The Northeast Snowfields is probably one of the most coveted routes for a ski mountaineer here in the Tetons. It is big, committing, and depending on conditions, requires at least one rappel. Lucky for me, I was invited to join climber/skiers Hans Johnstone and Brendan O’Neil for a ski descent in May of 2005. We […]
The Tetons
Before rallying to California and Mt Shasta, I got with Brian Ladd again for another trip into Avalanche Canyon. Amora Vida on the South Teton had been haunting me after getting a good look at it on an attempt on Mt Wister a few weeks ago and a descent was in order. Taggart Lake was […]
One of the cool things about having this blog is all the interesting people it has allowed me to meet so far. I often get emails, like daily, from total strangers interested in finding out more about Teton ski conditions and specific route beta. This past weekend, some skiers from Colorado and California were in […]
Brian Ladd hikes around Taggart Lake after losing a ski in a slough avalanche in Avalanche Canyon. About halfway to the fork in Avalanche Canyon today was when I knew I should have gone skiing on Teton Pass instead. It was snowing really hard now, and you could hear the winds ripping on the peaks […]
Can you find the skiers/climbers in this photo of the Grand Teton? Today’s trip to ski the Ellingwood Couloir on the Middle Teton evolved from many options that we put on the table both the night before and as the day progressed. It was my first day skiing with Dustin Lemke since he came back […]
I’ve been eye-balling this line back in Avalanche Canyon for the past couple weeks, and at least one other person noticed it too…cuz they emailed me about it. Well last Friday looked like it was going to be nice, so I figured I’d give it a go. Fellow rando racer Zahan Billimoria had called me, […]
I was fired up to get out by myself and at my own pace last Friday, but I was bummed when the temps were still above freezing at 5:20am when I left the trailhead. I knew the temperature would drop a little bit more before the sun came up, and things had to be freezing […]
A light rain greeted Reed Finlay, Chris Figenshau and I at the Bradley/Taggart trailhead this morning. Valley temps were hovering around 38o, so only a thin crust had formed on the snow. Luckily our line was north facing and the clouds and wind were on our side…for the time being. This was my first attempt […]
Chris Figenshau called me Monday night to see if I was up for dawn-patrol on the pass Tuesday morning. It looked like it was going to be a bluebird powder day, so how could I resist getting some fresh turns under the morning sky. I had to work at 10:30, so I would have plenty […]
I just had to get back into the mountains on Friday, and the weather looked promising. Photographer Chris Figenshau joined me to ski the North Couloir on Buck Mountain’s West Peak. Instead of going directly up the south fork of Avalanche Canyon, we decided to skin up 25 Short and then ski Turkey Chute down […]
Reed and I were walking by 7 am yesterday to ski the Apocalypse Couloir on Prospectors Mountain. I say walking because the Death Canyon road had been plowed, but was still closed to cars, making the approach and exit a bit annoying. The Apocalypse is a Teton classic for sure, and one of the steeper […]
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 […]
My trip to Mount Moran with Reed started out as planned and we got on the trail towing sleds just before 6 PM. When the weather warms up this time of year, Reed often likes to drive his grandfather’s 1968 Ford Country Squire station wagon…a classic ride to say the least. The skies got dark […]
I’m headed to Mount Moran for a few days of ski mountaineering with Reed Finlay. We are skiing into camp late Monday afternoon in order to maximize our time in the mountains. We will be coming out on Thursday. Both of us are towing sleds cuz it is really flat terrain to camp. I like […]
I was fired up to get into the mountains today, especially when Brian Harder and I drove north past the Fish Hatchery and saw clear skies over the mountains. We got going right as the sun hit the mountains and it was a beautiful morning. We were headed to the Middle Teton and I can […]
Jimmy Chin set the bar at 10 hours for skiing the Grand Teton last winter, and now Dan Kaslow and Luke Lynch have set the bar (as far as I know) for most laps on Glory. I was informed of this feat yesterday morning when I was directed to TheSnaz.com, who broke the story on […]
I picked up Brian Harder at 7am yesterday, both of us were anxious to get into the mountains, and I think we both lost sleep because of it. We passed the resident moose that seem to have made Gros Ventre Junction their home for the past couple weeks and we were on the trail before […]
Going solo today and might try to get above the clouds on the Middle Teton. Note: This TR is from February 17.2006. Last winter, Dustin, Reed and I were able to nab a coveted descent…the East Face of Fossil Mountain. I say it’s coveted, cuz I haven’t heard of anyone else ever skiing it, and […]
I slept in this morning (until 7) and didn’t get out of the house until almost nine. I was skiing solo today and it seemed to have snowed lightly all night, so I cruised to Wimpys for some more powder turns. The weather satellite looked like there might be some clearing skies today, so I […]
Got shutdown on yesterday’s adventure. The plan was to skin up the Banana Couloir on Prospectors, and then ski a spur couloir that dropped you into the bowl to the west. We got an early start under light snow and approached via ‘the maze’. We found ourselves contouring into Open Canyon through punchy, north facing […]