~ ~ SKI THE BIG ONE ~ ~ JACKSON HOLE '20-'21

[SirVicSmasher]

Baggy may be extreme.... but unless someone's in form-fitting hear, no hood, etc., they're not likely to be doing 60+.

I often see someone posting they did 60 or 70 or 80mph ... and it's someone who has not waxed their skis in a year or it was on a cold day when the dry snow has 50% more friction than snow around freezing....

Just... amuses me. Actually, the reason it bothers me is that things have meaning, and when an app is constantly feeding error-prone data to people it changes the collective view of what it is like to "go 70mph on skis." It's kinda like those Zumba commercials that told people they could burn 1,000 calories an hour by dancing.

It's actually REALLY hard to burn 1,000 calories an hour. A relatively small percentage of people in the world can do this.... which is part of the reason people exercise (& overestimate their calorie burn) and GAIN weight.

/rant over


First year in >20 that I don't have any ski pass. I put a deposit down but made the decision to get a refund (/took the bet the place (incl transit) would shut down or be a shit-show on the days I'd want to go. Happy if I am proven wrong — happy for those that are still able to enjoy!

It bothered me last year when JHMR opted not to issue any partial refund to full pass holders. When I had to make my decision for this year the prospect of shutting down and/or closing early in the season — e.g., shutting down in January — existed, and I chose to view it as money unlikely to be refunded.

I've seen DJ hit 65+... walked away from me like I was standing still. It's true ppl vastly overestimate there speed but their are few around these parts that can walk the walk. Anyway keep the pics coming you guys and hopefully I can make it down by the end of the month

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[new yabyum]

Someone was asking about a TCSAR opp the other day. This just showed up:

On the afternoon of Friday, January 8, Teton County Search & Rescue received a call about a group of skiers who'd been caught in an avalanche on a mountain just outside of Cooke City, Montana. According to the accident report from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, three skiers were caught in the slide, with one sustaining serious lung and rib injuries.
With weather preventing the use of helicopters to respond from Montana, TCSAR got the call, with the pilot taking two team members as short-haulers. Flying directly to the avalanche site from the TCSAR hangar (a distance of about 120 miles), the team located the patient and successfully short-hauled him to further medical treatment in Cooke City.
The TCSAR team then flew to Cody for the night before returning to Jackson in the morning.\ The ship was back in action just a few hours later on Saturday, when the team was alerted to an injured skier in Pinedale Canyon just south of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. That skier was also short-hauled to safety.
https://www.mtavalanche.com/avalanche-activity

The money I slip to the "ship" is money well spent. Living in Driggs I feel better having that bird around.

[upallnight]

I've seen DJ hit 65+... walked away from me like I was standing still. It's true ppl vastly overestimate there speed but their are few around these parts that can walk the walk. Anyway keep the pics coming you guys and hopefully I can make it down by the end of the month

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Not saying HE doesn't — more a general comment sparked by the earlier post. Most people I see posting crazy speeds don't realize how ridiculous it is given their gear.

I'd bet DJ has the right skis for the conditions, properly tuned.

[east or bust]

We’ll be out for a full day tomorrow and in no rush. Hopefully link up for a couple laps with some of ya.

[homemadesalsa]

The money I slip to the "ship" is money well spent. Living in Driggs I feel better having that bird around.

No doubt. I work with some of those folks every year through WYSAW, What's in your Pack, and the occasional avalanche class. I could think of no-one I'd like to rescue me more than that crew. Skills and heart combined. TCISAR has made huge strides in the last few years, thanks to a new crew and to Jason O, who has put some work in.

In other news, huge gorgeous surface hoar is going to be most interesting with a new load. Looking like maybe an inch of water to drop in from the NW flow over the top of the high pressure ridge maybe on Wednesday. Targhee seems to do well with that kind of flow. I did hear that there was some tricky wind slab forming up high as well. Still lots of shrubbery to wrestle with on the exits.

[cydwhit]

Got turned around off Pyramid yesterday with the most aggressive whoomphing and collapsing I’ve experienced in a few years. Wild how much the snowpack varies from aspect to aspect right now.


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[Djongo Unchained]

Not saying HE doesn't — more a general comment sparked by the earlier post. Most people I see posting crazy speeds don't realize how ridiculous it is given their gear.

I'd bet DJ has the right skis for the conditions, properly tuned.

That's money in the bank right there.

We all agree that going very fast is a greater challenge than just a set o' balls. There's physics involved here dammit!

I too am a skeptic of the gps speed equation and would be psyched to see a true reckoning of the difference.

I tune nightly to relax and get the bases right. why wouldn't I, ya know. Today had a crazy friction thing going on.

Also knowing the mountain intimately, being first and using the terrain to accelerate all make 50+ possible.

Now I'm gonna go hassle the race crew for their speed gun...

I've said this to a few mags: man, if you're gonna take a season off, this would be the one, eh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SVS - looking forward to skiing ya. BIG TIME.

EoB - ski you tomorrow; we'll catch you up on your lost vert.

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Turns were damn good today btw... sweet easy arcs in the sun, shortening lines too.

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The Pyramid

RIP ~ 'Every Day' Ray Azar

[upallnight]

Got turned around off Pyramid yesterday with the most aggressive whoomphing and collapsing I’ve experienced in a few years. Wild how much the snowpack varies from aspect to aspect right now.

Totally. I found some of the most stable that I've seen all year, that I feel the best about skiing.

Much of it — at least in the high peaks — is not only aspect- and elevation-dependent, but also dependent upon whether and when/how it has shed.

I've said this to a few mags: man, if you're gonna take a season off, this would be the one, eh?

Definitely not taking a season off... but might have been the cue to break the tie with JHMR for good. Hard to say. Wouldn't refuse a free or (very) low-cost pass, but gone are the 100+ days riding lifts. Some years those 100 days made up half of my ski season, so it wasn't trivial.

For me the shift at the Village happened years before COVID. COVID simply brought a few things to light.

Former nordic racer so I'm intimately familiar with gliding fast on snow (and the fluoros those kinds of speeds take)... and how *dramatically* slower cold, dry powder is vs transformed snow. Aerodynamics are very interesting to me.

DH racers can hit 80mph.... and we've got some people skiing one week a year believing they hit 70+ on dry skis... boggles the mind.

[2bjenny]

I've seen DJ hit 65+... walked away from me like I was standing still. It's true ppl vastly overestimate there speed but their are few around these parts that can walk the walk. Anyway keep the pics coming you guys and hopefully I can make it down by the end of the month

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Ha ha! My ski legs are starting to come back after unsuccessfully trying to keep up with the crew today for some laps and they weren’t even trying. DJ and EoB, thanks for letting me tag along this morning.

[Core Shot]

There’s a big difference between 60 and 70 or 80

60 at jh is easy except for the traffic and idiots.

It’s harder to do these days. Was on obs with patrol two years ago. Watched a big sled bomb in hourglass. Then followed my buddy and went “oh shit, we’re going Mach looney”. Tucked and pointed em to catch up to him. I miss that shit. Haven’t been that fast in years.


40 ain’t nuthin. 50 is easy. But yeah, phone gps is shit.

I loved seeing Ray’s tracks on pyramid. Inspiring. Four pines was too crowded. Lol.

[Kevo]

Not that I care how fast I ski or how fast anyone else skis, but does GPS account for slope angle? Like if GPS is registering 30 mph and the subject is moving on a 45 degree slope, is the GPS measuring lateral distance or is it measuring speed across the hypotenuse of a right triangle? If the former, perhaps GPS speeds are slower than actual for skiing.

On another note, does anyone else here fly? I'm working towards my PPL with Teton Aviation. The past couple of days have been awesome conditions. Little windy up high today though. Gotta love the Teton views.


Edit, I've tried everything, can't make the photo the correct orientation...

[upallnight]

Not that I care how fast I ski or how fast anyone else skis, but does GPS account for slope angle? Like if GPS is registering 30 mph and the subject is moving on a 45 degree slope, is the GPS measuring lateral distance or is it measuring speed across the hypotenuse of a right triangle? If the former, perhaps GPS speeds are slower than actual for skiing.

It's measuring distance (the "hypotenuse" in your post). No way it is underreporting.

It's OK for average speed, but instantaneous speed **in the mountains** is a problem given how the error at any given moment.

With a really clear signal (4+ satellites) you can get a reasonable position in 3d — or on flat terrain this doesn't really matter. When the signal from 4+ satellites is not strong, determining a position in 3d is harder — 3m error (x,y) can have more meaning in steep terrain. Rare is the day for me in the mountains when I have zero moments of blips.... based on ~25 years or near daily use — and with devices dedicated to getting the best signal.

Phone in someone's pocket? Hm.

When these apps are reporting a max (1") speed, that can often be based on 2x the error of a given point, hence the high reported speeds for *most* people.

I wouldn't trust speed at a ski area for this reason.

YMMV.

[panchosdad]

Got turned around off Pyramid yesterday with the most aggressive whoomphing and collapsing I’ve experienced in a few years. Wild how much the snowpack varies from aspect to aspect right now.

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Good cause for a cautious approach. Moisture with wind and warm temps tonight through tomorrow will make for interesting conditions.

[Djongo Unchained]

Wow, what a fun day yesterday.

Thanks for joining in and filling out the crew to both EastorBust and 2bjenny!
Really high quality groomers everywhere and man were we zooming all over that mountain. I finished the day with 25 miles and 34k vert, biggest day so far.

Gonna take a rest day to gear up for the shitshow weekend, knee is asking for a breather after hardpack racing for days.
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Thefortrees and Sir Vic are planning a rendezvous here for the last week of January, very much looking forward to good times with my brothers.

Right in there as well, Pfluffenmeister will be doing a local area ski tour of JH, SK, GT, BS and maybe back thru Aspen...another must-ski mag. Psyched A.!

I hope to get all of us together for mega laps, fingers crossed.
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Spoke with SkiJunky for a few before his steep campers from GoPro cracked the whip...puhleeeeeze.
Such a good guy, chill and humble. I wish he could just buy that place and fix it.
BabyBear, I miss turning witcha, Pencil me in the next time you and all of your girlfriends go out...
And I owe you some verde.
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Kokomas - dang we gotta connect soon; EoB and I were talking about you and I cranking the big right hand sweeper on the Crags run. Let's get some.

[Djongo Unchained]

I loved seeing Ray’s tracks on pyramid. Inspiring. Four pines was too crowded. Lol.

Thanks for remembering.

FKNA, dude. I can see his face to this day.

That cat could be up and down 4P before anyone got out of a gate.

[S_jenks]

Just wanted to take a minute here to give local mag "Lawless" some major props for the hookup.

My sincerest thanks to him for being generous, especially during a season such as this.

May your turns be everlasting, deep, and injury-free the rest of this season.

-S

[ticketchecker]

^^^^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bring back the $2 tram ticket...

Attachment 356764

Those were going to be my 401k from JHMR



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[kokomas]

DJ would love to. I'm on the family plan quarantine this month. Thankfully everyone is fine so far. Will be looking to mach that turn with you come February mang

[Djongo Unchained]

Man, I'm really needing my local mag fix... I got no Koko for my Crags, no Schwerty for my bowl laps, ineeds da babybear on my back. I crave an infusion of JHMags. S-I-J withdrawals are setting in. Oof.
Gonna have to score me some lindenle...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skiing with EoB and his joisey bud yesterday provided me with a real treat.
I'm running drag behind all the racers in the posse with 2bjenny when jersey comes screaming down between us and recognizes there's the dreaded cattrack right before him.

Of all the launch points he could have, he nails the tongue and boing...Pop goes the weasel!
He skys about 30 vertical feet and goes maybe 40 feet forward. It was a very big arc, I can tell ya. He kinda backseats it and his tails flex a good 720 degrees before he sits it out.
He only loses a pole.
There was such an explosion of snow I couldn't even see him at first. Thing is, there was maybe an inch of rubbly pow. I think he left a crater where his impact vaporized some snow.
As I ski towards him, he's up and at 'em. Hand him his pole, snicker and roll away. He passes me maching again. So funny.

[schwerty]

I’ll be out soon, DJ! Gonna start hitting up a weekday here and there. Ain’t my old self but I can still ski! Let’s get in touch soon!
Koko- if u guys need anything let us know! I think I still owe ya a pkg of TP from the spring when H found the last damn package of swipes in the valley! Hope u guys stay well!

[wstdeep]

of note:

https://www.jhavalanche.org/eventDetail/event/40124

Didn't take much to make this happen, a few inches of snow and a warm up with wind. Careful out there, the deck has been re-schuffled a bit ( or maybe a lot ) re-evaluate as you go....

[homemadesalsa]

Thanks @wstdeep. No doubt. Wind howled over here, and it was warm and wet. I heard it was pretty cracky at ridgeline on the pass.

In other news, I finally got the permit (through Yostmark) to install a brand new Beacon Park in Coal Creek. I could insert a full-fledged rant about dealing with the Forest Service, but should probably keep my mouth shut. Scheduled to put it in on Saturday, but that might change. It'll be about 75 yards north of the parking lot- look for the orange box.

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[zion zig zag]

HMS, need any help with the beacon park install?


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[upallnight]

In other news, I finally got the permit (through Yostmark) to install a brand new Beacon Park in Coal Creek. I could insert a full-fledged rant about dealing with the Forest Service, but should probably keep my mouth shut. Scheduled to put it in on Saturday, but that might change. It'll be about 75 yards north of the parking lot- look for the orange box.

Kind of a bummer. That lot is not managed and seems to be filling up earlier and earlier. The average tour tends to be quite a bit longer than from the upper lot = less turnover. My gut tells me the average with 3-4h.

A beacon park is presumably going to bring more people, which creates more of an issue for parking. That said, with fewer spaces and less turnover, it also means many people who just want to show up for the beacon park are going to be turned away.

I haven't been turned away from that lot yet, but I have been the last person to get a legit spot on a given morning. With fewer people carpooling, it seems to be an issue.

Still some soft snow to be found. Today was a day off for me. Rain/grass/dirt down low is a de-motivator. Reminds me of New Jersey or driving to ski in VT.

[gtid]

Two inches of graupel here at the house near Tetonia. Not sure what happened higher up, should make for an interesting pit.


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