Self-proclaimed “interdimensional, psychedelic huck-wizard on a never ending deep powder mission,” Jeff Leger, aka Dr. Huckinstuff, has been living and skiing in Jackson Hole for about 35 years.
If you’re a Jackson Hole local, there is a decent chance you’ve seen him ripping around the mountain.
What you might not know is that Leger is also the guy telling everyone how much snow fell overnight.
Before most skiers have even started thinking about coffee, Leger is already working on the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort snow report, turning raw measurements from snow plots around the mountain into the information that will help dictate the morning plans of thousands of skiers and snowboarders.
“I’m typically up before dawn. I compile all the raw data from snow plots up on the mountain.”
But simply repeating numbers isn’t really his style.
“I take that raw data and I translate it into something that is a little more exciting that’ll get people fired up, spend the day ripping up the slopes.”
The Guy Behind The Jackson Hole Snow Report
Jackson Hole’s snow reporting team pulls its measurements from snow study plots operated by the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center around the mountain. Leger has served as the resort’s lead snow reporter for around 16 years, compiling reports and delivering an early morning blast to the resort’s website, app, email subscribers and social media.
Jackson Hole communications director Eric Seymour described Leger as a well-known and beloved skier around the resort and credited him with being able to turn otherwise dry snowfall data into something people actually look forward to reading.
That probably comes easier when the guy writing the report is as obsessed with skiing as the people reading it.
Leger arrived in Wyoming as a teenager and quickly became immersed in Jackson Hole’s ski culture. His Stio athlete profile describes him as a longtime Jackson Hole skier, artist and writer who learned alongside members of the legendary Jackson Hole Air Force.
He has competed in freeskiing and Powder 8 contests and even dropped into the inaugural Kings and Queens of Corbet’s.
Thirty-Five Years And Still Looking For The Next One
Leger says he arrived in Jackson with the kind of appetite for adventure that comes with being young and immediately found what he was looking for.
“As soon as I got here, I immediately fell in love with it.”
For him, the Tetons weren’t just a place to ski.
“Whether I needed solitude and peace or whether I needed excitement and anxiety, it was all available.”
About 35 years later and Leger is still searching out powder, airs and the sensations that originally pulled him into the mountains. His Dr. Huckinstuff persona has become familiar around Jackson Hole, complete with plenty of cliff drops, deep turns and an approach to skiing that doesn’t seem particularly interested in becoming serious with age.
“There’s something liberating about jumping off things and at the same time outrageous.”
Leger has also spent years documenting Jackson Hole skiing through photos and video. Stio describes him as a fixture in the local ski scene whose archive chronicles countless powder days around the Tetons.
The nickname Dr. Huckinstuff fits pretty well.
Skiing As Personal Expression
For Leger, skiing isn’t simply about getting downhill efficiently.
He compares it to dancing.
“Skiing is really personal expression in the same way that dancing is. It creates this feeling of empowerment and freedom inside you. Once the music starts playing, nobody can tell you how you’re supposed to do it.”
That’s probably also why his snow reports stand out.
Plenty of resorts can tell you how many inches fell overnight. Jackson Hole has a guy writing its report who has spent decades thinking about what those inches actually mean once you click into your skis.
Deep snow could mean a quiet morning in the trees, a powder lap with friends or an excuse to launch off something that probably looked smaller from above. Whatever the conditions deliver, Leger is still looking for something memorable.
“Every single day out there is special and there’s always incredible sensations to squeeze out of the day.”
