Rachael Oakes-Ash is one of the world’s best-known travel writers – and a confirmed ski bunny. And she just found out why the locals call Grand Targhee ‘Powder Heaven.’ Want to try cat skiing? Or blueberry sponge? Go to Targhee.
This promotional cowboy needs to toughen up. He’s more metrosexual than roughed-up, mid western hardy-sexual. With his Stetson cowboy hat covered with a twee clear plastic rain cover lest it get a bit rough around the edges, he greets our bus with a withered smile and a wink as he welcomes us to Grand Targhee, the secret powder mountain of Wyoming.
We’ve made the day trip from Jackson Hole through the avalanche-ridden Teton pass into Idaho through the village of Driggs and Victor and back into Wyoming and Grand Targhee. Without a spare seat in sight I am forced to hug my backpack and ski boots on my lap in the front row while my neighbour begins to recite all the ski fields of the world he has been to. By the time he makes it to resort number fifteen (apparently there’s thirty five more to go) I’m screaming for my i-pod. He’s excited, I know, who wouldn’t be, we’re about to experience what the locals know as powder heaven.
Grand Targhee has a tenth of Jackson Hole’s on-mountain accommodation but it receives over thirteen metres of powder – and catches the big storm snow on the right side of the Tetons Range. During the week it is practically empty which means fresh tracks can last for days, unlike Jackson Hole which, after a snow storm, is justifiably bombarded by powder hogs.
This little-known mountain resort has hick town cool with cheesy cowboy hosts that tourists, like me, lap up. I would love to peruse the three thousand acres of terrain and then take in a massage at the cute Western style mountain spa but I’m here to cat ski. Grand Targhee’s Peak Mountain serves up some of Utah’s best backcountry powder from the back of a snowcat.
If you are in Wyoming in winter then chances are you are at least an intermediate skier. The ski fields around here are not for beginners. While Grand Targhee doesn’t have the seriously steep terrain of Jackson Hole it does have the powder and Peak Mountain has six hundred acres exclusively for the snowcat with a mix of intermediate to advanced pitch.
The snowcat can take eleven skiers and boarders which means you won’t be fighting over fresh lines. Skiing powder can be tough if you haven’t ventured off piste before, it takes a while to get the balance right and let your skis run. Cat skiing is a great way for first timers to enjoy the tranquillity of skiing snow away from the main commercial field.
The snow cat drops the crew off at the top, a lead guide skis down and then each skier or boarder follows at a spaced out pace with a tail guide to follow and pick up the pieces of anyone struggling. Avalanche transceivers are worn for safety and the cat picks us up at the bottom of each run and then takes us up to somewhere new.
There is plenty of time to rest the legs as the snowcat winds the way back up the mountains, which, for first time powder skiers is a blessing. If you are skiing alone it’s also a good way to meet people as there’s nothing like a good powder run to get you chatting in the cat back up.
I’m sharing the cabin with a crew of old time skiers from various parts of the States, they’ve been to Grand Targhee, or Targhee as they call it, before and it’s testimony that they’ve come back again. These guys are clearly cashed up and could be skiing any terrain or mountain they wanted.
Personally I love tree skiing and the cat skiing doesn’t disappoint with glade runs that seasoned tree skiers will love and enough space between the trees not to spook those less experienced. We ski a good five runs before lunch, served up in a slope side marquee. Ok, it’s a tent, but the food is gourmet with hearty stews, southern style grits and gravy biscuits, some sliced potato and cheese concoction and a blueberry sponge style dessert.
Just enough to fuel us for an afternoon of thigh-burning fun as the runs continue. Conversation slows down as the day progresses and fatigue kicks in. As the sun starts to dip we stop for cheese and crackers and a beer before we ski back down into the commercial resort slopes and hitch another ride with the cat to take us back to the base lodge.
I board the bus expecting my ‘mate’ to pick up his tales at resort number thirty two but it appears he’s had a big day too. By the time we get to the Teton valley he’s asleep. Thankfully the bus driver isn’t and I get a personal and informative commentary on the region as we drive back into Jackson. When I tell him I am a journalist he clams up.
“Please don’t tell the world about Grand Targhee” he begs as he watches his fresh tracks disappear into the past.
Too late, I can’t keep a good thing to myself.
NEED TO KNOW
What: Cat skiing at Grand Targhee, Wyoming www.grandtarghee.com
When: December to March
Photo: Courtesy of Grand Targhee Resort
