Looking back on this weekend while nursing sore muscles makes me smile. It was one of the most incredible weekends I've had in a long time, resulting in some of the best snowboarding I've ever had. Where to begin?
Thursday was a good day to explore. David, me & Anna headed out to go up Cody Peak. Cody Peak lies just south of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort boundary. It is a taunting peak with large cornices and steep lines. It is every backcountry snowboarder's dream. Unfortunately, there are only a few days when it is safe to ride Cody. It's steep slopes are extremely prone to avalanches and bad weather results in no visibility. Therefore, conditions must be perfect before hiking up the ridge. Much to all of our dismay, it appeared that a storm was rolling in by the time we reached the bootpack. We decided to go for Four Pines instead. All of us were disappointed, but to our surprise, the north side provided amazing powder turns! It turned out to be a pretty great day afterall.
Friday was another surprise. I rolled out of bed and sleepy-eyed looked at my computer screen to see the snow report. What?? Six new inches of snow overnight? Where did this come from? I quickly got ready and hopped on the bus. It was nice to get a whole bunch of lift-access powder and get to ride the upper mountain again. I rode the afternoon with David and his parents and we spent the evening wining and dining at the Rustic Inn, topping off the night with swimming and hot-tubbing under the stars.
Saturday was hands-down one of the best days I've ever had snowboarding. David and I got up semi-early, ate a big breakfast, and headed out to the resort to hopefully hit up Four Pines. Another four inches of snow had fallen overnight and we were excited for more pow turns. When we got to the top of the tram, we realized that it was the perfect day to hike Cody Peak. We raced out of the backcountry gate and arrived at the hike, Cody Peak just waiting to be shredded.
First part of the hike.
Powder 8's is the left slope. Cody Peak is on the right.
The first part of the hike is probably the scariest part. At some points you are standing on top of a knife-edge ridge, realizing that one wrong step could send you plunging down the side of a steep slope, or worse yet, over cliffs and rocks. Yikes. Luckily that part was over quickly and we were on our way up the second leg of the hike.
The ridge up to Cody.
David on his way up the second part of the hike.
As we neared the upper ridgeline of Cody Peak and the top of where we were going to drop in, I realized that this line was going to be nothing to mess with. The recent wind had created huge cornices that lined the entire top of the bowl. I know I'm a good snowboarder but I don't regularly throw myself off the edges of a cornice. I knew this was going to be tough. We reached the top of No Shadows (the line were were going to take) and I was practically shaking with nerves. The cornices were a lot bigger from close up. I watched a couple of other people drop in, including David, and realized that there was no other way to get down this thing.
Cody up close.
Staring down. Scared to death.
David dropping in!
With my heart pounding, I strapped on my board, not even thinking about it, and dropped right in. I knew I'd probably fall on my butt, but I also think that's a better choice then tumbling down the whole thing. I was stoked to be in, and ripped down the rest of the line with confidence and excitement. I had finally dropped Cody! I met up with David at the bottom where a bunch of people were hanging out before hiking Powder 8's. We all shared in the excitement of the day and then started the next leg of the tour.
Looking back up at the line.
No wonder they call it Powder 8's!
Powder 8's was awesome! The short hike up led to some super sweet powder turns. When we were at the top of it we had some spectacular views of No Name, and people skiing it. We considered going out there, but the traverse under the huge cliffs looked like a little too sketchy to handle. Hugging the side of a rock while staring down at a huge steep face just ready to avalanche doesn't seem like my cup of tea.
No Name Peak.
After we finished with that we headed out to the old familiar Four Pines. It was just as good as we hoped for, with untouched powder turns dropping off the north side into Green River. We went home that night, again enjoying some hot-tubbing, and fell asleep with powder turns on our minds.
Today was my last day off work for the weekend. We got to the resort and contemplated on what backcountry destination would bring us the best snow. Granite Canyon. Granite is another area that I'd never been to but always wanted to check off the list. It's a steep canyon that comes off the back of the resort. It extends all the way from Apres Vous Mountain to the backside of the Cody Peak hike. It's huge. There are a few downsides to Granite Canyon: 1) It's a major avalanche zone. It's usually too dangerous to ski, although today seemed perfect. Avalanche predictions were low and stuff was pretty stable on north facing aspects. 2) If you ride a snowboard, getting out of Granite can be absolute hell. It's a long traverse with ups and downs, and it's really really long. 3) You have to know where you're going. Granite is full of chutes and cliffs, major steeps, and some very dangerous features. Just looking at an aerial photo can make you queezy. Aside from those setbacks, I was always told that Granite Canyon holds some of the best snow outside of the JH backcountry gates. A must-do.
David called his buddy Conor, who knows Granite well, and the trip was on. Conor is a skier, but didn't mind taking snowboarders back there. What a nice guy. He was stoked to have partners to go with too. The rest of the story ends with cliff drops and deep powder that I never imagined I'd be riding in March this year. I won't say where we came down because I'd like to keep it untouched. Thanks Conor for showing us your secret! Here are a few photos from the descent though.
David enjoying a sweet pillow line.
Super deep snow!!
Looking up Milelong Couloir, a popular place to come down, but not where we went down!
Conor, checking out the next few pow turns.
Looking out towards the valley from Granite Canyon.
We ended up in the bottom portion of Milelong Couloir and ripped through some super soft snow. Unfortunately, our stoke came to an end when we realized how much work the traverse out was going to be. David and I told Conor to go ahead and not wait for us. Good call. David and I ended up walking the entire length of the canyon out. It was pretty peaceful, but after 1 1/2 hours and a broken trekking pole later, we were over it.
Pretty, but annoying.
When we reached the end of the canyon and started coming around Apres Vous Mountain, the conditions got even worse. We now were trekking over slush and dirt, bushwacking, and navigating our way through rock fields. It was miserable. The sun was beating down on us, and we couldn't see the resort at all. It seemed like the end would never come. Finally we were able to strap on our boards...well for a few minutes at least. I instantly had to pull one foot back out because I came across a completely melted out portion of the traverse. Dirt boarding is not my specialty.
Finally, we ran into the bunny slope in the resort. I've never been so excited to see crappy skiers making their way down Teewinot! It meant we were home, and beer was near.
So in the end, it was a two hour hike out for about 20 minutes of epic powder turns. Yah, I guess I'd go back.
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