March 15, 2010, Teton Pass
3/15/10
US elsewhere
1688
0
We arrived at Teton Pass around 10:30 and the parking area was already very crowded. We drove down to Wilson to check out the snow coverage. Things seemed to be getting sparse at the lower elevation. The road on both sides of Teton Pass at 8430 has several 10 degree sections. Our rig is less than 10,000 pounds, and we were in second gear most of the way up and down. That road has to be challenging in a snow storm!
OK, there was no new overnight, its a Monday, and there was a steady stream ;)of folks heading up Glory on the north side of the road. Practically everyone straps their skis or board to their pack and follows the 1600vf boot track upward. Probably half the skiers were wearing downhill boots. After chatting with a few folks and watching the endless stream booting up Glory, I decided to skin up the south side to Edelweiss and Christmas Tree Bowls. The sun felt great and the skin track was in good shape. I chatted with a young couple who were descending, and they described powder on the northern aspects, corn on southeast aspects. One interesting comment was that in a trough near Christmas Tree Bowl there were bear tracks on the skin track and a dead baby moose with its legs pointing skyward. The positive comment by the fellow was that at least it was a black bear track and not a grizzly. Ohhhh yeah, Im feeling a lot better about skiing in that area. Now where exactly is that trough?
The ascent route circled to the top of Telemark Bowl (nice tracks) and then descended about 300vf to the base of Christmas Tree Bowl. Another nice skin track led to the top of Christmas Tree and over to Edelweiss Bowl. The views from the top were fantastic. There is an endless amount of terrain for touring in all directions with descents to roadside pickup points if desired. I only met 5 other folks on my tour. I was so impressed with how friendly and open they all were in sharing information on ascent and descent routes. I think telling them I was from Seattle and in my mid 60s probably helped. ;)
I followed a snowboarder off a north facing ridge of Edelweiss and enjoyed old powder about 10 deep. He showed me a longer descent line on the west side of the Pass and a skin ascent of only 400vf below the road back to the Pass. By the time I returned to the camper the pinched nerve in my lower back reminded me of its existence. I can understand the popularity of Teton Pass. Its Washington Pass on steroids. ;D
We stopped in Victor to switch drivers, and an old cowboy on horseback came riding along the main street, tipped his cowboy hat as he rode by, and we exchanged good days. We continued to Driggs and visited with Rich Rinaldi the owner of Yostmark, a mountaineering toy store and guiding service. We had met Rich previously while touring in The Sierra near Bishop on one of our spring adventures. Rich has the insights about the local area.
Photo 1: Looking north at Mt. Glory and westerly terrain
Photo 2: Looking north at Mt. Glory and easterly terrain with Telemark Bowl in foreground
Photo 3: Edelweiss Bowl
OK, there was no new overnight, its a Monday, and there was a steady stream ;)of folks heading up Glory on the north side of the road. Practically everyone straps their skis or board to their pack and follows the 1600vf boot track upward. Probably half the skiers were wearing downhill boots. After chatting with a few folks and watching the endless stream booting up Glory, I decided to skin up the south side to Edelweiss and Christmas Tree Bowls. The sun felt great and the skin track was in good shape. I chatted with a young couple who were descending, and they described powder on the northern aspects, corn on southeast aspects. One interesting comment was that in a trough near Christmas Tree Bowl there were bear tracks on the skin track and a dead baby moose with its legs pointing skyward. The positive comment by the fellow was that at least it was a black bear track and not a grizzly. Ohhhh yeah, Im feeling a lot better about skiing in that area. Now where exactly is that trough?
The ascent route circled to the top of Telemark Bowl (nice tracks) and then descended about 300vf to the base of Christmas Tree Bowl. Another nice skin track led to the top of Christmas Tree and over to Edelweiss Bowl. The views from the top were fantastic. There is an endless amount of terrain for touring in all directions with descents to roadside pickup points if desired. I only met 5 other folks on my tour. I was so impressed with how friendly and open they all were in sharing information on ascent and descent routes. I think telling them I was from Seattle and in my mid 60s probably helped. ;)
I followed a snowboarder off a north facing ridge of Edelweiss and enjoyed old powder about 10 deep. He showed me a longer descent line on the west side of the Pass and a skin ascent of only 400vf below the road back to the Pass. By the time I returned to the camper the pinched nerve in my lower back reminded me of its existence. I can understand the popularity of Teton Pass. Its Washington Pass on steroids. ;D
We stopped in Victor to switch drivers, and an old cowboy on horseback came riding along the main street, tipped his cowboy hat as he rode by, and we exchanged good days. We continued to Driggs and visited with Rich Rinaldi the owner of Yostmark, a mountaineering toy store and guiding service. We had met Rich previously while touring in The Sierra near Bishop on one of our spring adventures. Rich has the insights about the local area.
Photo 1: Looking north at Mt. Glory and westerly terrain
Photo 2: Looking north at Mt. Glory and easterly terrain with Telemark Bowl in foreground
Photo 3: Edelweiss Bowl
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