Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
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!
On January 13th, 2026, I completed the first descent of The Blue Line, possibly the last unskied couloir in the Apocalypse area of Prospector's Mountain. The route features a 700 foot hanging couloir with 50 degree skiing above massive exposure, culminating in a 650 foot horizontal traverse across an unlikely ledge system to merge with the Son of the Apocalypse Couloir, a 3,300 foot descent in full.
The West Hourglass Couloir begins at 11,400 feet on the West Ridge of Nez Perce, averaging about 1,000 feet of 40 degree fall-line couloir skiing with a 50 degree crux, and an even longer runout. In full, the line is quite simply 2,200 feet of Teton bliss, an absolute classic Teton powder descent. The striking... Continue Reading →
This weekend I had the pleasure of joining Bobbi Clemmer on her first ever... ever... couloir ski descent - and I'm happy to report she knocked the ball out of the park! Chute The Moon was the name of the game, one of the few and finest "entry-level" couloirs in the Tetons. Load the beast... Continue Reading →
In 2015, David Gonzales wrote a popular article for POWDER Magazine titled "Is There A Better Way to Ski the Grand Teton?" in which he discusses the perilous and increasingly pressing issue of congestion on the Grand's most popular ski route, the Ford-Stettner. This article will double down on Gonzales's work, putting a microscope to the Workman-Starr Sneak and its potential to reduce overhead hazard when multiple climbers/skiers are on the mountain.
The Crooked Thumb Couloir is the prominent avalanche path directly north of Teewinot Mountain's classic East Face line. The couloir tops out at 11,600 feet on the mountain's north ridge, and despite looking benign from below, drops over 2,500 vertical feet with several tight sections of 40+ degree fall line skiing. The three prominent ski... Continue Reading →
First and foremost, it is with a heavy heart that I solemnly offer my condolences to the family of Matthew Brien, a 33 year old Jackson local taken by the mountains far too early. 2021 was undoubtedly one of the toughest years for snow stability in the mountain west. February was the worst - haunted... Continue Reading →
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 →
Ten Thousand Too Far 