Cowboy Cross Country
Jackson Hole might have the look of an old-style western town, but for the biggest showdowns, go in search of its sweeping long backcountry runs that will have you whooping and a-hollering…
WORDS AND PHOTOS: WILL ROBSON
Jackson Hole: A Backcountry Paradise
Wyoming is the least populous US state, but towards its western edge lies Jackson Hole, a cosmopolitan outpost of democrat-voting sophistication that draws billionaires, film stars, and skiers, many of them Brits, delighting in the ‘Old West’ vibe that most other ski towns can’t match.
The setting is hard to beat: Yellowstone National Park is a few hours’ drive to the north of Jackson Hole, which sits on the east side of the scenic Snake River valley, with the jagged peaks of the 40-mile-long Teton mountain range rising straight up from the other side of the valley.
Twelve miles from Jackson Hole town is Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and the purpose-built Teton Village: gateway to the slopes.
Famed for its gnarly skiing, Jackson Hole is home to the infamous Corbet’s Couloir, a deep cleft in the granite cliff to the side of the main aerial tram (cable car) at the top of the resort. Dropping 10-20 feet into Corbet’s 40° chute bestows eternal bragging rights on those with the nerve, skill, and conditions to do it.
Jackson Hole’s ‘extreme’ tag is softened these days now that the resort has opened Solitude Station, an area up at the Sweetwater mid-station where kids and beginners can feel safe, but still part of the majestic Teton scenery. Before, they gathered at the bottom in Teton Village as experts screamed down some of the longest continuous vertical descents (4139ft, or 1262m) in the US.
What’s not so well known are the excellent backcountry possibilities once you head beyond the ski area boundary – something I am going to get a taste of today.
Into the Wild
Exum Mountain Guides is the oldest guiding service in the US, and AMGA/IFMGA guide Brian Smith is talking us through the plan for a half-day tour out beyond Corbet’s towards Rendezvous Peak to the south-west.
After some warm-up runs across the ski area, we’re sitting having a coffee in Corbet’s Cabin above the infamous couloir reading the Bridger-Teton avalanche report. The snowpack is stable and the sun is shining.
Short but Sweet
Disappointingly, a roped-off Corbet’s Couloir resembles a re-frozen luge to oblivion and is decidedly un-skiable. Being the US, the ski area boundary gate beyond Corbet’s is actually a gate, and there’s a handy map board for Brian to show us the area towards Cody Bowl – where we will be heading today – and beyond.
A guide is highly recommended in the Teton backcountry. The jagged peaks and deep ravines blend with seemingly endless rolling, wooded terrain to leave you open not just to danger, but likely also to miss the route back towards Teton Village along the Union Pass traverse. Unlike the Alps, the distances are huge and the lesser roads seldom travelled. That said, on a sunny day like this the views of this vast and remote corner of American wilderness are spectacular.
Looking east some eight miles is the National Elk Refuge, home to thousands of elk in winter; further to the south is Jackson Hole itself, so named after trapper Davey Jackson at the end of the 19th century.
Brian is clearly proud of his neighbourhood, pointing out lines and touring options. We begin a 20-minute traverse round Cody Bowl, before zig-zag skinning and boot-packing up the Powder 8 slope beneath the Four Shadows jagged ridge line.
An Intoxicating Vibe
We start a series of descents and traverses back towards Teton Village, including a run under the looming wall of Rock Springs buttress, a place Brian multi-pitch climbs with clients in summer. The snow may be getting heavy lower down, and the turns a little laboured, but the feeling of open space and monumental scenery is intoxicating.
We eventually join the Union Pass traverse and make our way back to the resort and bag some laps from the Bridge gondola and the Caspar and Thunder quad chairs. There are no queues, and the runs are long and fast. Later, I take the tram again, coming down Rendezvous Bowl before taking Laramie Traverse under the Corbet’s exit chute and back into Tensleep Bowl.
Exhausted back in Jackson Hole, I’m strolling out of my upmarket Mountain Modern Motel in search of authentic western atmosphere. I can’t find the shop with the axe-throwing ‘range’. Probably for the best. I wander past Big Hole BBQ, where last night, allegedly, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian tucked into bison ribs.
Jackson Hole has the look of an old-style western town, but there’s plenty here to entertain the wealthy shoppers. I eye a pair of ornately stitched cowboy boots in the window of Jackson Bootlegger and consider going inside to try them on when the withering glassy glare of the stuffed wolverine alongside them persuades me to move along and refrain from buying dodgy cowboy boots on a whim.
I lower my sights to a beer in the atmospheric Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, telling myself that it’s best to rest my legs for tomorrow, riding more of Jackson Hole’s backcountry terrain or sweeping down its long, long ski runs. Who knows, Corbet’s could get a fresh covering of powder…
Now where did we put those rhinestone touring boots?
