Grand Targhee

Forget all those advertisements about Utah.  The best snow is in Wyoming.  We were there for 5 days and it snowed almost every night.  The funny thing is the locals don't even show up unless there's at least 10" of fresh snow because it happens so often.

This is not the place for people who like to ski groomers though.  Groomed runs are practically non-exsitance.  There are probably less groomed runs than there are fingers on my right hand.  You get off the chair lift at the top and are basically allowed to ski down to the bottom in whatever fashion you wish.  There weren't really any signs for marked runs other than the few groomers that seemed like they were created by however the gooming machine felt like driving down.

For powder hounds, this place is heaven.  Because of it's remoteness, very few people come here.  Most people goto Jackson hole, which is on the otherside of the mountain range, and don't get all the good snow dumps like Grand Targhee.  Every day we were there, we had no problem finding untracked, or lightly tracked snow...even at the end of the day.  There are absolutely no lift lines.

The only problem is that people call this place "Grand Foggy" for a reason.  The snow was great, but the visibility was horrible.  Most of the days, in the morning, the only thing you can see at the top is white, and the guy that's 20 feet in front of you.  10 feet if he's not wearing a bright colored jacket.  You basically just have to ski down and hope for the best.  Thankfully the great snow made it easy and fun, even though we couldn't see. Halfway down the mountain, the visibility clears up and the skiing becomes even better.  By afternoon, it clears up a bit, but it's still foggy at the top.  I didn't see blue skis once the entire week I was there.

If you're going on vacation just to ski, this place is hard to beat. If you're going on vacation to ski and also have fun when you're off the slopes, then this place may not be the best.  The nightlife is non-existant.  The city at the base is Driggs, Idaho and is basically just a couple restaurants and shops on a main street.  We didn't care cause we were too tired every night to do anything other than sit in the hottub anyway.

If you have a season pass to any North American ski resort, then Targhee offers FREE skiing when you get lodging there.  That's a $70 a day!  Check their website specials for more details.