Climbing and Skiing in Jackson

Jackson Hole, WY

February 12-20, 2002

I finally made the trip out to Jackson to visit Jeff for a week of climbing and skiing. The first day we drove into the park and did a ski tour up "25 short", a forested peak that is 9975 feet in elevation, hence the name. This was my first real experience with radonee gear, and for the most part it was an enjoyable experience.

The second day Jeff suggested a ski tour again in the park, but this time out to Jenny Lake. Since my downhill boots weren't flexible enough in the ankle for skating, I decided to try my Karakorum climbing boots instead. They fit in the Silvretta bindings all right, but we needed to see how they worked for a multi-mile tour. The idea was if they worked out, then I wouldn't have to rent randonee boots. And luckily, they worked fine.

The third day we headed over the pass to Idaho to access the Teton Creek valley and Boy Scout Falls , a two pitch ice climb. Yummy!

Boy Scout Falls was a nice warm up for our fourth day's destination, Prospectors (Raven Falls) , a 3 pitch WI 3-4 ice climb in Death Canyon. Jeff's friend Drew, just returned from a climbing trip in Iceland, joined us.

Day 5 was a Sunday, and appropriatey enough we rested. We did make a trip into town to return some gear to Drew and the three of us walked around town to take a look at Valentine's Day sales at the local climbing shops. I scored a pair of La Sportiva Trango Plus's, as well as a pair of Lowe Alpine Alpine Gloves for less than half price! Sweet!

With our energy renewed, we drove over to Dubois to hike into Lake Louise for one last ice climb up The Gully , a three pitch WI 3 water fall. This area had much less snow than Jackson, so we left the skis behind and hiked in the four miles.