A video trip report from June 1st, when Bobbi Clemmer and I enjoyed what can only be called a magical day of late spring corn skiing. We connected the North Bowl of Table Mountain and the West Ridge of Peak 10,650 for 7,000 feet of type one fun.
West Side Steeps – North Face of Mount Bannon – Jedediah Smith Wilderness, WY (05.31.24)
On Friday May 31st I skied the North and South Faces of Mount Bannon in a pleasant eight hour yo-yo tour from Darby Canyon. The 1,000 foot North Face is a loose West Teton "classic" with some steeper than expected pitches and a free-ride feel.
May Corn With Bobbi! – East Face of Rockchuck Peak and South Face of Taylor Mountain – Teton Range, WY (May 11 & 12, 2024)
The Alpine Peanut remains motivated to earn her turns well into May. The weekend of May 11th and 12th we skied the East Face of Rockchuck Peak and one of her season projects, the South Face of Taylor Mountain, in perfect corn!
Totally Western – Painted Lady Couloir – Treasure Mountain – Teton Canyon, WY (02.29.24)
The Painted Lady is a rugged, seldom skied novelty descent on the west face of Treasure Mountain - a 2,200 foot descent that involves a gigantic 230+ foot rappel into a narrow slot, and a mandatory air over an ice fall... or epic butt slide. Something like canyoneering, on skis.
Subalpine Ski Mountaineering – Lost Boys, Treasure Mountain North Face – Teton Canyon, WY (02.25.24)
My second ski descent, first published on 10K2Far, of a unique, seldom skied, 2,500 foot fall-line adventure on the rugged north face of Treasure Mountain, involving a little rope work, with new partner Hayden Evans.
Deep Powder, Wind Slabs and Everything In-Between – Eddington Chutes – Teton Canyon, WY (02.23.2022)
The Eddington Chutes on Treasure Mountain are home to possibly the best fall line skiing on the west slope of the Tetons. After a rapid pulse of snow following 5-6 weeks of high pressure, Reed Finlay and I sought sheltered powder and thought this to be the place. Though phenomenal conditions were found up high,... Continue Reading →
Mission Mentality – Skiing the Bowling Alley – Teton Canyon, WY (02.13.22)
The "Bowling Alley" is a 2,600 foot technical ski descent on the north aspect of Teton Canyon's Treasure Mountain. After a month of minimal snow I hoped this funky, elusive and likewise rarely descended line could be hiding some of the last untouched powder on the west slope of the Tetons. I scored, but not without significant tax.
Awakening the Sleeping Dragon – A Remote Triggered Deep Slab Avalanche in the Tetons (12.27.21)
On December 27th 2021, I remotely triggered an avalanche of serious destructive magnitude while traversing a north-to-south ridgeline, at approximately 9,600 feet in the west Teton backcountry, on skis. The deep persistent slab avalanche broke with a 6-10 foot crown, ran 1,400 feet, uprooted many trees and failed on the "December 5th weak layer". Read... Continue Reading →
Fossil Mountain & The Ice Cave Couloir – Waist Deep November Pow & The State of the Teton Snowpack (Nov. 2021)
Fossil Mountain is a remote 10,921 foot peak located deep in the central Teton Range. The Ice Cave Couloir is a short, steep and seldom skied couloir that will only be relevant to enthusiasts of the obscure. While hardly worthy of its' own mission, the "Ice Cave" made a great addition to Carl Osterburg and... Continue Reading →
Human Powered “Big Four” Traverse (Fossil Mountain, Mount Bannon, Jed. Smith, Meek) – Tetons West (April 2020)
Pre-Sunrise view from the saddle of Darby Canyon's South Fork I first heard mention of the Big Four Traverse, albeit not by that name, five years ago while picking the brain of a veteran lift mechanic over morning coffee at Grand Targhee Resort. He spoke of the four remote, seldom skied and closely grouped peaks,... Continue Reading →