton, I enjoyed a wonderful apres with our very own @snoWYmonkey ! We’d been chatting in the weeks prior about my trip, and here we were finally meeting. I got the scoop on the mountain, what was still good, and we chatted away on a beautiful 65 degree afternoon. I can’t thank her enough for all the tips she gave me heading into this adventure.
Later that evening I also checked out Jackson and found it a lovely town to walk around. I’m also one who hates crowds, and though late March is not a booming time here, it was perfect for me to explore in the late ski season lull, but before the hordes of national park tourists begin to descend upon the town.
Everything is made to look like a log cabin, lol. The Hampton inn where I stayed, the local car wash, even the TJ Maxx all looked like log cabins or something out of the old west. So wild!
Skiing on Monday was absolutely wonderful. Mostly sunny, soft spring conditions, and yes it was rather odd to be skiing ribbons of snow among rocks and dirt. But it was Monday, no crowds, no lines, and a whole new place to explore.
JH is no easy mountain for sure. The runs are long, the blue squares would be blacks in most places, and though I suffered no altitude sickness, I did find I got winded a bit easier and took longer to recover. The soft corn snow was not unfamiliar to me, but just a bit deeper than anything I’ve encountered and took some effort to get through. It was an easy mountain to navigate though, and basically got more difficult as you moved left across the map. I did rather enjoy the Mindbenders too, and found them nimble and very akin to my Blaze 94s.
I also felt rather silly at one point, exiting a gondola at one point and realizing it kept going? Really? These things make stops like a trolley? Never had I seen this before, but got back in and continued up.
It was quite thrilling to see how much confidence I’ve gained in the past year too. Here I was at a rather challenging mountain, all alone, and nothing felt overwhelming, or particularly scary. I think I did one short section of a black that day, but found the most challenging run I did to be a double blue called Sundance, which put me up against a rather steep pitch with Volkswagon size moguls at the top. In some spots you could not really pick your own path through, with dirt and protruding rocks dictating the path for you, but I took my time and just had a ball with it in the soft hero snow.
At the bottom, outside the rental shop, I found some woman bemoaning to her family how horrid the conditions were. I just sort of shook my head thinking if brisk air and waist deep powder were your goal, you planned this all wrong. We’re two days shy of April, dandelions are popping up at the base, but you got to spend a Monday skiing in a fabulous place. Come east and ski glacial trails of hell mid winter and it puts it all in perspective, lol.
I think the ski gods had really done me a favor too as when I departed the next day it was rainy and JH was socked in with fog.
Anyway, it was an absolute blast, even if I only got to ski one day. I’ve not a lot to compare to, my only other ski out west being Bogus Basin, but I would totally vote JH for Diva West in 2028!
