The Team Sherpa Blog

  After a LOOOONG flight and a very bizarre interrogation at the US customs, I finally made a touch down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A pitch-black and rather cold night greeted me at the front door off the airport as I tried to find a transportation to the town.

  Very helpful and friendly ‘dude’ offered me a ride to town with his beat up van. I’m not even sure if it was an official taxi, but never the less he took me where I wanted to go and gave me good info about the skiing domain and the weather conditions of the Teaton range. He even drove me around the town of Jackson and showed the best saloons and restaurants.

   The good news about the weather was that there was probably best snow in three years around the area. Forecast (which proved to be not that accurate for the next two weeks) said that it would still snow for a couple of days before it should clear out. There actually had been almost continuous snowfall for past three weeks, which meant that some places would probably be prone to avalanches.

   For the first couple of days I just skied around marked pistes and tried to make some kind of an idea about the area. The ski area at Teaton Village is located about 20km northwest from the town of Jackson. Piste area is not that large and the ski runs are skied through pretty fast. The slopes though are in excellent condition and the profile of the runs is varied. So, there really is something for everybody from bum slides to steep cliffs in a coarse pine tree forests.

   But the real treat is off piste or back country skiing. The whole piste area is surrounded by this sort of a guideline rope and access to the ‘other side’ is to be made only through these informative gates. There are three to five different signs telling if the route is open, what grade avalanche hazard there is and then the legal stuff. Through these gate opens up indefinite and infinite place to ski. There are so many routes close and far to choose from that it makes you feel puzzled. Close to the lifts and closest back country routes are skied through quite fast, but put on your skins and make a half an hour effort away from the crowds and you’ll be skiing your own tracks even 10 days after snowfall.

  Jackson Hole is located in a high plateau and even though in some sense the scenery reminds me of the high hills of the northern Scandinavia, the base of the town, valley and the start of the lifts are almost at 2000m. That ensures that the temperature stays low, which with very low humidity guarantees that the snow stays powdery for a long time (shortness of breath may also be guaranteed for a first few days). Especially on the northern faces the snow even stays without thinnest of crusty cover. Also tree line is considerably higher than in Europe, so in the poor visibility the contrast is much better.

   All and all, in contrast to the ski in the European Alps, it is a quite bit different in a good way. But because of the greater height differences and the closer proximity in the Alps, mountains for sure are more favourable to the mountaineering activities and high summit assaults.

   As a summary, I do think that JH is really a fantastic place to experience nice groomed pistes, unforgettable powder back country, out of bounds solitude, breath taking scenery over vast wilderness, diversified wildlife and genuine friendliness and hospitality of Americans.

  And even though there isn’t really that much after ski nor night life happening around (at least I couldn’t find any), nice cowboy bars and traditional game food restaurants make sure that you can enjoy the authenticity of the last of the real West. I do highly recommend Jackson Hole as a good alternative for a ski trip to the Alps. Especially if you feel that you’ve been travelling to the Alps many times already and want to try something new.

A couple of ‘out of bounds’ route discriptions will follow shortly.