It seems almost everyone’s in agreement that this November was one of the best on record for snow sport enthusiasts. With stoke for the winter at an all time high this early in the season, Mother Nature has given skiers and riders plenty to rejoice about. The 2010-11 winter season is already one for the record books.
For the first time ever, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opened all lifts and the tram to the public in November. The Mountain opened with 130 inches at the top of Rendezvous Mountain Saturday, a resort record for opening day.
Grand Targhee opened a week ahead of the planned opening and had 100 percent of their terrain open Friday with the Sacagawea lift spinning. Targhee is reporting a season total of 124 inches and a snow depth of 48 inches as of Tuesday and more snow is forecasted for the week.
“This has been one of our best openings on record and our guests have been happily enjoying mid-season conditions during our opening week,” said communications director Shannon Brooks Hamby last week.
At Jackson, one man was so excited for the early opening he showed up on the tram dock at 11:30 Friday night with a bivouac sleeping bag and camp stove to be the first in line for the historic opening. The tram line grew quickly Saturday morning, but by late morning there was hardly a wait. Conditions may have looked and felt like mid-winter, but crowds did not. Whoops and hollers could be heard across both sides of the Tetons, as skiers found powder stashes usually reserved for later in the season.
"This is the beginning of a season without equal in Jackson Hole history," JHMR President Jerry Blann said in a release.
At Monday night's Avalanche Awareness night in Driggs, presenter Don Carpenter said Exum Mountain guide Rod Newcomb has dug a pit every Thanksgiving Day in Avalanche Bowl on Teton Pass since the 80s. At 136 centimeters that day, it was the deepest he's ever measured.
According to the Natural Resources Conservation Services stations, Jackson Hole's snow pack was 32 percent above normal on Monday. Phillips Bench on Teton Pass measured 53 percent above normal.
JHMR spokesperson Zahan Billimoria calculated that Rendezvous Bowl has received 47 percent more snow during La Niña years.
Last year's thin early season snow pack left unfavorable conditions for the first few months of the season and hazardous avalanche conditions for much of the year.
Snow King Mountain is also opening early this year. The Cougar chairlift will be running starting Saturday, with the Summit chair scheduled for Wednesday and Rafters open Dec. 18. Night skiing begins on Dec. 22.
All the early season snow was not without its drawbacks for some, however. The days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday saw roads in and out of the Valley closed. Produce and milk were running out at Broulim's in Driggs as the grocery store hadn't had a delivery truck show up for three days.
More snow is forecasted for the rest of the week, and some hope, for the rest of the winter.
To contact Rachael Horne e-mail reporter2@tetonvalleynews.net.
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