Starting back in the mid-90's Mikey Franco and I started shadowing legendary extreme skiing pioneer Doug Coombs in guiding students down the steep alpine terrain found at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The experience gained from Coombs was the foundation to start the Steep and Deep Snowboard Camp back in 1997. Today the Camp is taught by top male and female instructors and includes four days of snowboarding, lectures, parties and awards. The base of this experience for most campers is to further their comfort and knowledge of backcountry access, route finding, and avalanche awareness. The trend for most campers is to return year after year because the instructors are crucial in the guided discovery of steep lines and hidden nooks and powder stashes. You could spend a lifetime in Jackson building up your bag of descents.
- So this year I joined up with Mikey and his group for a couple of runs. I met campers Lee, Stefan and Elijah at the top of the Tram inside Corbet's Cabin.
- There we signed waivers and checked to see that our avalanche transceivers were working.
- We spotted legendary sicko Forest Jump who works for Jackson Hole Alpine Guides
- American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI) Elite Team Member Mikey Franco and Steep and Deep founder and coach.
- Outside it was nuking and we had to wait for the Ski Patrol to clear and open the mountain. Bombs were going off and the excitement was unbearable.
- We had a 3 mile warm up on run on Rendezvous Bowl, Bivouac Woods and Lower Hobacks.
- I got the meanest ice cream headache from all the face shots. Getting the early Tram before the public has it's benefits.
- Back at the top of the Tram we exited the Ski Area Boundary gates and hiked a half an hour out to Pinedale.
- There we checked that our Avalanche Transceivers were on and functioning once again before dropping in to untracked powder.
- Mikey had a run in mind that took me a little out of my comfort zone. It was a blind dog leg chute called "It Goes"
- At the top of the chute and from what we could see, Mikey instructed us in the plan to watch each other as we dropped one at a time into this dog leg. Everyone was to have a spotter. There were multiple safe zones in case of an avalanche. Each one of us was to descend to the safe zone and wave the next rider through.
I normally ride with tunes but in this case it was unwise to be in my own world. So I enjoyed the sounds of powder whomping and the hoots and hollers from the campers.
Overall the camps are designed to build confidence and instill careful planning in order to travel safely in the backcountry. Route finding is key so having a guide is essential for your first time through these amazing lines. Not to mention that having a professional guide allows you to cut the tram line! So next powder day, break out the credit card and go big. I can speak for the richness you'll receive by making such a journey. Riding terrain like this is fulfilling in ways that money cannot buy. It does take your commitment though and placement of course. Jackson Hole is the place.
More info on the Jackson Hole Steep and Deep Snowboarding Camp
Jackson Hole Backcountry Guides
Backcountry Avalanche Awareness