TR Grand Targhee, Powder Days Feb. 17-18, 2019

[marzNC]

Powder day on Feb. 17, 2019 at Grand Targhee!

Targhee got 14 inches in the last 24 hours, with 9 inches after lifts closed yesterday. Better yet, it was fluffy powder, 6% according to the mountain snow report. Given that it’s a holiday weekend, there were lots of local families in addition to travelers. Locals have been skiing fresh snow all week with a storm total of 41 inches.

Bill and I opted to ski off the Sacagawea lift first thing in the morning because there was quite a line. Unusual for Targhee but not unexpected.
Bill heading out Northern Lights (black), above Medicine Bowl (blue)


Fluffy snow everywhere!


We used our all-mountain skis, 85 underfoot for me, 90 underfoot for Bill


I found untracked powder after lunch, knee deep, below some trees in the Painted Pony area


Blue sky most of the day, but snowed for a little while right about the time we went in for an early lunch around 11:30
Clearing up at 1:00


Entry to Wachabe Woods

 

[marzNC]

A few more pics. Skiing Targhee again tomorrow but will need to leave a bit early to drive to Bozeman.

Valley view around 3pm, including base buildings and parking lots (left and below trail sign)


View of Blackfoot area, with another set of clouds rolling in quickly


Top of Shoshone beginner lift, there are glades and other special fun areas set up for the children's ski school


View on the drive down to Driggs

 

[mountainwest]

It was so fun to get to meet up with you at Targhee today, @marzNC! You really lucked out with some of our best snow days of the season so far. Safe travels and enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[bsskier]

Great pictures. Safe travels!

 

[marzNC]

It was so fun to get to meet up with you at Targhee today, @marzNC! You really lucked out with some of our best snow days of the season so far. Safe travels and enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thanks for meeting up with me! Appreciated learning about the Blackfoot area past the Experts Only sign when the cat track turns into a wide bumpy traverse.

It was amazing to have both deep powder AND good visibility for a couple days. I know that's pretty unusual. First time my version of "powder chasing" actually worked out. Made the decision to ski at Targhee between SLC and Montana about a week ago, but the dates were set months ago.

If you ever can make it to Alta during late season, happy to show you around. Bill and I are are usually there for 2-3 weeks.

 

[marzNC]

Great pictures. Safe travels!

The drive from Targhee to Bozeman this afternoon was pretty uneventful. WAZE ended up deciding that US287 was better than going thru West Yellowstone. Having done it the other way before, pretty clear that US287 makes for easier driving. There were a few snow flurries but the road was mostly dry and visibility was generally okay.

Temp was 4 degrees when we rolled into Bozeman.

 

[mountainwest]

If you ever can make it to Alta during late season, happy to show you around. Bill and I are are usually there for 2-3 weeks.

I have been really wanting to make it to Alta, so that will happen at some point! It might be next season, when I will probably be getting a Mountain Collective pass.

And sounds like you might have the same frosty weather I had at Big Sky. I am working on my trip report.

 

[slyfox4]

Powder day on Feb. 17, 2019 at Grand Targhee!

Targhee got 14 inches in the last 24 hours, with 9 inches after lifts closed yesterday. Better yet, it was fluffy powder, 6% according to the mountain snow report. Given that it’s a holiday weekend, there were lots of local families in addition to travelers. Locals have been skiing fresh snow all week with a storm total of 41 inches.

Bill and I opted to ski off the Sacagawea lift first thing in the morning because there was quite a line. Unusual for Targhee but not unexpected.
Bill heading out Northern Lights (black), above Medicine Bowl (blue)
View attachment 10332

Fluffy snow everywhere!
View attachment 10333

We used our all-mountain skis, 85 underfoot for me, 90 underfoot for Bill
View attachment 10334

I found untracked powder after lunch, knee deep, below some trees in the Painted Pony area
View attachment 10335

Blue sky most of the day, but snowed for a little while right about the time we went in for an early lunch around 11:30
Clearing up at 1:00
View attachment 10336

Entry to Wachabe Woods
View attachment 10337

I have SO MANY FEELS right now! I hope it's this good when I'm there in early March!

 

[marzNC]

Plenty of sun while @mountainwest and I were skiing on Pres. Day, 18Feb. She had her Coalition Snow SOS skis. There were no crowds to worry about. While there were travelers based on the license plates in the parking lot, most of the cars were from ID or WY.

 

[marzNC]

Grant Targhee is celebrating 50 years. The trail maps are made of stone paper so make good souvenirs that will last.

Sunrise on the way from Driggs to Targhee, about a 25 min drive


We had "rock star" packing this close to the base, arriving about 8:15


Morning view of the Tetons before the clouds gathered


Still plenty of soft bumps in the Painted Pony area

 

[mountainwest]

^^ Great photos!

 

[MissySki]

Plenty of sun while @mountainwest and I were skiing on Pres. Day, 18Feb. She had her Coalition Snow SOS skis. There were no crowds to worry about. While there were travelers based on the license plates in the parking lot, most of the cars were from ID or WY.

View attachment 10356View attachment 10357

All of the pics are beautiful! You two look very color coordinated here.

 

[Sparky]

Great trip report! Will be in Jackson Hole this week and hoping to head to Grand Targhee at least one day. With all the snow that’ll be hitting the area, will driving from JH be an issue? And with as much snow as Targhee is expecting, are lift closures to be expected? We’ll probably try to go Wednesday and/or Thursday. Is there a pretty good source of mountain and road info we can check early in the morning before heading over?

 

[mountainwest]

Great trip report! Will be in Jackson Hole this week and hoping to head to Grand Targhee at least one day. With all the snow that’ll be hitting the area, will driving from JH be an issue?

It might be. I was up on Teton Pass all morning today for an Avalanche 1 course and it was DUMPING snow the entire time. There was about a foot of unplowed snow (!!) in the parking lot when we arrived, and lots more 4 hours later when we left. The Pass closed twice today - once briefly in the early afternoon due to a stuck plow and then again between 4-6pm. It's closing at 3am tonight for avalanche control and may not open again tomorrow. Not sure what will happen as the week progresses.

And with as much snow as Targhee is expecting, are lift closures to be expected? We’ll probably try to go Wednesday and/or Thursday. Is there a pretty good source of mountain and road info we can check early in the morning before heading over?

The lifts at Targhee never close due to heavy snow, but Dreamcatcher occasionally goes on wind hold. They put an alert at the top of their website when wind holds happen. There is an app called Wyoming 511 that has good road info. You can also check here:
https://www.wyoroad.info/highway/conditions/RoadClosures.html
and here:
https://www.wyoroad.info/highway/webcameras/WYO22TetonPass/WYO22TetonPass.html
(where the webcams show that it is still dumping on the Pass right now!)

 

[Sparky]

Thanks for the info. Looks like the road was closed this morning and just opened about 12:30. No wonder the cams showed so little people this morning! JH is a zoo, had one great pow run and now viz is pretty bad! Hope you’re out there and having a great day!

 

[mountainwest]

A WYDOT (Wyoming Dept of Transportation) employee tells me that Teton Pass will close again tonight at 10pm and will probably be closed for a very long time. Could be all or most of tomorrow.

 

[marzNC]

Forgot I created a thread about the weather just before the drive from SLC to Driggs in mid-Feb. The decision to head to GT was as close to powder chasing as I've ever done. Booked the rooms at The Pines about a week before arrival. My flight to SLC was set up months before, as was the Big Sky condo.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/i...son-hole-travel-and-snow-late-feb-2019.23636/

I made a reservation for the Bozeman motel in late Dec that could be cancelled. Initially was for a king but I changed it to two queens when there was a possibility of a Diva joining me for a night.