2023-01 Jackson Hole 2

Jackson Hole 2, 
Jan. 31, 2023,
Hi Everyone,

Today was a bluebird day. I woke up to blue skies and -25C with a 10k wind. It warmed up to -20C by the end of the day and the wind died down. They have had 350 inches of snow to date with the last snow fall 2 days ago. The trails are mostly packed down on the open slopes but there is still some broken powder in the trees and steep slopes.

My hostel is located 50M from the gondola, an easy walk. I had forgotten how steep Jackson Hole really is. There are a few green trails at the bottom of the mountain for beginners. Otherwise, the blues are blacks and the blacks are double blacks. Double blacks are not marked except for a caution sign which I would classify as elevator chutes. The tree skiing is endless with moguls like Volkswagens. You have to jump each turn to get down. I did a few chutes which are about 20 feet wide and 45-50 degrees steep. I had to stop along the way to take pictures and to catch my breath. I can do about 10 jump turns in row and then take a minute to rest. 

Sometimes I think that I am an expert skier. Watching certain skiers here changes my perception of what an expert western skier really is. The view from anywhere on the mountain is nothing less than spectacular. The mountain is huge. There is 4500 feet of vertical. If you venture onto a black-double black, unlike other ski centres, there is virtually no way out. Your must ski the whole way down. One poor fellow lost his ski on a fall. As a good patroller, I asked him if he needed help, but he had already radioed the ski patrol his where abouts and they were bringing him a ski so that he could get down.

I used to say to my kids that ‘we would warm up with some double blacks and then try something more difficult’. I skied alone for most of the day as I find it rather difficult to ski with people here other than my kids. With my kids we can usually ski at the same speed and on the trails with the same difficulty. When I try to ski with people that I don’t know, they usually want to take blue trails and don’t ski bumps or trees. 

Everyone here skis on powder skis. I didn’t see anyone with the type of narrow carving skis that we use out east. Everyone slides their turns rather than carving them even on the groomers. The hill is empty. There are no line ups at all, I ski down the hill and take the next gondola or chair right up without waiting at all. That makes for a lot of skiing at the end of the day.

The prices here have become outrageous which may explain the lack of people. It is difficult to find a condo for $1 million but properties of $10 to $20 million are a dime a dozen. But then again, what do you want. I would classify the skiing here as my number 1 place to go. Whistler is great, but the weather and the crowds since Vail bought the mountain are a little disappointing. 

My conference starts tomorrow morning with a breakfast at 6:30. I am trying to master the website and will try to add some photos tomorrow.

Love,
Brian

Sent from my iPad