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3/0702 - Jackson Hole / Part I
After recuperating from a bruising day of hiking in Bozeman, the Tourarrived in Jackson, Wyoming for the 2nd annual POWDER Week. Productmanagers from across the nation met up with the entire POWDER staff Tuesday for three days of intensive product testing.
Heading up the Jackson Hole tram on a sunny, hard-pack resort day, ourgroups headed straight out the Rock Springs backcountry gate. In truePOWDER style, Features Editor and ex-local Porter Fox led everyone'sfirst run on a 30-minute backcountry hike to access stashes of creamy,carveable wind-buff. Conditions were stable, and the boot-deep butterprovided a great platform to put next season's skis to the test for ourreaders.
Tuesday afternoon, we watched as the upper tram towers were swallowedwhole by fast-moving clouds, and by morning several inches of fresh layacross Teton Village. The sky is gray and the clouds are literallypuking as I write this update, so the next few days promise to give usunreal conditions for giving every fat and super-fat ski on the market athorough powder thrashing.
Highlights of the new skisinclude a new fat ski by Kneissl, theInspired line by Dynastar, the freeride line from Atomic (Sugar Daddy,Big Daddy, and Stomp), a revised AK Rocket from Salomon, and continuedgoodness from Rossignol (including the new Scratch BC), Fischer, and K2
1st Row: Carlson: Editor-at-Large Keith Carlsen getting amped for theday. (Photo: Jonathan Selkowitz)
Skis: A quiver any skier would like to choose from.
2nd Row: Van: The EuroVan represents at the Jackson Hole base area.
Tent: POWDER to the People.
Last photo: Reddick: Photo Editor David Reddick hard at work testing apair of Sugar Daddy's. (Photo: Jonathan Selkowitz)
The arrival of nearly the entire POWDER editorial staff had an amazingeffect on Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Wednesday of last week. After skiinga day of hardpack groomers and wind buff on Tuesday, we found ourselveswallowing in snowdrifts up to our chests. The POWDER effect was infull-force.
There is no better place to bewhen the sky is unloading several feet ofpowder than Jackson Hole. No place. With over 4,000 vertical feet andeasy access to some of the most mind-blowing backcountry anywhere, thismountain was regarded by many POWDER week attendees as being theultimate ski resort.
We found ourselves arcing down backcountry classics like Granite andgargling face-shots on the powder-choked ridges and trees of Four Pines.Super fat skis like the Atomic Big Daddy's and Fischer Big Stix 106 werein high demand. We may not have been able to test any of our demo skis'torsional rigidity or icy-groomer edge-hold, butfrankly we didn't care.If you haven't been to Jackson Hole, go now. Right now. They justreceived another ten inches of snow overnight and are calling for moreevery day this week. -J.R.
FourPines: One ridge over from the Hobacks, Four Pines is a powderybackcountry delight.
Tram2: The Jackson Hole tram rolls out into the storm.
Moose: A mangy moose outside the Mangy Moose.
Jackson Hole: The view of Jackson on the drive in from Wilson, Wyoming.
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