By: randosteve|Posted on: August 19, 2009|Posted in: Random Teton Posts, The Tetons | 8 comments

randosteve-skis-the-gros-ventre-slide-in-1997
Randosteve gets down in the Gros Ventre Slide.

Yeah baby! That’s what I’m talking about…Steep Tech…skinny…long skis…Alpine Trekkers! That’s the way is was for me back in the day, touring around with Team Extreme (me and my JHMR bros Reed Finlay and Chris Onufer). At least that’s what I remember, especially from this great day we in-front-of-gros-ventre-slidehad skiing the Gros Ventre Slide (pronounced gr?-vänt), an area known more for the massive landslide that damned up the Gros Ventre River and when the damn gave way, inevitably wiped out the town of Kelly, killing 6 people in 1927.  None the less, the zone holds some fun terrain and it was one of those “early days” that I will always remember.

ski-tracks-on-the-gros-ventre-slide
Tracks de jour.

We did two runs on the two-tiered bowl that day back in 1997. As you can see from the photo above, conditions were prime and ripe for the picking. A little bit of activity…but nothing with enough energy to really get you good. I think I was the only one locking the heel down, as my other two compadres were free-heeling in noodlely leather and plastic contraptions that really just looked like hiking boots. Rocking full alpine gear, I could charge as hard as I wanted to and was loving life, learning the ropes and earning my turns.

randosteve-gets-some-air-in-the-gros-ventre-slide-in-1997
Randosteve…dropping…in 1997!