By Jim Stanford on March 3, 2007
I concluded Powder Week at JH Mountain Resort with one more out-of-bounds run, this time in Granite Canyon.
When the guys from Nordica skis, my assigned partners for the afternoon, approached me about skiing Granite, I was leery, to say the least. The north-facing, cliff-laden chutes already had seen one serious avalanche and one stranded snowboarder that week.
Fortunately, our party included a knowledgeable guide, Sean Clark, a ski racer turned realtor who showed us a safe run in his personal demesne. We skied in the trees, on a ridge, and the snow appeared to have settled and stabilized.
The hike out took at least a half-hour. It’s a one-leg workout of continual side-stepping, leading with the uphill (right) ski, while traversing from the mouth of the canyon back to the resort boundary.
Honestly, I don’t know why resort visitors are so keen on skiing Granite. It’s risky, and although the chutes are steep and exhilarating, the amount of labor required to get out isn’t worth the vertical. Why not just ski the backcountry?
Particularly for snowboarders, who have to trudge through the snow near the creek bottom, on foot, without the glide afforded by a ski traverse. Pure misery. But I doubt that will stop many from heading in there.
I welcomed the challenge, and tend to like the crazy dips and banked turns in the trees on these types of traverses, so the afternoon was a fun adventure, much like the previous day’s excursion to Four Pines. Again, it wasn’t a very thorough test for the Nordica boards, but they handled the powder and the motocross ski-out equally well.
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It’s ironic that with all these ski industry people in town from across North America, two of the products that left the greatest impression on me during the week were local: Powderhorn clothing and Mountain Khakis.
The buzz about Powderhorn has been spreading in recent weeks, as the company revives a brand started in Jackson Hole in 1972.
The new line of ski apparel has a retro-Western design that pays homage to the classic, down-filled, leather-yoked Powderhorn parkas of yore.
Swiss-based Christian Baettig purchased the Powderhorn trademark in 2006, after the brand had all but died out under a Chinese manufacturer. Baettig distributes outdoor clothing and gear in Europe, but chose Jackson for his Powderhorn headquarters.
Heading his team are two Cloudveil alums, designer Lisa Spackman and marketing manager Katie Jackson, and Dave Ellingson, who has experience in sales management and operations (and is one of the smoothest tele skiers around).
Powderhorn makes base layers, mid-weight clothing and outerwear tops and bottoms, utilizing the latest synthetic membranes such as eVent, waterproof corduroy, natural alpaca wool and micro merino, as well as Primaloft and down insulation.
The company aims to blend utility with fashion, and judging by the crowd modeling gear at Wednesday’s party, Powderhorn is off to a strong start in supplanting Cloudveil as the haute couture du jour at Teton Village.
Chris Denny, whose firm Denny Ink is handling p.r. for Powderhorn, gave me a down parka to try. C.D. had worn the same jacket to the Virginian earlier this winter, and earned approving nods from the Coors-swilling, chain-smoking rednecks.
Having had a thrift-store suede coat stolen at the Wort Hotel earlier this winter, I’ve been lacking a little more stylish jacket to wear off the slopes. The sleek, green and black Powderhorn has brought me compliments everywhere I’ve gone, from Pica’s to the Cowboy Bar.
There are plenty of zippered pockets, including two on the chest that also have button snaps, and what I like best are the elastic cuffs on the sleeves, which remind me of the parkas actually made in the ’70s that I used to wear as a kid. Cool threads.
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Mountain Khakis have been around longer, but when I first sought them out at a local retail shop, I was scared off by the $70-$80 price tag.
I had no such aversion when MK marketing maven Shannon Brooks Hamby handed me a free pair at Wednesday’s kegger.
The week before, when all journalists attending Powder Week were instructed to provide their waist and inseam measurements to receive a free pair, Hamby was bombarded by a rapid barrage of e-mails.
“Are you people walking around in your underwear?” she wrote back, astounded by the response.
Hamby was right when she told me Mountain Khakis are comfortable to wear right off the shelf. They are as durable as Carhartts (if not more so), and feel like a prop for a Downy commercial.
The Alpine Utility Pant is sturdy yet soft, and instantly felt like a pair of jeans I had worn for years. Mountain Khakis uses a heavy cotton duck canvas with reinforced knees and cuffs and triple-stitched seams.
The company is a member of 1 Percent for the Planet, meaning a portion of every sale supports environmental causes.
I’ve realized in recent years that it’s far better to shell out a few extra bucks for quality products — especially from companies locally based. I used to shun Patagucci for bargain brands; now I realize the value of high business ethics. Buy less, but buy from the best.
Outfitted in my Mountain Khakis and Powderhorn jacket, I was able to stand next to the very glamorous Greer Terry, deputy director of propaganda for JHMR, at Thursday night’s closing party and not feel underdressed.
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While the Powder editors packed up and headed to the airport on Friday, I went for a hike in the backcountry and bookended my week with another deep, untracked run in brilliant sunshine.
It was fun to try new skis and explore different runs around the resort, but it felt so good to be back on my boards and skiing the terrain I know best.
This is what we had waited for all winter.
Powder Week indeed.
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