On February 9th our month-long Teton high pressure curse finally broke. Jed Porter and I snuck out for a few afternoon laps on Chicken Knob, bagging an interesting line I’ve been eyeballing for years – “Alta Dena North” – another complex, forested, and route finding intensive Teton Canyon couloir. Bobbi Clemmer and I returned two days later, because it was just that good!
I’m conflicted about documenting ski descents in Teton Canyon. Old-time locals outspokenly resist publicized information on the Teton west slope. Guidebooks, both printed and proposed, have been torpedoed by intensive shame and threats. By writing about Teton Canyon I expose myself to the same criticism, a tall consequence in a small mountain town. Only a fraction of the Teton Canyon skiing I’ve done is on Ten Thousand Too Far, and most of what I’ve withheld are the more technical descents synonymous with this blog. Some day the stories will leach out. Diving into a hot tub isn’t wise. I prefer to dip my toes.
Anyways, “Chicken Knob” – the next high-point west of Treasure Mountain on the southwest corner of Eddington Canyon, is one of the many hidden west slope powder havens, praised for a high volume of moderate terrain and a gentle 2,500 foot approach through beautiful high plateaus, pine forests and aspen groves. The summit is indistinct, a mere bump on the north-south ridge splitting Bear Canyon to the west, and Eddington to the east. Like many Teton Canyon peaks, Chicken Knob offers drastically different terrain according to aspect. The west side of the north ridge, dropping into Bear Canyon, is exclusively moderate glades and bowls reminiscent of Teton Pass, rarely exceeding 800 feet. The area classic is Alta Dena Bowl, with 700-900 feet of open bowl skiing and a snow preserving northwest tilt, beginning at approximately 8,800 feet on the north ridge. The east side of Chicken Knob couldn’t be more different, ringed with a nearly impervious limestone band more than one mile in length, with heights exceeding 200 feet. Only two ski-through lines penetrate this cliff into Eddington Canyon, named “Take it Deep” and “Alta Dena North” in the now out-of-print Targhee Backcountry Ski Atlas. The former is a generally open and moderate 1,100 foot descent from the direct summit to the canyon head, but given Eddington’s bushiness and lack of pitch, never personally felt worth it. The latter is the subject of this article, an aesthetic, complex and at times quite exposed 1,800 foot journey through two hanging couloirs, beginning further down the north ridge and dropping lower into Eddington, a line I’ve both admired and overlooked for years.
On February 9th Jed Porter and I summitted Chicken Knob without a defined plan, skied a scratchy lap into Bear via the Alta Dena Bowl, and reascended to the north ridge looking for a way into Eddington Canyon. Neither of us had skied Alta Dena North, and while we both thought it would ski cleanly without a rappel, we weren’t positive. Scouting pictures aren’t always transparent in Teton Canyon. To quote Jed: the line is so “three dimensional” and obscured by trees it’s hard to tell whether every cliff is avoidable. Had we not hatched this plan halfway through our ascent I would’ve brought a rope. But here we were, ropeless and feeling frisky. Our plan was either to ski Chicken Knob’s king line in epic powder straight to an early supper, or descend to the flank of an impassable cliff and cut a heinous wallowing 850 foot trench back to the ridge for a moonshine headlamp exit. We rolled the dice.
Directly east of Alta Dena Bowl is Alta Dena North, defined on the map by two gradually tightening and converging couloirs forming a “V”. We began skiing in epic open powder directly above the skier’s left couloir, but quickly cut south to access the right couloir. In quintessential Teton Canyon style, this couloir was lightly vegetated with a mysterious rollover at the lip, ultimately concealing a 40 foot cliff. With CalTopo in hand we traversed right above this cliff, skied a few turns through dense trees, then cut left above another steep cliff back into the right couloir. Here we were greeted to 150 feet of steeper turns above yet another, larger, cliff. This was the spookiest moment of the descent, as the walls on either side were prominent enough to feel genuinely trapped. CalTopo urged us to traverse into the left couloir, but a protruding limestone rib barred clean passage. About 30 feet above the edge we were able to shuffle over a very exposed and narrow break in the rock and traverse into the left couloir. A miraculous 10 foot break offering memorable jump turns us saw us to the apron. Had we a rope Alta Dena North would’ve been memorable, but without it was exhilarating. Until the final traverse into the left couloir, 30 feet above the apron and 850 feet below the ridge, we had no certainty the line would ski cleanly. Poking around blind corners and shuffling over cliffs, GPS in hand, and ultimately succeeding accompanied by excellent snow was a truly unique experience.
Two days later Bobbi Clemmer and I completed the same tour. This is the first time I’ve ever repeated a tour in consecutive outings, but I was so impressed by the terrain variety, progression and flow that I wanted to show Bobbi. Turns out, she thought Alta Dena North was awesome. As a fourth year skier taught exclusively in the backcountry, I was impressed by her composure navigating the complexities of Teton Canyon. While no pitch is too steep or too exposed, the route-finding intensive nature of this line deserves respect.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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