Skiing Jackson Hole, Wyoming by Cameron Wilson

Of the two ski resorts perched adjacent to one another on opposite sides of the Teton Mountains in northwest Wyoming, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is undoubtedly the most famous. Widely acknowledged as having the most challenging ski terrain of any US resort (and the venue of choice for many of North America’s sponsored extreme skiers and boarders), JHMR cheerfully trades on its reputation as “Baddest Mountain on the Planet”. By miraculous good fortune, neighbouring Grand Targhee Resort regularly tops the list of US ski areas for highest annual snowfall, so between them the two resorts can accommodate the wildest ambitions of any skiing or snowboarding enthusiast. Both are also within easy reach of Jackson – a town whose eccentric mix of millionaires (Harrison Ford among them), cowboys and ski bums makes it a cheerful yet surprisingly affordable base for a ski vacation. No wonder Jackson Hole has dusted off its fashionable Colorado rivals to become the premier ski destination in the US.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort It is precisely 4,139 feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, and as any local skier or boarder can attest, that’s the longest continuous vertical rise of any ski area in North America. Now I’m at the summit, those 4,139 feet have become a vertical drop and I’m not kidding when I tell you there’s no easy way down. To my left is notorious Corbet’s Couloir, where even the sponsored powder-hounds are known to pull up for a peek over the edge before throwing themselves in.

The traverse to my right looks benign enough, but according to the trail map there are no groomed runs here either – just several deep gullies that look likely to be mogul minefields and three huge bowls accessed via boundary gates. But this is why I’m here, so it’s across the traverse, through a gate and into the deep expanse of Cody Bowl. My turns down its sheer north face come just three at a time as I hardly dare let the skis run for fear I’ll never catch up with them again. Stopping to check the trail map, I actually have to dig a shelf into the hillside so I can stand still for a moment. My options are to drop down into Rock Springs Bowl or duck through the trees to Rendezvous Trail back inside the ski area, from where it’s dead straight down a narrow mountain spine to the Union Pass quad-chair.

I thump across a mogul-filled gully to reach Rendezvous, and then let the skis loose at last through a series of scorching turns down Pepi’s Run. On reaching the bottom of the steepest in-bounds slope I’ve ever skied, I take a moment to stabilize my jiggling eyeballs then hop onto the lift and head right back up to give Plan B a try.

Verdict: The word “gnarly” could well have been invented to describe this place; no other ski area has as many lift-served chutes, couloirs and cliffs, and while it’s certainly possible to learn to ski or board here, it’s the advanced crowd who will get the most out of JHMR’s challenging terrain.

FACT FILE: Season: early December – early April Average snowfall: 460 inches. Lifts: 12, including an 8-person gondola and an aerial tram. Trails: 116 (10% beginner, 40% intermediate, 50% expert). Elevation: base 6,311 feet (1,924m); peak 10,450 feet (3,185m); vertical rise 4,139 feet (1,261m).

Grand Targhee Resort I’ve skied less than a day at Grand Targhee and already my face is sore from grinning like an idiot as I blast through thigh-deep snow on run after glorious run. For me, this is what a ski vacation in the Rockies is all about – champagne powder so deep and light it’s more like surfing than skiing. Even the groomed trails are padded with an inch or two of softest “corduroy”, so it’s the easiest thing in the world to burst out of the trees and onto the piste, carve a few luxurious turns and then shoot off-trail again back into the powder.

Every route within shouting distance of Targhee’s central Dreamcatcher chair has untracked snow on it, and I’d have hunted them out all afternoon except that Bruce, my guide and ski buddy, suggested we have a crack at the trees near the Blackfoot double chair. “People forget about this side of the mountain, even the locals, because it has just one creaky old lift”.

Our right-side traverse from the top of Dreamcatcher looks almost flat but we still zip across the ridgeline, leaving the other skiers and boarders behind. Bruce suddenly drops his shoulder hard left and we’re flying through the powder once more, ducking and weaving among stands of tall, skinny aspens. It’s the most exhilarating tree run of my life, through three glades Bruce later tells me are nicknamed The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

When I shusshh to a stop beside him in the non-existent lift line, I recall something I’d heard about the way snowfall is measured at Targhee. Bruce grins as he catches his breath. “Yep, a good day here is what we call a ‘three-inch day’ – that’s one you spent skiing in snow three inches above your belly-button”.

Verdict: Targhee can’t compete with JHMR for size and terrain, but with snow this good it doesn’t have to; quite possibly the best powder destination in the US.

FACT FILE: Season: mid-November – mid-April Average snowfall: 510 inches. Lifts: 5, including a “magic carpet” for beginners. Trails: 72 (10% beginner, 70% intermediate, 20% advanced). Elevation: Base 8,000 feet (2,439m), peak 10,000 feet (3,049m), vertical rise 2,000 feet (610m).

Note: Cameron Wilson is co-author of the Rough Guide to the Rocky Mountains.