Out there with Tom: Quick shot into the Bob Marshall

The bright blue skies and fast-moving clouds made for a beautiful day

North Fork Teton with Mount Wright in background

The willows on the North Fork bottom added a dash of winter color

A trail sign that was burned, but survived the 2007 Fool Creek fire that swept the area

The West For cabin

A great snow bridge across the North Fork

How unfortunate it is for the re-opened Teton Pass Ski Area that we're having such a low snow year.
I went up to the area twice this weekend to check out the snow conditions after I heard it had gotten several inches.
I passed on downhill skiing.
In the trees there's acceptable snow for backcountry skiing.
Otherwise, anything exposed is getting hammered by wind.
On Saturday, Katie and I snowshoed in the burn where I normally like to telemark and did a loop starting at the ski area over to Waldron Creek and then back down Waldron Creek up the road back to the ski area.
In several spots the snow was deep enough that we sank in up to our waists, even though we had on the snowshoes.
While we were out it snowed pretty heavily, but the snow was wet and came down in glops. We got wet.

A self portrait at the Bob Marshall boundary

I returned alone on Sunday with a goal to get into the Bob Marshall Wilderness near where the East Fork Teton dumps into the North Fork Teton.
It was a beautiful, sunny day with large clouds that skitted across the sky because there were high winds. The temperature was in the low 20s.
I skied down the road to the West Fork Teton cabin, some 3.5 miles and about 500 feet in elevation loss, to the bottom.
The snow was not good enough to dump over the sides and telemark through the burned trees, like I normally do. It was too wind-crusted and not deep enough to bury the burned snags lying on the ground. In a couple of spots the road was questionable because the snow was too thin.
For the vast majority of the day I had the area to myself and laid down fresh tracks.
The scenery is simply breathtaking.
I skied as far as the Bruce Creek trail and then turned around.
Along the way I passed the West Fork Cabin and it reminded me that I need to schedule a stay there yet this winter.