Grand Targhee Ski Resort, Alta WY

GRAND TARGHEE SKI RESORT, ALTA, WY (FEB. 22, 2016) 

Grand Targhee Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Wyoming, near Alta. It is 42 miles (68 km) northwest of Jackson, accessible by road only by way of Driggs, Idaho. The resort has lodging, a spa, retail stores, and conference facilities. On the west side of the famous Teton Range, it is located 8 miles (13 km) northwest of the Grand Teton, and the majority of the slopes at Grand Targhee face west. The ski resort has three quad-chairs (two are high-speed detachable), one double chair, and one conveyor. The greatest vertical drop is 2,419 feet (737 m). It is rated as 85% Difficult and 15% Advanced in skiing. There are also Nordic skiing trails, snowshoeing, snowcat adventures, and activities that include sleigh ride dinners and dogsled tours. The longest trail at the resort is Teton Vista Traverse measured at 2.7 miles long. It averages over 500 inches (41.7 ft.; 12.7 m) of snowfall per season which ranks it among the top four ski resorts in North America. This is impressive where it is 670 miles (1,080 km) inland and the snow that falls is nearly always powder snow. The reason for the abundant snowfall is twofold. First, the area is on the west slope or "wet" side of the Teton’s, topped by Grand Teton at 13,775 feet (4,199 m) and, second, because there is a moisture channel through the Rocky Mountains formed by the Snake River Plain in Idaho that channels moisture from the Pacific Ocean to the west slope of the Tetons. The resort has two terrain parks as of January 2016. Summertime offers scenic chairlift rides, kid’s camps, music festivals, a bluegrass festival, and the 9-hole Targhee Village golf course. Grand Targhee is also within close proximity to Yellowstone National Park.

-From Wikipedia

Hunter and Scarlett on Shoshone Chair Lift at Targhee.

So, as I’ve said before, I am a telemark skier not so much a downhill skier… That being said I decided to give it a slightly more serious attempt this year than I have in the past. Really what happened is this…

When Erin and I moved back up to Idaho we moved into the tiny (like it doesn’t have a grocery store tiny) community of Swan Valley (technically we live in the city limits of Irwin but that is even more obscure and tiny so I won’t label it as such, everybody recognizes the general area as Swan Valley). So, the valley has one little school that runs grades K-8. The school has something like 50 students, if nobody is sick or on vacation. It’s a small school but they do some awesome things for the students. In the winter during January and February the school is part of a program that helps get kids outside and on the ski slopes. Normally, a lift ticket at Targhee is like paying for a round of golf at a PGA course but through the school the kids get 8 days of training and lift tickets for $65.00 a head. It’s an amazing program and the school’s PTA does a phenomenal job at keeping the rates as affordable as possible for the families in the community. The school transports kids that want to participate from Swan Valley to Grand Targhee every Monday thru January and February. This amazing program has made it possible for kids in the community to enjoy and learn how to ski or snowboard at a world class resort.

Because of this awesome opportunity my two oldest, Hunter and Scarlett, have taken up downhill ski’s for the season and in the hope of being a quality parent I have set aside my skin’s and tele ski’s in exchange for locked down heels and chairlifts!

On this particular trip the kids were excited to show me all the progress they had made. It really was amazing to see. Neither, had ever spent much time on a pair of ski’s before this winter and I remember them both stumbling over themselves in an attempt to just stand in skis and boots just a few weeks earlier.

Scarlett getting ready for her downhill class.

Scarlett, excitedly introduced me to her ski instructor, Tim. Tim, had the appearance of a Warren Miller Ski guide. I eyed his gear to see if mine was up to par with what a professional was using, my complete newbie-ness left me still unsure of how my thrift store secondhand equipment compared. He seemed to easily navigate around the park often times backwards so that he could keep an eye on his students. I could tell he was the type of guy that could probably ripe circles around most other people on the hill. In my slightly self-conscious competitive mind I imagined him being one of guys you would see heli-skiing back-country slopes in Tahoe or the Tetons. What amazed me the most was that given his obvious skill he had no problem being patient and fun with all the kid’s as they learned this new sport.

Hunter hamming it up after his race.

Hunter cruised around the ski hill like he was a seasoned expert and narrated the decent of every hill to me as though he was concerned that if he didn’t properly inform me I would certainly crash and embarrass myself. It made me immensely proud and happy to see him so engaged and confident in this environment that was so foreign to me.

On the school bus after a day skiing.

Grand Targhee was a wonderful place to visit, I truly enjoyed watching my kids ski. The snow was great, the instructors were wonderful, and the whole experience was a pleasure! I can’t wait till next time.  

-Adventure on!