The Worker Wiggle at JHMR

After falling back to sleep last Sunday morning, I cruised out to the Village for some fun spring skiing. I think this is my third time skiing the Village this year and it should be a fun time.

The thing I like about springtime at the ski area is all the fun terrain features that form and are created by skiers that hit the village everyday. The most obvious feature this season is the ‘Worker Wiggle’ and can be seen from the valley floor, smack dab in the middle of Rendezvous Bowl. Late afternoon is the best time for viewing and I really want to try skiing it today.

After a few laps on Sublette chair, waiting for The Wiggle to soften up, I hooked up with some old friends from when I used to work at the area, Chris Onufer and John Fournelle. Both of these guys still work at the ski area and gave me some pointers before committing to the run. It really is amazing, the size of the trough that has been carved in the snow. It is like a bobsled run, and one false move will send you flying off the berm or down into the trough.

A few rocks were exposed deep in the ruts, but the goal was to stay high, kind of in a constant smear or slasher turn. I almost ran the whole thing without getting bucked, but my tip caught the inside wall while throwing them sideways, trying to shave speed towards the bottom. Chris was in tele-gear and handled it well, a veteran of The Wiggle.

Another cool feature is the Ten Sleep Bowl gelande jump that forms on the roller below Corbett’s Couloir. I still like to catch a little airtime now and then, and the Village is the place to get my fix. It takes a few laps to get the confidence to hit the gelande style jump with enough speed to reach the downhill transition, and it sure is fun launching it over and over. Unfortunately, it takes two lifts to get back to the gelande, but luckily, the seasoned, well informed village-rat can find these hits all around the hill this time of year.

It’s best to have spotter sit down by the jump as well, cuz the tourists will ski right into the landing zone. A little pop at take off really helps you get amplitude and keeping your hands forward is important so you don’t get in the backseat. Speed is the key, and the landing only gets softer the bigger you go, but it take guts to hit it at full throttle.

The Kiddy Terrain Park is great fun at the end of the day, but my back is now feeling all of the flattish landings. Even backcountry hounds like myself enjoy dorking around in the terrain park, but it can only be done once and a while, as we need to preserve ourselves for the terrain in the big mountains instead.