Winter 2017 has been one to remember.  From record snow for the month of December and great skiing all around.  Having been able to take trips to Jackson Hole and just skiing around the Wasatch has been amazing.

I started off the season with a badly sprained ankle and hadn’t been able to do much for the previous three months.  Despite this I was able to ski opening day up at Alta, which had some pretty good snow.  Thankfully my PT cleared me to ski the next day.  I was only able to ski 2 or 3 more times before I headed back home to Michigan for Christmas.

Leaving Michigan, some friends and I headed out to Jackson Hole for new years.  We made the 24 hour drive and got in at 5 am on December 30th.  Then next day we hiked headwall for some good snow and fresh lines.  New years in Jackson is always a riot, from loosing a few of our group on the way into town to being one of a probably 100 people trying to get a cab home that night, puking in a bar bathroom and rallying afterward, it was an overall memorable night.  No skiing was done on January 1st, but we ended up playing hockey on the outdoor rink in Wilson for about 3 or 4 hours instead (me in my figure skates of course).

We spent two more days in Jackson, hiked headwall again, some people skied Corbets, and we got fresh snow each night making the days of skiing amazing.  I then heard of a storm hitting Salt Lake and the Cottonwoods over the next few days.  So we packed up and headed down to Utah to follow the storm.

We skied two days at Snowbird, were some of the 1st ten people let into mineral basin when patrol opened it up, and got to ski over 20 inches of fresh, untracked powder.  We were also able to sneak into the hot tub at Snowbird after skiing which was a perk!

I also decided to take a class this semester, called Snow Dynamics and Avalanches, that involves learning all about snow science, avalanches, and ski touring almost every Friday!  Later on in January another storm hit the Wasatch and I got to ski a weekend with knee deep fresh snow, and was getting face shots on most turns (which I guess isn’t that hard as I am only a little over 5 feet tall!).

After a few weekend of skiing Alta, I headed back to Jackson Hole to ski with my family over Prez weekend.  I ended up getting in around 11pm, because of my snow and avy class earlier that day and it was snowing all night up in Jackson!  We skied almost all day Saturday, with runs through the Alta Chutes, Bivouac woods, Central Chutes, and of course Rendezvous Bowl.  We went slightly easier Saturday, as my mom, brother, and I were being taken backcountry Sunday!  Sunday morning, we got to the tram line around 8:45am and there was already a 2-3 tram wait.  Once we finally made it up the tram, we went through the first avalanche control gate, and down into cardiac drainage.  The first run was almost too good to be true!  And the next few runs were just as incredible!  Fresh lines, getting a workout skinning back up, then fresh lines again.  There was good, about boot to knee depth powder, and snow of the best snow I have ever skied!  We ended the day skiing down and out through Rock Springs and getting a couple pitchers of beer at Nick Wilson’s (not a bad way to end the day!).  Despite being sore and tired, we got up and skied the next day.  The snow, even inbounds, was great.  Alta 1 was great, Rendezvous bowl was great, all runs that day were amazing!

I also accomplished a life goal of mine: ski over 1 million vertical feet at Jackson.  And I achieved my goal in this trip over Prez day!  I finally hit a million vertical feet, actually over a million, as I now have 1,335,721 vertical feet at Jackson!

This now brings us to spring break, and it was very much spring skiing!  I skied most of the days, and it was 50 degrees out, sunny, and the snow was mashed potatoes! I skied Alf’s High Rustler for the first time in a while and I hit a new personal speed record: 75.3mph.  I also skied in my Red Wings jersey a few of the days because it was so nice out!  This was also week 10 at Snowbird, where my uncle knows a lot of old time Snowbird skiers.  I got to meet some really awesome skiers and people in general and had some pretty awesome home cooked meals.  One even got me to try and like a lot of different white wines, even one from Austria!

Our last field day for Snow Dynamics and Avalanches was this past Friday.  We went on a ski tour up Big Cottonwood Canyon, my first time skiing backcountry in BCC.  We worked on route planning and how to safely travel in avalanche terrain.  It also helps that we got to ski some pretty awesome snow on the way back down!

]]> http://spreadstoke.com/snow/skiing-1-million-vertical-feet-jackson-hole-wyoming/feed/ 0 http://spreadstoke.com/bike/teton-pass-jackson-wyoming-mountain-biking/ http://spreadstoke.com/bike/teton-pass-jackson-wyoming-mountain-biking/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2015 17:07:26 +0000 http://spreadstoke.com/?p=5546 Some footage from July up in Jackson, Wyoming. Riding Lithium and Fuzzy Bunny off Teton Pass with some buddies!!    ]]>

Some footage from July up in Jackson, Wyoming. Riding Lithium and Fuzzy Bunny off Teton Pass with some buddies!!

In every ski bum’s life there comes a point in which you pack up what you have in the wheels you have and head west. Maybe you are joining friends, maybe leading the charge, maybe some are coming along to blaze the trail for the rest… Either way, it feels less like a conscious decision and more like the inevitable next step in life. “I just knew I had to be in the mountains”, is what I hear a lot. Your family may support it because they too see this unavoidable phase in your life. Chances are you owe it to your folks who put you in ski school at an early age, paid for lessons, gear and lift tickets, gas and food, and lodging to get the days in. Or, maybe because they made the same decision long before and they too see that inevitable move to the mountains and support the path. Either way, you are now on your own, doing minimum wage work, and dedicating all of your free time to the pursuit of powder.

There are also the lucky ones that grew up and never left the ski town, living their entire lives under the mountains they were born beneath, but the majority of “locals” traveled to their destination. Often times, coming from the east coast or a neighboring Mountain Time state to stay for a few months, years or seasons until they move on to follow a friend, a job, or a girl/guy to the next resort town down the I-15 or I-70. You hold a job (or two) for the winter season and a different gig for the summer season supporting the local tourist economy. This job gets you your season pass (screw health insurance, even babysitting jobs have the “free pass” benefit in this town!), but it requires all hands on deck for the Holidays. No returning home, no Turkey with the family, no presents under the familiar tree or ski socks in the embroidered stocking. You’re on duty. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have family and it doesn’t mean you don’t have holidays.

When I decided for the first time to chase powder instead of flying east to Buffalo, NY for the annual 4am Blackout Wednesday debauchery and way too hungover Thanksgiving feast, I found myself heading to Jackson, WY where the storms were lining up and the base was being set. I reached out through my powder Rolodex to find a couch or two for the week and got set up with the Mad Trees crew out of UVM. With 18″ coming down on the pass in the 13th hour of the drive from Mammoth (and another 4-8″ forecasted each night after), the stage was set.

5am wake up calls for 6am bootpacks and skins off the pass were standard so everyone could get to work by 9am. Pressure to make it back to open the demo shop pushed the tempo up and put the pressure on. I spent the days at Grand Targhee or on the Teton Pass with new groups to skin with and hitchhike with. At 3pm we would meet back up for another bootpack/skin off the pass to close out each day. Three intense days to kick off a big week leading up to Jackson Hole opener and a big storm on the horizon. 20″+ expected in the upper elevations Tuesday into Wednesday so we started planning an overnight hut trip (yes – in November) in Grand Teton National Park. The big storm came in warm and wet though, and shifted the plans as avalanche danger went off the charts. The intensity didn’t falter though as the crew built road gaps on the outskirts of town, ripping backflips under the lights of snowmobiles and stemming the appetite for powder with good times, friends, beers and a lot of karaoke (you can find them at The Virginian every Wednesday night). Ski tweaking at its finest.

Then, after a bluebird opener at Jackson Hole, we made 100lbs+ of food (including 2 20lb turkeys) to feed the 25 East Coasters and friends made along the way that chased a dream, followed a friend, made a decision, or just took that inevitable next step to head west. In the end, to head to a place with a job next to a big ass mountain with a shit ton of powder. A place where avalanches are real, where danger is tangible, where skill, knowledge, and balls are a must.

Thanksgiving with Mad Trees reminded me that a life of a ski bum and a holiday away from family doesn’t change the holiday at all. It just changes the family you surround yourself with. Ride on boys.

Mad Trees is a community of riders from the East Coast who are spread across the country for the epic pursuit of an epic mountain life. Follow them at @madtreesusa or madtrees.org as they shred Washington, Wyoming, Utah and Vermont.

It’s dumping in Jackson Hole!  I headed up the Teton Pass for some dawn patrol action with the Mad Trees crew and scored some bottomless blower pow.  Stay tuned for more from our squad as the week continues – things will only get more epic from here!

This is your official reminder that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opens in TWO DAYS on Thanksgiving.  Chatter around town amongst locals is that this will be the most epic opener in quite some time.  I’ve been blown away at just how deep and stable the snowpack is around the Tetons for this time of year, and it’s only going to get better.

In case this wasn’t enough to convince you to drop everything and head to Wyoming, we can confirm that there is more snow in the forecast. The National Weather Service has hoisted a Winter Storm Watch for the area starting tonight, with anywhere between 1-2 feet expected!  It looks like a classic Teton dumper: a cold area of low pressure and strong jet stream aloft are pushing into the area tonight and are packed with ample dynamics and moisture.  Cha-ching!!!

For more photos, video, and stories from the road, make sure to stop by our website.

With Winter fast approaching, excitement is building for the 2014/2015 season and I’m getting ready and editing things up! Check it out…

The first installment of my personal webisode series, The White Room. It was a fun, but less than optimal winter in Tahoe this season. Episode 1 is a testament to the perseverance and positive attitude that can turn a bad winter into a good one. A big thanks to everyone that helped make this happen, especially my sponsors (Praxis Skis, Shred Ready Helmets, Janky Films). Enjoy!

This video was shot at Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Alta, Jackson Hole, Teton Pass, Donner Pass, and the North Tahoe backcountry.

I recently took a spontaneous trip out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to chase a deep winter storm.

January 27th: I was at Northstar Resort in 55 degree weather taking some really fun park laps when I rode up the chair lift with a couple of friends, Aaron Zook and Kim Reinhardt. They were telling me about a trip out to Jackson Hole and Park City, Utah that they were about to go on. I was super jealous since I knew that both of those mountains were getting some decent snow.  Luckily, they had one seat left in their car, and they said a tiny person like me could come along for the adventure!  I was so excited for this opportunity that as soon as I got home I got all of my shifts cover for work and packed my bag.

We left Tahoe around 11:00 p.m and our friend Paul drove the whole 12 hours straight through the night till we made it to Jackson Hole.  The 1st day we spent exploring the beautiful town of Jackson.  The following day we rose to fresh snow on the ground, all of us could not stop smiling except for Aaron.  He unfortunately decided to backflip off of a Jackson sign and ended up bruising his heal.  Aaron was put out of commission for a few days till he could force his foot back into his ski boot.

The rest of us rushed to the mountain. We stood in the tram line for about 45 min and got freshies all day. With a few days of riding Jackson Hole resort, Paul and I wanted to explore the Teton Pass.  We met up with his good friend Aaron who is a level three avalanche certified guide.  We wanted to be safe and of course ride the best terrain possible.  He took us to Teton Pass and we hiked the Glory Bowl.  We gained over 2,000 vertical feet with our summit to the top.  During the ride down I could not stop shouting with joy. I don’t think I have been that happy all season.  Here’s a video of just how good it was:

The snow was extremely light and deep, myself only being 5 ft tall it was a lot deeper for me than the boys!  Ha the joys of being tiny. Once we reached the road and got a ride back to our car we decided to hike another peak called Chivers.  This hike only took us about 15-20 minutes, a much shorter hike but the terrain was still untouched and deep.  During my trip out in Jackson, Paul and I did both of these hikes twice. I needed to get my hiking legs back and I am now ready for heading into desolation when I return home to Tahoe.

On January 28th we left Jackson and drove 6 hours to Park City. The next day Aaron Zook and I rode Canyons.  Canyons is a very large resort and we had a great time getting lost while dipping into the trees.  For some reason, everyone at Canyons just stayed on the groomers. I was in no way complaining about that. Finding fresh snow all over the mountain.  after a week of being on the road, I was ready to return home. With my luck I brought a little snow home with me to the Tahoe area.

Today I rode Heavenly resort with a fresh 16″. Winter is just about to start here in the Sierra Mountains and I could not be more excited!

I want to give a huge shout out to my sponsors:

Shoreline of Tahoe, Flow Snowboards, Akinz, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Shred Betties, Ra Optics and Honey Badger performance energy.   A special thanks to Shoreline of Tahoe for giving my board a fresh wax,  also lending me new poles and snowshoes. Your help really made my backcountry experience better!!