My all-time-best snowboard trip was the three years I spent in Jackson Hole. Trading a cubicle and the corporate grind for an employee pass, daily ride breaks and a full kit of backcountry gear made each morning in Teton County just another vacation day. Open-gate laps off Jackson’s big red box, gravity-fed lines on Teton Pass, and snorkel sessions at Grand Targhee were all regular parts of the diet. Riding was my reason to rise in the morning and each new day was satisfyingly similar to the one that came before. Inhabiting this dreamy world, I was driven by the cravings of my snowboard id, much like any unrepentant addict.
Now, with more words to write and more deadlines to hit, the luxury of 100-day seasons is no longer mine. An out-of-state address makes annual homecomings my only refresher on the prime terrain this shred heaven holds, but every return trip, I make the most of my temporary window and charge it hard. Even limited to seven days, the vertical in Jackson’s terrain can easily overstimulate the big mountain drive. So, for JH virgins who feel the desire to tap some true Tetonic satisfaction–but are hesitant to drop in blind–we share our sure-shot, one-week strategy on how to hit the Hole when it’s firing.
Even without self-inflicted injury, your wallet will be hurting from consecutive $70 per day tickets, so self-ascent may be the best call on Day Three. The ski hill is only a small sample of the riding in Jackson, and Teton Pass is the next must-ride destination. Even though hikes start right from the parking lot at the 8,341-foot crest of Highway 22, the terrain rates high on the danger scale. Slides happen frighteningly often here, and more than a few burials have occurred within plain sight of the road, so arrive prepared, partnered and cautious with reliable data about the routes. Deep days and/or Saturdays see the lot fill quickly, so come early and carpool or catch the new Backcountry.com shuttle in Wilson, which operates free on weekends.
For run one, test those sea-level lungs in the strength-sapping bootpack up 10,086 foot Mt Glory. Drink early and often, and get amped when you pass under the First Turn landmark of the stickered high-frequency tower. Take a quick breather in the stoner shelter up top (universally recognizable by its prayer flags and rescue cache) and pick a rewarding return line. Dropping toward the valley into the full-throttle runs of Twin Slides or Glory Bowl will spit you out a short walk from the lot, while a longer leftside descent down the Coal Creek drainage will send you spiraling on a goofy-foot toeside toward Idaho. A hold-on-tight ride out Coal Creek’s exit track will dump out at the highway, where thumbing it back up top completes the cycle.
Jackson’s backcountry is a mindblower and Day Two–when your step still has spring–is the time for firsthand confirmation. Before heading through the access gate, be warned: this OB terrain is severe, getting cliffed-out 100 feet from the deck is entirely possible and the avy danger is very real. Fatalities occur and respect is warranted. Unless you have the skills, the gear and a partner who knows the lines, keep it inside the ropes. An even smarter option is to sign up for the services of the JMHR alpine guides. A half-day with the overqualified guides ($415) will get you avy gear, score you an early pre-public tram and lead you safely into prime lines in the 3,000 acre, tram-accessed backcountry.
Wake up late, circle around town and RSVP on a return reservation, while your legs thank you for a respite from the nonstop abuse. Load up on Western-themed trinkets, go spotting for bull moose and snapshoot the spectacular Tetons in your mind. Think briefly of moving here; think better of it after weighing the occupational, financial and monastic sacrifices required to make it happen. Log this pilgrimage in the internal hard drive and catch that direct flight back to reality. Count yourself both lucky and cursed because, like the legions addicted to the divine riding in Jackson Hole, you will find yourself landing back here before long.
