Reblogged from OuterLocal in case they take it down from there... http://outerlocal.com/skiing/hooray-for-jhmr-closing-day-outpost
Question: When is the best time to ski Jackson Hole Mountain Resort?
Answer: When it's closed! Here are ten reasons why...
*NOTE: It's come to my attention that JHMR employees and mountain hosts have been spreading the *false* rumor that Rendezvous Mountain is closed to human traffic in the off season. This nonsense is completely untrue... spread the word!
1. No cost. As life should be, it's free! Daily lift tickets to JHMR cost a ridiculous $99. Season passes cost an equally absurd $1655, which works out to $12.25 per day for the 135 days the resort is open. Embrace financial sanity and ski when its free. Odds are you spend more time working to earn $99 than it would take for you to tour from bottom to top 2-3x.
Question: When is the best time to ski Jackson Hole Mountain Resort?
Answer: When it's closed! Here are ten reasons why...
*NOTE: It's come to my attention that JHMR employees and mountain hosts have been spreading the *false* rumor that Rendezvous Mountain is closed to human traffic in the off season. This nonsense is completely untrue... spread the word!
1. No cost. As life should be, it's free! Daily lift tickets to JHMR cost a ridiculous $99. Season passes cost an equally absurd $1655, which works out to $12.25 per day for the 135 days the resort is open. Embrace financial sanity and ski when its free. Odds are you spend more time working to earn $99 than it would take for you to tour from bottom to top 2-3x.
2. No closures, 'trollers, or rules. You won't get your pass pulled for skiing closed areas because 100% of Rendezvous Mountain is open when the resort is closed. That said, don't expect signs and cordage to steer you to safety in the offseason. Don't expect anyone to sled your crippled body off the mountain either.
3. Guaranteed first tracks down the classic descents. When open for business, JHMR is ALWAYS tracked up with the exception of the first hour or two on a bottomless powder day. In the offseason the mountain never gets tracked up. There's no need to beat the first rays of morning light to tram line and rush, rush, rush only to find that the 'trollers, early box bro brahs, and guided brats nabbed all the best ski shots. On an offseason powder day a motivated skier could score bottomless first tracks down Alta 0, Tower 3, Corbet's, Spacewalk, and Four Shadows... and then tour back inbounds and nab another Alta Chute en route to fun turns down Lower Tramline.
4. No noisy crowds, kooks, bro brahs, billionaires, or bad vibes. Do you feel like livestock at a slaughterhouse while waiting in lift lines? Are you tired of getting sized up by over-adrenalized and under-sexed men clad in overpriced outerwear the color of Wildberry Skittles? Do you dislike overhearing ridiculous conversations and being asked silly questions? True peace of mind is hard to find when JHMR is open. In the offseason Rendezvous is just another peaceful Teton peak.
5. Pets allowed. Dogs love skiing with humans and humans love skiing with dogs. There are still many canine first descents waiting to be plucked from Rendezvous Mountain. I've got $99 for the first person who sends me footage of a dog willfully hucking itself into S&S... $99 better spent than wasted on one day's worth of gaper paper.
6. Kooky characters. Rendezvous Mountain is by no means deserted during the off season... its populated by local misfits! I met some of the coolest people I've ever had the priviledge of skiing with while touring JHMR in the offseason.
7. Affordable slopeside accomodations. I'm not 100% sure if its legal to camp on Rendezvous Mountain in the offseason but I am 100% sure that I don't care. Camping midmountain is a great way to access several days of the best snow/terrain on the upper mountain. The sea of parking lots at Rendezvous' feet is also exceptionally poachable during the offseason.
8. Free, convenient parking. When JHMR is open you'll spend $5, $10, or even $15 for the priviledge of parking within 5 miles of the lifts. In the off season you can leave your rig a stone's throw from the snow for the unbeatably low price of nada. Bring a cooler of frosty beverages and you'll probably find a blossoming apres ski scene centered around your car on a sunny spring day.
9. Touring Rendezvous Mountain is great for your physical fitness. A typical day of skiing at JHMR involves a 400m clomp in boots, an hour or two of standing in lift lines or while squashed into the tram, an hour or two of skiing, a 5-30 minute hike or two (if you're hardcore!), an exceptional number of 12oz arm curls, perhaps a little dancing, and -- if you're lucky -- a rigorous session of pelvic thrusts. A typical day of touring at Rendezvous Mountain involves several hours of uphill skinning, bootpacking, and schralping followed by the requisite 12oz arm curls, perhaps a little dancing, and -- if you're lucky -- a rigorous session of pelvic thrusts.
10. Rock climbing opportunities. There is excellent rock climbing on Rock Springs Buttress and decent climbing in Corbet's Couloir as well. Dropping into Corbet's and sport climbing back out would probably be pretty fun. Skiing to the top of Rock Springs Buttress, leaving ski gear at the top, and rappelling in is also a good option... if you know where you're going. Check the guidebooks for more info on Rock Springs Buttress... some of the finest granite in the Teton Range.
Nothing beats having one of North America's most famous ski mountains all to yourself. A few tips and tricks...
*Cat tracks make skinning to the top relatively easy.
*Packed groomers hold snow on the lower flanks.
*Study snow coverage from the base and plan accordingly so you have to walk downhill as little as possible.
*Tread lightly, avoid buildings/equipment, and be respectful of resort employees working up there. If you're skiing in the fall and it's close to opening day, they may be bombing up there so pay attention and don't be a dumbass. If you're skiing in the spring they may be building another ridiculous building or defiling the mountain in some other way... so bring a large monkeywrench. :P
*Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be up there. It's your national forest and you've got as much right to be there as the SKI CORP does. *If you're new to the area, definitely get your hands on a trailmap before skinning up. Rendezvous Mountain is gnarly and it's pretty easy to put yourself in a bad place if you don't know where you're going.
CHECK OUT MY OTHER POST HERE AT OUTERLOCAL: Teton Backcountry Ski Trip Reports (updated daily!)
*Cat tracks make skinning to the top relatively easy.
*Packed groomers hold snow on the lower flanks.
*Study snow coverage from the base and plan accordingly so you have to walk downhill as little as possible.
*Tread lightly, avoid buildings/equipment, and be respectful of resort employees working up there. If you're skiing in the fall and it's close to opening day, they may be bombing up there so pay attention and don't be a dumbass. If you're skiing in the spring they may be building another ridiculous building or defiling the mountain in some other way... so bring a large monkeywrench. :P
*Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be up there. It's your national forest and you've got as much right to be there as the SKI CORP does. *If you're new to the area, definitely get your hands on a trailmap before skinning up. Rendezvous Mountain is gnarly and it's pretty easy to put yourself in a bad place if you don't know where you're going.
CHECK OUT MY OTHER POST HERE AT OUTERLOCAL: Teton Backcountry Ski Trip Reports (updated daily!)