Summer Skiing - Jackson Hole 6-20-09

It wasn't quite summer solstice day but it was close.

 

Yesterday morning there was a three-hour break in our near-constant rainfall in Jackson Hole this month.  I decided on Friday that if I was ever going to get some June skiing done, I'd better take advantage of the hole in the clouds when I could.

 

Normally, I can't get anybody to go on these excursions but this time two different friends decided to come along.  Natasha is a boarder and Dave is a skier/racer and neither one had ever skied here during the summer.  When I called each of them, they said they would show up.  I've heard THAT plenty of times before over the years, but both of them actually appeared in the parking lot at the prescribed time.

 

We rode up the 9:00am tram and by the time we got to the summit there were already threatening clouds out to the west.  We decided to ski the best shot nearest the tram summit - a nice little line through a rock band and down into Cardiac Bowl.  For any of you who have skied Cody Bowl, Cardiac is the one directly on your right as you start the boot climb up to Cody.  Our line was about 800 vertical and the top portion through a little chokepoint is about 40 degrees.

 

By the time we got our skis on, a huge black cloud was pouring over Cody Peak and I figured we would be hiking back up in the rain.  Nevertheless, we got after it and started down.

 

For some reason, my camera didn't want to turn on as Dave was coming through the chokepoint so no early photos of him, but here's Natasha setting up for the narrow spot.  It doesn't look that narrow here but it's only about twenty feet wide:

 

 

In this one, she's blown through the chokepoint:

 

 

Here's Dave out in the main part of Cardiac:

 

 

And again a little further down showing his ski-racing background:

 

 

Natasha:

 

 

Still going:

 

 

Both of them in the lower bowl:

 

 

And unfortunately, what goes down must boot back up:

 

 

Topping out:

 

 

Even though the sun was out as we reached the top of Cardiac, there were big black clouds coming.  We beat a hasty retreat back to the top of the tram and rode down.  An hour later, it was pouring rain again with thunder and lightning.

 

We made good use of the short break in the weather.

 

Bob Peters

Jackson Hole, WY  North40 Realty

Me on twitter - http://twitter.com/bobpetersjh

 

 

 

 

 

Nice, Bob!  Looks like y'all had a great time and made the most of it.

 

Nothing like that out here in the east right now.  So what's a guy to do?  Ride 148 miles from the Harpoon brewery in Boston to their location in Windsor, Vermont - in one day.  T'was bliss.  And the beer and BBQ afterward?  Priceless.  Report to come soon on my blog.

 

Still, the skiing?  Looks friggin' awesome!

How many months is this for you Bob?  

Sweeeet!

I can't imagine that you usually go it alone...If I lived closer to you, I'd be game for it! 

That looks like it was totaly worth the walk, and even getting rained on a little afterwards if it came to that.  I didn't realize the tram runs in the summer out there.  Do they let you take a bikes on it?

All right!  It's good to hear that it stopped raining for a little bit there and that you were ready to pounce.  

 

I'm kind of astounded at the amount of rain the Rockies are getting this summer.  

 Songfta:  148 miles in one day! I would have a humongously sore butt.

141.  Assuming I make it to this September, it'll be 12 years.  How crazy is that?

 

Just come visit in the summer some time.  I'd happily take you up there. 

 

You know you want to do it.  You'll just be another year older if you don't come out this year.

 

The tram is actually quite busy in the summer. 

 

It runs from 9:00am to 6:30 or 7:00pm.  It costs around $15 for a one-ride adult ticket but you can ride free if you're a season ski passholder .  You can also get a coupon for $3.00 off the ticket price - the coupons are in our daily paper or you can find one online by clicking through this site:  http://www.jacksonhole.com/info/ae.summer.tram.asp

 

No bikes on the tram (no pets, either).  You can go tandem paragliding, however, which is a gigantic hoot.

 

The ski rule in the summer is that you can bring skis (or boards) up the tram but you're not allowed to ski/ride INbounds.  You have to go beyond the ski area boundaries.

 

Bob Peters

Jackson Hole, WY  North40 Realty

Me on twitter - http://twitter.com/bobpetersjh

 

It'll be <almost> gross. 

 

OK, we'll be needing some of the caribou poop skiing stoke over the next few summer months.  Love your trip reports Bob

 

 

Ha!  I loved the caribou poop outing. 

 

Thanks for reminding me - that's pretty much my favorite summer-skiing trip.  The feeling of isolation standing there on the flanks of the Aleutian Range with nobody and nothing else in sight in any direction was just amazing.

 

I'm headed back up there again in ten days but I'm not taking the skis with me.  This trip is just for fishing.

 

Remember, I've got the place for sale.  Unique in all the world:

 

Painter Creek Lodge

Bob, great to see you guys enjoying some Summer snow.  I see my boy Dave is having a blast out there.  He's taunting me on a regular basis about it :)

 

I hate him so much right now as I mow grass and get an occasional mtb ride in between torrential rain storms.

 

See you guys in January.

 

 

He does seem to have settled right in to the Jackson Hole lifestyle, doesn't he? 

 

I'm glad you suggested he contact me.  He's a good skier.  He just gave me some excellent streamers that he tied and I'll be catching rainbow trout with them in Alaska in about ten days.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing you and M this winter.

 

Thanks.

Bob,

 

I had such a great time.  Thanks again.  I went up yesterday and skied four shadows and powder eight.  Snow was good!

 

I'd love to join you on the 1st, let me know the details.

 

Matt,

 

I am not taunting you.  If it makes you feel any better, the shopping here is not nearly as good as it is in Pittsburgh.

 

-Dave Bertsch

 

Hi, Dave.

 

WOW!  That didn't take much time.  Way to get after it.

 

Like I said, you seem to be taking to this Jackson Hole stuff pretty quickly.

 

Assuming the weather cooperates on the 1st, I'm definitely going up there.  I *was* going to ski Four Shadows, but since you've already done that, maybe we'll go look at North Shore.

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

The fact that you miss shopping at Pants 'nat makes me feel so much better.

 

Just go ski, fish and stop taunting me :)

 

He definitely has all of us back here a little green.  He has the opportunity we all wish we could of had.

 

I told him if he comes back, we'll never speak to him again :)

 

Mara and I can't wait to get back out there in January.  There's so much we still want to ski there.  It's her 40th, so I'm planning on doing something she's never done.  Some BC out of the gates or maybe cat skiing at Togwotee.  Plenty of time to figure that out yet...

 

We hope to meet up and make some turns with you again.

Nice 

Ditto, I am jonesin' big time.
I thiink I am finally having a mid-life crisis. Really!
Since closing Vail back in april, I have been almost obsessed with getting back on the snow.
Tx for the post season ski diary w/ pics.

I thought at 54 I had lucked out and missed the so-called mid-life crisis, I think I have a problem!

I skied what I think is the North Shore yesterday, but I am really not sure, maybe Bob can confirm this:



Snow was good - my new boots blackened both of my big toenails and I had some...umm...issues?  I am still learning this b.c. stuff.

Hmmmmm.

I honestly can't tell from the photo where that is.

Do you remember the saddle I was telling you about with the fossils?  If you went up from there to about where you would turn LEFT to go down Four Shadows and instead you turned RIGHT down into upper Granite Canyon, you would have been on North Shore.

Is that what you did?

Toe issues are a real bummer.  That's why AT boots exist.  I talked to Andy at Wilson Backcountry.  He has some size Euro 29, 29.5, and 30 Scarpas and Garmonts from the demo fleet that are for sale for around $375.  I don't think that's any better than you were finding new, but there you go.

Very nice.I'd love to try that someday.

Strong work, Bob!

It looks like I should still bring an axe if I come up for climbing anytime soon.