Motel

Following our yurt trip, we hitchhiked back to Jackson from Idaho and got a ride from a lovely, elderly couple with a nice pickup. I didn’t know the address of the motel we were staying at so I asked at the front desk of a resort in the area. The clerk told me how to get there with a sly grin on her face. I later looked back at that moment and realized what the grin was saying: “That motel is a real dump.” We finally arrived at the motel cold and hungry. The front door was locked and we were greeted by a note that read “We’re currently out doing errands. Please call these two numbers and leave a message. I called them both and heard the phone ring behind the locked door. Both voice mailboxes were full. We had enough sense to find a place to store our gear and headed to El Abuelito.

This is our room on Day 3 of our 7 day stay at the Cottages at Snow King. It would get more and more filthy at an exponential rate. We turned down housekeeping on the second day and this was interpreted to mean we did not want housekeeping ever. 

 Mysteriously, the sign (that barely worked) read Snow King Motel even though they called themselves the Cottages at Snow King.

This is the well-rounded Brian who was mentioned earlier. On top of being the front desk clerk, concierge, housekeeper, and electrician, he is also in charge of snow removal. Props to Jack for taking this picture under the pretense of documenting how much snow we were getting. 

Avy Course Level 2 Day 3

On our third day of our Level III course we headed out into Teton National Park, referred to by the locals as "The Park." A short skin to gain a little elevation and we're there.

Brian and Erica show us how it's done. The compression test is utilized to check the stability of the snowpack and its results can indicate whether  a human alone could fracture a weak layer in the snowpack or if more weight is needed to fracture. The test also reveals the shear strength of the layers, an indicator of how easily an avalanche could slide.

Jack uses the skills he's acquired to analyze snow crystals. The crystals found today indicate a stable snowpack with good bonding and low avalanche danger.

Jack checks the hardness of the various layers in the snowpack while I transcribe the results.

Brian shows the class how to conduct a beacon search for multiple buried victims.

This shot is actually from our 4th day of the level II class and is taken at the top of the hike through the cuoloir from Garnet Canyon.

Grand Targhee

After our mid storm assault of Glory Mountain's Snowshoe Bowl, we found ourselves in Driggs Idaho, home of our sweaty buddy Derek as well as Grand Targhee Mountain. Seeing as we had been nuked by snow the night before, Derek whipped up some berry smoothies and a bomb breakfast and we hit the slopes.



Our drive up foreshadowed the epic day that was about to commence. As the road winded up towards the mountain, lesser known than Jackson Hole but blessed with far more snow, the fresh pow got deeper and deeper.



Derek, Will and myself in front of the trail map, which Derek knew all too well. He led us to the locals stashes all day. If you ever go to Targhee head to the North Boundaries, chest deep, untouched powder and sketchy cliff drops just under the rope, Marry's Nipple, where Will and I crushed a pre-made backcountry booter, and the cliffs off of Peaked (or Sacajawea Lift) where there be big cliffs.



Myself about to drop a 25 footer, biggest cliff of my life (to date.) The snow was deep and Derek and I both rode away.



Looking back at the monsters that Derek and I dropped, 50 to 55 degrees slope above with a mandatory cliff at the bottom. 3 year earlier Jamie Pierre hucked the world record cliff drop, 255 feet in bounds at Targhee only a few hundred meters from where we dropped. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0SDQcm0VcU



On the way up to Marry's Nipple through the backcountry gates and the ferocious bootpack. Defiantly not the 3 minutes Derek promised, we clocked in at 20 minutes, but well worth it.



Will cruising among snow monsters and some fluffy light stuff. Our only regret was not bringing snorkels.

Teton Pass Turns

The day following our Level II course was a lazy one. We grabbed some grub at El Abuelito for the second time and soon after got a call from Derek, a buddy from our Level II course. He was interested in riding Teton Pass even though it had been snowing all day and the visibility was slim to none. We sluggishly agreed.

We got a late start and the hike up took longer than the promised hour. The slowness seemed to be a combination of the Mexican food, the icy trail up, and the 50 mph gusts hammering us as we hiked. To our surprise, an oasis waited for us at the top of the hike. It was a small wooden structure with a heat trap built in the style of an igloo. The run down was amazing. Waist deep powder all the way down to the car.

It was mostly dark by the time we got picked up.

  We finished the day at Grand Teton Brewing Company, where their Monday drink special was dollar off pints for anyone wearing their avalanche beacons. Score.

Parking It

Our last day of the level II avy course involved a full day tour in Teton National Park. This was taken about two hours into the trip. Pictured are Brian and Erica, master guides/instructors/Jedi Knights, who are pointing out the various plans and routes for the day. We'll first cruise across Bradley Lake and then begin our ascent into Garnet Canyon.

Grand Teton

Climbing through Garnet Canyon

Kyle gives some perspective to the mushroom behind. He's a St. Lawrence grad along with what seems to be the rest of Jackson.

It's too steep to skin in the couloir so we're boot packing up. The top of the climb reveals an appropriately named lake called Surprise Lake. Not big but not expected. A short skin across the lake and through some trees and we're almost ready for our descent, five hours after leaving the trailhead. We dug a quick snowpit and tested the stability of the snowpack. Then we had a bomber ski run and I was too busy having fun to take pictures. Near the bottom Brian & Erica set up a rescue scenario where 2 people (read: packs with avalanche beacons) were buried in avalanche debris. The group found and dug out the two victims in under six minutes but it was definitely a tricky scenario with some difficult dynamics going on. It took a little over an hour of skinning to get back to the trailhead and we're both ready to relax and watch the Pack defeat the Steelers.

He Does It All

Yesterday we finished up our Level II Avalanche Course. We did a full day tour in Teton National Park and had some great riding. More photos to follow. We then watched the Superbowl at The Brew Pub and promptly fell asleep when we got back, around 10pm. The electricity at our motel was not working but we were content because the heat was. This morning I called the 18 year old front desk kid/housekeeper/manager. He had a funny explanation for the problem that did not make sense and then about a half hour I heard someone on the roof. As I typed this, the electricity came back on. Then a knock came at the door. I guess he's also the electrician/maintenance worker.

El Abuleito

"For a little taste of Mexico head to El Abuleito."
Our favorite place to go after a long day shreddn

Idaho Yurt Trip

In a clutch eleventh hour decision we made moves to hitchhike 50 miles across the border into Idaho, to a yurt we had reserved for three days. Three hours into the skin and still going.

After four hours and 3000 vertical feet we make it, and just in time.....

We got a beautiful sunset right out our yurt window, however the mercury was plummeting.

I took this at 8pm, -7.4 f. The temperature would drop to -36 f later that night.

Waking up to start up the fire was a bold move. So cold in the Yurt the door crack stayed frozen all day.

As we started our skin up Beards Mountain we came upon this postcard worthy view of Grand, Middle and South Teton (Left to right)

To the right is the summit of Beards mountain, our objective for the day. This constant 40 degree, NE facing bowl was our plan A goal for the day. After reaching the summit we headed down the saddle to do a pit test. We heard a WHOOOMPH as the snow collapsed beneath us and it was when I noticed a shooting crack about 15 feet in length that we determined we didn't want to ride the slope. Instead we chose a W facing slope that was not as sketchy due to the winds of the previous storm.

Will on the summit of Beards, just before our 2000 ft run of hip deep powder.

Level 1 Avalanche Course Day 3

Our third and last day of our level 1 course involved a full day tour in Teton National Park. It started out with a 2-3 mile skin to the base of Wimpy's Knob.

Our seasoned guide and instructor, Jim, who also guides for Chugach Powder Guides, a heli-skiing outfit in Alaska, points out our various options for the day.

Ideally we want to summit Albright Peak (peak on the left). However, if ideal snowpack, weather, or avalanche conditions don’t exist, we’ll have to either scratch our plans and shoot for the summit of Wimpy’s knob (to the right) or possibly turn back sooner.

We’re getting closer to the top of Wimpy’s and have a good view of Albright Peak. 

Ahhh, finally to the top of Albright Peak after a 5 hour climb. Jack says hello to his 2^nd grade class he is helping teach, 2W.

Coming down is the easy part. (But it still took an hour!)

Yurt Trip Turns

Jack finds some fresh pow on the third day of our yurt trip. West face of Beard Mountain. 2 hours up, 2 minutes down.

Level 1 Avalanche Course Day 1

Our first three days in the Tetons looked like this: low hanging clouds in the valley quickly turning to bluebird once you gained some elevation. It was definitely a cool view flying into Jackson airport. This photo was taken on the first day of the avalanche course Jack and I took. We rode the lift up at the local ski area in town, Snow King, and practiced avalanche rescue scenarios.