TETON VILLAGE, WY. Welcome to Xmas week in Jackson Hole. Mogul fields sliding to the ground, an in bounds avalanche death, the mid mountain lodge getting hit by an avi, 60 foot debris piles on the pass, a snow cat getting partially buried cutting a cat track, 10 foot crowns everywhere you look, the never ending echo of bombs exploding, extreme avalanche ratings and the mountain closed for days at a time.
In between all these avalanches the riding has been really good. Huge props to the ski patrol. They have been in the trenches. Twice this week my stomach dropped as I watched ski patrol panicking to the lift equipped with probe poles and avi rescue dogs running to save someones life. For the first time in my life I have had to treat terrain in bounds like the backcountry and found myself avoiding in bound lines because of slide danger.
The second story of the Bridger center
The avi dogs are gods in times like this
The problem layer. This ice is so thick that when cutting columns in a snow pit it is hard to get threw the ice with your saw.
Shroeder Baker enjoys the payoff
In ten years of checking avalanche forecasts I have never seen it rated as EXTREME. Source www.avalanche.org
G E N E R A L – A V A L A N C H E – H A Z A R D |
||
| High Elevations (9,000´-10,500´) | Morning EXTREME | Afternoon EXTREME |
| Mid Elevations (7,500´-9,000´) | Morning EXTREME | Afternoon EXTREME |
| Low Elevations (6,000´-7,500´) | Morning CONSIDERABLE | Afternoon CONSIDERABLE |
| Extreme: Wide spread areas of unstable snow exist and avalanches are certain on some slopes. Backcountry travel should be avoided. |
| High: Mostly unstable snow exists on a variety of aspects and slope angles. Natural avalanches are likely. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. |
| Considerable: Dangerous unstable slabs exist on steep terrain on certain aspects. Human triggered avalanches probable. Natural avalanches possible. |
| Moderate: Areas of unstable snow exist. Human triggered avalanches are possible. Larger triggers may be necessary as the snowpack becomes more stable. Use caution. |
| Low: Mostly stable snow exists. Avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets. |
Note. Avalanche conditions have greatly improved the last two days do to warm temps followed by cold temps. Jackson Hole recieved a foot of new snow and the whole mountain is open and the riding is world class.
It’s sobering how powerful the mountains can be… at the same time it’s what draws us to them. When a slope collapses and it takes your breath away, the senses become aware.
It seems as though the powder gates in the sky have opened out west, looked like a great adventure at Jackson Hole. Ride hard, be safe.
Comment by MJ Hall January 2, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
I couldn’t beleive the reports I heard over the past week. With all these inbounds slides this year, you wont catch me without my beacon ANYWHERE.
The note at the bottom gives me hope to maybe riding some steeps next week when I visit jhole.
Thanks for putting this out therE Jeremy.
Cheers
Comment by ION January 2, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
This is the closest i have ever come to a war zone. The soldiers of JH Ski Patrol deserve mad respect. They are fighting these battle for us. A very selfless task if you think about it. To go out every morning and risk your life so people can ride pow and launch cliffs. We should throw them a party. Or at least hook them with a slice of pizza.
Comment by rich goodwin January 8, 2009 @ 8:15 am
Yeah, we have plenty of unstable snow here in russia too.. Three weeks ago, on december, 20th, my friend was buried in avalanche skiing.. Just a few minutes walk from the lift. He was riding that place for many years and it seemed so familiar and safe.
That morning he had some troubles with batteries in his beacon and left it at home… It tooks 7 hours for the rescue team to find him..
Guys and girls, be always careful and never lose concentration..
Comment by Dmitry January 9, 2009 @ 10:36 am
that picture of the inside of the lodge is sweet. I haven’t done any back country riding or really rode any where with an avalanche danger but the extreme avalanche warning sounds kind of scary – especially if someone as experienced as yourself has never seen that!
Comment by martin beran January 9, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
Dimtry,
That is horrible about your friend Dmitry. Russia is awesome riding but I was surprised at the terrain traps at the resort I rode. Best of luck this winter.
Rich,
Good to see you in Jackson. That was a heavy couple days. Gnarly down load with the search dogs probs etc on the way to the bridger slide. The bottom line is ski patrol should be drinking for free.
Comment by admin-jeremyjones January 10, 2009 @ 4:41 pm
Av here too, Jeremy. Alaska saw extreme cold with a huge base of the most dry light fluffy pow ever. Then the pineapple express came through and what a mess! From Anchorage-Chugach-Aleyeska to Juneau-EagleCrest it warmed so fast all that new pow had nothing to hang on to and everything everywhere slid. Closed 2 resorts for a day here and there due to the ice-flooding-sliding.
A friend of mine here is a geneticist studying the fish that show the ocean temps and global warming (like rings do on trees with the seasons). She said they saw this coming because of warming ocean currents. It’s crazy; it smells like spring here.
A wake-up reminder to Protect Our Winters! and ride safe in-the-know about conditions!
Comment by AKLisa January 17, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
great article. I will bookmark this
Comment by jackson hole realtors September 22, 2009 @ 2:56 pm
[...] the mountain was closed for days at a time and we hardly snowboarded because the mountains were falling down all around us. This year there was very little snow but the whole mountain was open and you could do as many [...]
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