Chuting the Turkey

The final day of my trip to Jackson Hole we decided to go chute us some turkey! The Turkey Chute that is. Accurately described by Tom Turiano in his quintessential guide to "Teton Skiing" as a superb, carving gully plunging into the south fork of Avalanche Canyon", this beautiful north facing couloir has been on my repeat list since I first skied it over 13 years ago. Always game for adventure Jack Brauer signed on to ride this great line with me.

After the hot and sunny 4.5 mile, 3,000+ foot climb from the Taggart Lake trailhead in Grand Teton National Park we reached the summit of 25 Short, named for its elevation of 9,975 feet. The views are incredible in every direction but especially of Buck Mountain standing sentinel at the head of Avalanche Canyon, in which we would shortly be: 

After a quick break we were ready to launch into this awesome 2,000 foot chute. Here I am at the top looking forward to a good serving of turkey!

Although the couloir was somewhat tracked up there was plenty of powder to play in along the sides and Jack ripped it up.

At the bottom of the chute we took a long traverse out of Avalanche Canyon and across Taggert Lake with the Grand Teton and its lofty neighbors as the perfect backdrop.

After three big days in the backcountry and one inbounds, I definately feel like I've been rode hard and put up wet.

But maximizing my time in such an awesome place is the only way to go. Thanks Jackson Hole for being so much fun and Jack for joining me on these recent adventures. Jack has some really great shots over on his blog which better capture this final day.