The Powder Starved Turn Out
February 27th, 2009Posted in Skiing Everywhere, Skiing in the Tetons
A fast moving weather system slammed into the Tetons yesterday afternoon dumping more than a half foot of snow- maybe more, but the high winds tossed the excess off to the Dakotas. Paying more attention to the total 24 hour accumulation figures of 7-8 inches posted on the Targhee and Jackson snow reports, than to the 2″ reported “after the lifts closed”, about 200 people filled the lift maze at Targhee to await the opening of its main lift this morning. In spite of the modest amount of new snow and the wind scouring, a return to a soft winter surface was welcomed by all. Knowing where the wind couldn’t blow during the storm was key to finding the 8″ depths.
Take a couple hundred powder deprived skiers, a fast lift, a fast skiing surface and good visibility and it was an if-you-snooze-you-loose morning. On our fourth ride back up the mountain, a little before 10 AM, here’s what the front face looked like.
Top of Fred's Mountain, fifty minutes after opening.
I think Targhee sold a lot of lift tickets today. There seemed to be a line at the ticket kiosk all morning until about 11 o’clock. As always, its great to see lots of people coming out to have some fun on snow.
We shared lift rides with more than one visitor from snow starved Montana who was delighted to ski some place where there is lots of snow. Ironically, one of them drove through yesterday’s storm, passed Bozeman and Big Sky, where Bridger and Big Sky reported this morning recieving a foot to a foot and a half of new snow. Sounds like my luck.
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