Sunrise on the Grand and Teewinot.
While lots of people are out hunting to get their elk, deer or bison, I seem to be one of the few hunting for October skiing. New moisture in the Teton area has been pretty light over the past week, but it sure would be nice to see some more wintry weather come our way soon. Unsure of what the rest of the month will produce, I went out for a solo mission to ski in Garnet Canyon on Thursday, assuring me of getting my October turns.
October powder turns in the Cave Couloir.
Surprisingly, there was lots of activity on the park road in the morning hours. With hunters pulled over waiting for their targets to cross the “line” and construction crew all over the inner road trying to get the pathway project finished. Personally, I’m not too thrilled about pathways in the park, and I’d bet there is an increase in bicycle/pedestrian/car accidents over the coming years…not to mention parking issues. Anyway, I managed to get to the Lupine Meadows trailhead just as the sun was rising and hitting Teewinot and the Grand, and I knew I’d be in for a fun day.
As I was just getting going down the trail, I ran into some bros who had pulled the plug on their own adventure, commenting about the amount of snow once you reached the Meadows. It got me thinking as I zoned out and hammered out the few miles of climbing to get into Garnet Canyon, and I was glad I had brought my climbing skins. When I reached the Platforms, the snow was getting deep enough where I’d rather be wearing my AT boots instead of my tennis, and I booted up before negotiating the boulder field.
Booting through The Meadows.
Getting through the boulders was easier than I thought it would be with snow on top of thinly covered rocks, but it was grippy and didn’t slow me down very much. As I scurried further up the canyon, I couldn’t help notice that the Cave Couloir was still untracked. I didn’t have much of an agenda, so I moved past the Meadows and started post-holing through tough terrain. I hemmed and hawed about putting my skins on. Though the coverage didn’t warrant much skiing, it looked to be enough for some skinning, and getting the skis off my back.
I stubbornly kept booting, occasionally falling through a deep hole between boulders, until I reached the bottom of the couloir. The conditions looked pretty good, with about 4-6 inches of good powder on top of firm and breakable crust. The snow looked like it might be a bit gloppy, so I left my crampons in the pack and booted to the top. I transitioned quickly, psyched to sample the goods, and was soon linking turns in soft snow. Not in ski shape yet, I stopped a couple times on the way down to where I thought the base ended and only a foot or two of fresher snow cover the rocks.
Noodling through the boulders with the skis on.
I hesitated for a moment, but I really didn’t want to walk back down through the boulder field, so I keep my skis on and snowplowed and long poled my way through. Even though it wasn’t pretty, I didn’t hit too many rocks and it made me feel good inside. The rewards are small on ski adventures like this, but at least I got a few good turns and some exercise in preparation for a long winter ahead. Pray for snow!
Wonderin’ what ya think of the Ortovox Peak 42 I see yer wearin’ on this trip…cool report.
“Personally, I’m not too thrilled about pathways in the park, and I’d bet boots on at the platforms and boulder fieldthere is an increase in bicycle/pedestrian/car accidents over the coming years…not to mention parking issues.”
I know, um, bikes are sooo baaad for the park. like, I can’t believe the park allows, um walkers or cyclists to even be in the park. Gosh, come to think of it, hikers are really bad for the park. They scare wildlife and since the wildlife are runnin’ scared, they burn more calories, and then they die! Oh and I can’t believe cars are allowed in the park. Gosh, how many drivers who are driving to a hiking trail run over all those cute furry critters? And if they don’t hit the critters on the way to the hiking trail, they kill em with all their walkin’ all over the mountains!
The park should not allow people in the park at all. Maybe they should call it a wildlife refuge or something.
Don’t confuse the issue…DUH!!!!
Sorry Kaz…I was a little distracted. DUH!!
I was using the Peak 29 on this trip and am working on a post about it. I also have a 42L…but it is a very big 42L…and I think the 29L is a better size. It seems to swallow gear and fits better when filled. Today I got out with the Haute Route from Ortovox as well. Nice pack!
I used to do glissade practice with my friends on the Cave when I started mountaineering, never new it had a name. Nice work, ways to go for a couple of dozen turns.
Off-topic but I have the Peak 42, it’s a nice pack. I don’t find it particularly large but all my clothes are XXL so maybe I fill it up easier? 😉
Right on John! It’s called the Cave Couloir because of the overhanging cave feature on the skiers left at the bottom…in front of the Middle. A great sheltered camping spot in the winter.
Like the head band Steve,a little Guns and Roses,I think Axl is back out of retirement last I heard.The dozen turns are always worth it.Good times!
Thanks Mike! Welcome to the jungle…alpine jungle that is.
Steve,
Good post and great pics. Just curious–who took the pictures of you more than an arm’s distance from the camera?
t
My ego! 😆
1. Place camera on rock.
2. Set camera to timer mode.
3. Focus camera on suspected area of ski model.
4. Push shutter button.
5. Repeat until desired image is captured.
Duh:
From my standpoint, the issue with the bike path in the Park is the amount of habitat which has been destroyed in order to pave a swath from Moose to Taggart and beyond. Ironically, I love biking in the Park and have personally encountered the inherent dangers of sharing the inner Park road with bus-sized RVs. I object however, to compromising the arguably small ecosystem of the Park to suit my and other bicyclists needs. From what I can tell, this pathway will be used primarily for recreation, rather than transportation from one location to another (which could potentially limit emissions from other modes of transportation and have a positive environmental impact). Yes, the road and hikers already disturb the wildlife, but why make it worse?
Ski model! What ski model? 🙂
t
i loved reading this! i can’t wait to ski!