Jackson: Grand Tetons and Skiing Above the Cloud

The trip where we walked on the frozen Jackson Lake towards Grand Tetons, became bear 399 fan, skied in the cloud, and caught Covid...

Experiencing Grand Tetons in the winter has always been on my list. With the pandemic (not easy to fly to other countries), I decided that this was a good time to go. Right after I did some research, I asked my favorite travel buddy Shea and Jenny if they would like to join me. Coincidentally, their New Year plan fell through, so this trip was going to happen.

I like traveling with Shea. When it comes to seeking experience and spending money, we share quite a few thoughts. We both would rather spend money on experiencing something than spending money on some fancy hotel. We both are not fan of fancy dining – much prefer some down-and-dirty hole-in-the-wall big ass burrito by a guy called Aaron in town. In short, we both like to have our money goes as far as it could.

The drive from Denver was not half as bad. I listened to Planet Money all the time. Most of the scenery was quite average but when it got to Teton-Bridger National Forest, the scenery became much better. I was driving right around sunset. The Grand Tetons were still visible afar and full moon was in my rearview mirror.

We rented snowshoes ($20/day) from Skinny Skis in town and went up to Colter Bay. I remember it was my favorite viewpoint of the Grand Tetons mountain range. We accidentally took the Hermitage Trail – nothing special. We finally looped back to the Lake Shore Trail, and half way through it, we decided to walk on the frozen lake straight towards the Grand Tetons. It was one of the best experiences you could have. Walking on fresh snow powder with your footprint as the only blemish of the entire lake, as the Grand Tetons slowly increasing in size, and total quietness around you. I am putting this down as one of my pre-wedding photography destinations.

We talked about 399 the grizzly bear mom with 4 cubs all the time. On our way to Dornan’s, we saw them! (like 300 yards away, just 5 moving black dots). Well, that should count also.

Dornan’s is like a trading post with a full-sized restaurant and liquor shop. The pizza and spaghetti were pretty good. I would recommend this stop.

The next morning we tried snowshoeing from Taggart Lake to Jenny Lake. The cloud and fog were low, and the Tetons on our left only showed up every now and then. It was a rather average trail where we just snowshoed along the summer road. We turned around after 1.5 miles in.

We wanted to see some wildlife. So we drove towards Shadow Mountain (heard it from Skinny Skis shopkeeper). Jenny needed to call her family. We pulled over at a random stop area to give Jenny some space and time, and Shea and I put on our snowshoe and started bushwhacking (winter version) through the woods.

This was true snowshoeing to me. There was no trail. We were floating on several feet of snow trying our best to find some wildlife. We snowshoed along the river, going up and down some snow covered river bed and small ridges. We saw some deer running past us, and finally two moose hanging out by the river. It was a good day.

New Year Eve was a slow affair. We got dinner in town and watched some fireworks on top of Snow King, and went to bed right after the ball dropped. Last year this time, I was hoping that this New Year Eve I would be with a significant other. Oh well, definitely somewhere someone.

Day 4 was ski day. The legendary Jackson Hole had no idea that terror was coming to her today. I put on my neon green plus pink jumpsuit and hopped on the first shuttle bus from Antler Inn to Tetons Village.

The cloud and fog were hovering at mid-mountain, cutting the mountain into two different world – cloudy with low visibility at the lower half, sunny and warm at the top. The snowflakes were reflecting sunlight creating sparkles in the air everywhere you looked. At the top, you saw the ski mountain piercing through sea of cloud with no shore in sight.

The skiing was good. Most of the runs were steep. Only 10% of the terrains were for beginner. The groomed runs gave me quite some confidence. I was definitely enjoying the turns. I also made a conscious effort in making good turns in good form. In the afternoon, we went down some black runs. I knew that I was not going to ski more in this trip because it was expensive. So we skied until the gondola stopped running. I also got a few “I love your suit” too. It was a good outing.

One thing I was pleasantly surprised was Antler Inn. It was an old-school inn with 3 separate buildings with drive-in rooms. It was right in the middle of the town. The room rate was around $100 for a two queen-sized bed room, with hot tub (reservation-only) and free hot drinks near the front desk. It also provides free shuttle to Tetons Village. It was a great choice for budget traveler. It also has sister properties such as the Cowboy Village (cabin style), which we will check out next time.

Towards the end of the trip, I started to feel weird (physically). Jenny was already not feeling well for several days. We decided to leave at 7:30am on Sunday and drove pretty much nonstop back to Denver. Five days later, we all found out that we got Covid.

Trip Tips

1. JFNordic is like the AllTrail for winter hiking trails in Jackson.

2. Flat Creek Mart has decent and reasonably-priced take-out sandwiches. Good stop before or after a day trip.

3. Check out Cowboy Village as a place to stay.

4. Antler Inn has free ski shuttle to Tetons Village.

5. D.O.G has awesome $10 breakfast burritos. Owner is Aaron.