By Jim Stanford on January 15, 2008
Daily snowfall since last week’s post about the phenomenal skiing: 7 inches, 9 inches, 10 inches, 8 inches, 1 inch and, finally today, zero.
That makes 200 inches since Wednesday, Nov. 28, or an average of four inches a day for seven weeks. No wonder the parking lot atop Teton Pass was nearly empty this morning; everyone’s legs are shot.
It has snowed 42 out of the last 49 days in the mountains, and another four to six inches fell today after the Bridger-Teton avalanche forecast was issued.
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey of Mountain Weather reports that we already have surpassed the snowfall total for all of last winter, as measured at the bottom of Rendezvous Bowl at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (elev. 9,650 feet).
Last season, from Dec. 1 to April 1, only 183 inches of snow fell in the bowl.
As a friend, retired from downhill skiing, observed of the crowd at Pearl Street Bagels the other day, “Everybody seems so happy this winter.”
Skiing is what makes the long winter bearable, a Xanax for the soul. A daily dose of fresh powder has ushered us through most of the coldest, darkest time of year.
Alas, the weather appears to be changing, with a cold, relatively dry spell expected the next few days. The Pineapple Express has given way to an Arctic blast. Brrr.
Fortunately, I have these photos from the past two weeks to look back on, longingly, as I do my best to stave off the subzero chill. If there is one thing we can still count on during a Wyoming winter, we all will be freezing our asses off at some point.
These shots were taken at various locations in the mountains around Jackson Hole. Roll the cursor over the photos for captions.
For only a few weeks in December and early January, the long shadows and ethereal light of late afternoon make for dramatic ski photography. I prefer sunset to sunrise when the days are short and the mornings frigid.
On Sunday, I could sense we had reached the end of an extraordinary run. At the edge of Wilson, a group of zany tele skiers milked the last few feet of vertical, taking jumps and carving two or three turns on the hillside above the Stagecoach Bar.
This cat surprised me by throwing a front flip over the bush. He managed to roll onto his feet and continue downhill, as his friends roared with laughter.
They ended their day with cold beers in the sun.
