Catalan Kilian Jornet set the record for the fast ascent and descent of the Grand Teton on Sunday, August 12. He made the round trip from Lupine Meadows to the summit and back in 2 hours and 54 minutes. The climb covers 7,428 feet of vertical, and 12.5 miles. The previous record was 3 hours and 6 minutes, set by Bryce Thatcher in 1983.

For comparison, people typically take two days to climb the Grand, and carry ropes and climbing equipment. Killian brought nothing but his own hands and feet – no water, little food, no gear.

This video shows Kilian Jornet and Anton Krupicka making a speed ascent of the Grand on July 31 in 3:23 round trip. This is not Kilian’s record setting climb, but it gives you an idea of what it takes.

For more on Kilian Jornet, check out his Facebook page. When he’s not setting new records on the Grand Teton, he happens to be a world class ski mountaineer and trail runner.

Photo has been removed my request of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort This gem, which was taken sometime this winter, is a glimpse of a rarely seen tram melt down. The … Read More

In case you missed it, it has been DUMPING across the west, and Jackson got its fair share over the past week. Pre-storm, conditions were….”variable.” At first it didn’t seem … Read More

First, a shout out to the parking crew at JHMR. Good folks, with their little huts and colorful papers and buses that remind me of red caterpillars…

Sunday morning I roll into the Village really early- 8:59AM- and behold what looks to be a solid 3 tram wait.  I place myself at the end of the line and contemplate life.  Roughly 5 seconds later I bail to the Gondi, grumbling about all the awesomeness I’m missing out on.  Alas, not all is lost;  The subsequent inbounds laps were some of my favorites from this season.  Warmer temps, winds, and some fresh snow steamrolled old moguls that might conspire against efforts to Send and Mach. I was on my new 192cm Line Influence 115s, (biased review coming soon!) and the combination of sick conditions, dope equipment, and downright dandy terrain forced me to have fun.  I hope you were doing the same- just watch out for bamboo poles or you’ll have to get all old school racer on them.

By about noon the sun and warmer temps warmed up most of the mountain.  There have been a couple close calls with slides since then and the storm that’s rolling in right now is falling on a lot of sun crusts. Be careful, yo!

…annnnnd I’m off to Europe with the Meatheads.  Auf Wiedersehen, bitches!

It’s been absolutely hammering. Jackson Hole has received 26″ in the last 30 or so hours, and it’s supposed to keep dumping. Up to FOUR FEET in some areas. If … Read More

“Coffee and Spam”: Pete Hazelett shreds around JH. Only downside- no coffee or Spam are found in this video.  False advertising.

Cold Smoke Award Winner of “Best Chunder!”  Sick crash segment from “Poor Man’s Riches” by Ryan Halverson’s Full Room Productions.

“Settling into Winter”: Than Volk of PointOfRelease.com  gets into the dark side…and the sunny side. All sides- and angles- covered!

Jeb Stuart loves skiing. Period.  Those who love to ski are out there regardless of what the conditions are. We all know you’ve got to be out there every day for the opportunity to get the goods if the season isn’t readily delivering them- but since Jeb was making turns while most were brooding over their 3rd cup of coffee, he’s got a sweet compilation of great skiing. Two phrases can help sum up how these pow lines got in this video while most of us were on groomers and bumps:  1) You don’t know unless you go. 2) The early bird gets the worm.

Unfortunately, all the unfilmed runs on groomers and hardpack drove Jeb stir crazy and he began challenging himself in ways that indicate he was suffering from Low Tide Fever.  This, in turn, led to 3 runs down the “Tuna Couloir” on one hardpack day. (Right before our big January storm…)  The third lap ended with a tomahawk in the rock laced mogul runout- a starfish with enough power to send Jeb’s leg into the operating room. Three weeks out of surgery, Jeb is aiming to be back on snow as soon as possible…which should lead to more solid edits like this one! Heal up strong and fast, buddy!

A few notes from the video:

• Anyone recognize the opening ski shot (up till :50)?
• 1:51 – nice line from the frame grab
• Tanner Flannagan making motorcycle sounds to himself at 2:38.
• Tuna Couloir (in pow) at 3:25
• 3:53 – Bob Kilmain exhibiting proper heckling technique.
• 4:00 – hardest ski run in the world…Core Bits Coulie.
  

  No frowns to be found!

First thing- when watching this video, you should just go ahead and pretend you’re a hip little 16 year old starring in an iPod Touch commercial. Especially if you are, in fact, 16 years old.  The tune is too catchy to not bounce around to.  Second- happy Thirsty Thursday afternoon.  I encourage you to have a beverage of your choice and marinate on thoughts of how awesome winter can be. If you are the aforementioned teenager, I recommend a tall glass of water and to do your homework so someday you can be something more than a pro skier.

How does your ideal storm come together?  What if you had this stipulation: you’re starting with a thin snowpack.

• I’d want the storm to be big.  60″ should suffice.
• I want it to cake everything before getting colder and lighter.
• I want some serious storm skiing followed by a couple sunny days to really round everything out.

Eh, right. Check, Check, and MF’n CHECK.

In short, Jackson Hole was the place to be when the weather patterns allowed a fat ass storm to come squat over the Tetons for about 6 days.

My apologies for having this “up to the minute” coverage roughly ten thousand minutes late. (60 min x 24 hrs x 8 days. It checks out.)   If you’re having a hard time remembering how this all went down…first put down the bong. Then refresh your memory:

Welcoming the Storm to Jackson Hole

Embracing the Storm

Which leaves me here, without a witty title about what we did as The Storm wrapped up at the end of the weekend.

Fwame gwabs:

I’ll be the first to admit that a “shifty” is really just a glorified twister. Commence double-E in 3.2.1…

Bouncing into the next turn in the JHBC. See next image…

Bienvenue à la Salle Blanche.

Early access to do some shooting with JHMR marketing. Makes me wish for Stowe’s 8:00AM opening time!

En route to the opening of Casper & The Crags. Hikers make chase like zombies. MUST. EAT. POWDER.

“My whole run was so sick, surely everything is fine over he…BEDSURFACE!

I’m so new school.

I’m so old school.

You made it to the bottom! Cheers!

With nearly 3 ft from the storm in the preceding 48 hours, Friday morning’s workplace attendance was at a new low. Alas, warming temperatures and high winds created a difficult snowpack for the patrol to work with. After rumors of the mountain not opening at all, the patrol’s hard work got all the lifts opened just before noon. The storm came back hard on Saturday, with temperatures hovering near freezing even at the mid elevations. A solid day for a ski-gee and extra goggles! With all our damp gear, the Village Cafe felt like a sauna Saturday afternoon.

Highlights include:

• All the signs of a big day to come: snow covered car, lots of plows, Teton Pass closed…
• Absolutely giant crowds with minimal grumbling
• Aerial PBR Distribution
• Skiing f’n pow
• Pushing Gore Tex to the limit

If you missed it, here is a video post from the start of the storm: Welcoming The Storm.

Snow covered Subie. How predictable.

Flying Beer! ("That's levitation, Holmes!")

Bounding down Thunder lift line on Friday.

"Damn, this trail is crowded!" Tristan ollies.

Mmmmmm.

Dear Magic 8 Ball, when will the sun come back?

Remember those weeks of bashing mogul-gnar, shrub shredding, and groomer upon groomer run?  Remember when we got to trade that for storm skiing and deep pow?  I know, it was ages (1.5 weeks) ago.  Well, as you can imagine I managed to wear an electronic device on my body for most of that storm- but I’m just now getting around to editing it.  My apologies for the delay, but I hope you enjoy.  I also apologize for having the GoPro pointed low on some of the first day…f’n rookie move…

Highlights include:

• First turns inside the tram
• Instant frostbite to exposed skin in Rendezvous Bowl
• Harnessing my East Coaster roots in the bumps
• Birds attacking the sidecountry
• Untracked Hobacks
• A Travis Rice paparazzi moment

Next video tomorrow!

Tyler Horne gains admittance to the White Room in the Hobacks. Jan 19. Julie Weinberger gets The Shot.

Muahaha! Use of POLE CAM!

"Fill It Up Again!"