Jackson Hole

 The magnificent view of the Tetons.

After having a spectacular start to the ski season, I was eager to get on the road in search of snow and get to work. This desire to leave Tahoe was metastasized by the fact that Tahoe had turned dry and it seemed that the dismal forecast was going to hold. After a few phone calls I was packing my car, loading up my snowmachine, and heading to Jackson Hole to meet up with the Felton brothers, Corey and Taylor. I was excited to say the least. I haven't skied in the area since my teenage years for ski racing, and not because I didn't have the inclination but rather because I never lucked out in having a project to beckon me to the Tetons. Corey, Taylor, and another buddy, Topher Plimpton, are doing a webisodes ski-sled project this winter called "The Run Around." The plan is to film their snowmobile ski adventures throughout the season, following snow with their huge pop-out trailer and sleds in tow. Fortunate for me they asked me to join them in Jackson.

Corey Felton enjoying untracked pow.

I arrived into Jackson just as a storm was wrapping up. The stormy skies decided to linger, however, and we never saw the sun before the next storm came through. We managed the time with hitting up the backcountry accessed off the resort and sled missions to go scope things out. The last few days of my time in JH the sun broke out on the mountaintops as the fog and clouds persisted down low. The wind that came through with that final storm had quite an effect on the snow, so it wasn't optimum conditions. However, it seems quite rare that everything comes together perfectly when trying to film, so you take it for what it is and just enjoy. To follow "The Runaround" and it's webisodes throughout the winter CLICK HERE, it will definitely be entertaining! To see the webisode that goes with this post CLICK HERE!

Corey getting flippy. Frontwards to be exact.

Topher Plimpton taking a bit of snow in the face.

Sitting atop the cloud layer overlooking the Jackson valley.

I enjoy a bit of speed every now and again.

Corey experiencing a failure on his double. I soon followed with a tomahawk incident of my own in the same zone.

HaHa! Corey's pull handle on his ABS pack got caught in his handle bars (and it was ready to be pulled because he and Toph were putting in a sled track) and next thing he knew his chute was deployed. Well, it works.

Corey catching flight.

The filmer, Austin Gibney, capturing all that is cool, silly, and fun.

Once Topher stomped his huge air he saw no point in making foofoo turns.

Early Winter in Tahoe Backcountry

A picturesque Lake Tahoe shrouded in fog.

The start to the 2010/2011 winter has been fantastic to say the least. By the beginning of January the Tahoe area had already received 2/3rds of its average annual snowfall! Taking advantage of the killer snowpack has been at the top of my list and heading to the backcountry seemed the logical thing to do. Already I've been out plenty of times snowmobiling and skinning to get to the untracked goods. The pictures accompanying this post is a brief recap of all the fun.

Cody getting in a slasher. It wasn't so deep that day but it sure was buttery smooth.

This zone, Little AK, is quite the playland! I find it amusing that everywhere I ski in the world seems to have a zone named in likeness of Alaska.

Jason Abraham setting up for the shot.

Just a little whore layer forming... so beautiful and sparkly yet SO SCARY.

KC Deane enjoying a little air time.

A snow ghost that I thought looked cool.