Teton Range, WY Report: Incredible Chute in Punchy, Weird Snow After the Big Rain

Miles Clark
miles clark teton range chute ski backcountry

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Report from Monday, January 14, 2021

All good things must come to an end.

At least for a little while.

The Teton Range in Wyoming has been skiing great since early December.

Then, it rained on Wednesday.

A bit of funky, punchy snow fell on top of the rain, but it’s tough, stretch-your-ACL-snow for the most part.

We hiked to a mid-elevation chute yesterday in hope that the snow might be good and we had a great time skiing an incredible chute but the snow was tough.

The hike was wild due to it being about 3ºF with a ripping wind.

My hands haven’t been that cold in a while…

Punchy, weird snow that didn’t allow for speed nor confidence.

The chute was beautiful and was a blast to ski despite the rough snow.

The good thing is that that avalanche danger dropped today to MODERATE at all elevations for the first time in a long time.

BUT the persistent weak layer is still in there lingering 2-5′ down…

Don’t let your guard down yet.

There was a huge avalanche on Mt. Hunt yesterday that we saw from afar and it’s terrifying…

The forecast is high and dry for the next 7-days but there are rumors of a big, cold, wet cycle starting in about 8-days.

Fingers crossed.

Avalanche Forecast:

image: JHavalanche.org, 1/15/21

Weather Forecast:

image: noaa, 1/15/21
image: noaa, 1/14/21
image: noaa, 1/14/21
image: noaa, 1/14/21
CEO & Founder of SnowBrains, UC Berkeley graduate - molecular cell biology major, professional freeskier, professional mountain guide, Alaska heli-ski guide. Skiing, surfing, guiding, travel, reading, writing, language, Ella Fitzgerald.
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