East Face-Fossil Mountain

Going solo today and might try to get above the clouds on the Middle Teton.

Note: This TR is from February 17.2006.

Last winter, Dustin, Reed and I were able to nab a coveted descent…the East Face of Fossil Mountain. I say it’s coveted, cuz I haven’t heard of anyone else ever skiing it, and if you’ve ever stood on top of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort you have no doubt seen it as it rises above the landscape to the northwest. Most of the time it doesn’t realy look like it is filled in enough to ski, but you don’t know until you go! 😉

Last year we had a lot of snow, so we decided to go for Fossil on a Trans-Teton tour from JHMR to Darby Canyon in Idaho. We finagled a ride on an early tram and made our way to Fossil, through what seemed like all the forks of Granite Canyon. The snow pack was bomber and as we got closer it looked like the East Face would go. A huge cornice overhangs most of the face, so finding a safe entrance was the main concern. I dropped in first and skied a rib before cutting left into a thinly filled slot. Cowboy powder awaited on the apron below and I watched as Dustin and Reed pick their way through the line.

We were psyched to have skied Fossil, but we still had a long way to go to get out of the mountains. We negotiated some tricky terrain…finding our way into lower Darby Canyon and had to resort to headlamps for the last mile or so. It was a fun and long day!