Take An Early Powder Grand Targhee Has 50 Inches At The Summit

Sun., Dec. 7, 1997

By Betsy Z. Russell betsyr@spokesman.com (208) 336-2854

Let’s say you want to start skiing for the season, but you don’t want to skitter around on meager early-season snow.

Way down on the line where Idaho meets Wyoming, there’s a ski resort where powder skiing starts early every year, with the kind of deep, soft snow that most resorts don’t see until mid-season.

“November skiing is a real phenomenon here that people can count on,” says Susie Barnett-Bushong, marketing director at Grand Targhee Ski Resort, near Driggs, Idaho. “It’s nothing unusual here.”

That’s not just marketing talk. Targhee has opened its slopes in November every year for the past 20 years. Its recorded snowfall for November - and recording doesn’t start until the last half of the month - has topped 50 inches in each of the past 20 years.

Last year in the last half of November, Targhee got 92 inches of snow. As of last week, snow accumulation at the summit was around 50 inches.

This comes despite the fact that nearby Jackson Hole, Wyo. - a world-class ski resort just 42 miles to the west - typically doesn’t open until Christmas.

Grand Targhee isn’t flashy or fancy, and it lacks the gut-wrenching chutes and drops of its better-known neighbor. The mountain is marked by gently rolling slopes and pleasant tree skiing. But what makes it different is the powder.

Only 300 of the resort’s 1,500 skiable acres are groomed. That leaves powder to play in almost everywhere, from tree-lined slopes suitable for beginners, to meandering glades, open slopes and some steep and challenging gullies.

Targhee offers snowcat skiing on Peaked Mountain, adjacent to the lift-served Fred’s Mountain, for $210 for a full day including lunch, or $145 for a half day. The prices drop to $185 and $135 if you’re staying in the resort’s lodgings.

While the snowcat skiing in untracked powder looks divine, I’ve never done it. That’s because there’s been plenty of untracked powder all over the resort, right off the lifts.

Targhee has three chairlifts (one is a high-speed quad) and one handle tow, and its base sits at 8,000 feet elevation.

It also has one of the region’s better ski-resort day-care centers, located in a charming log cabin with windows low enough for toddlers to see the views. It takes children from two months to 5 years, and includes skiing. Prices run from $40 to $65 for a full day.

A new “Powder Scouts” program for kids 6 to 14 includes lessons and lunch for $55.

Lift tickets at Targhee are $39 for adults and $24 for children 6-14 or seniors. Lessons and rentals are available, and the resort stocks plenty of powder skis for rent.

Its “Rapid Skier Development Program,” an instructional program developed by extreme ski stars Rob and Eric DesLauriers, teaches off-trail skiing on shaped skis and guarantees results after one lesson.

The DesLauriers brothers teach clinics at Targhee each year in early December, and this year’s clinics were sold out by September. Though Barnett-Bushong said interested folks might still get a spot if there are cancellations (call 1-800-TARGHEE), it’s yet another sign that early season snow at Targhee is considered a given.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 color photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Grand Targhee Ski Resort is located 82 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and 42 miles west of Jackson Hole, Wyo., near the town of Driggs, Idaho. There are two lodges and three condominium properties at the resort’s base, all with ski-in, ski-out access. Prices start at $59 a night. For information on vacation packages, call 1-800-TARGHEE. Additional lodging is available down the road in Driggs. Both Delta and Horizon fly into both Idaho Falls and Jackson. Though it’s a long haul, many Targhee skiers drive from Spokane. Take I-90 east into Montana, then turn south on I-15 and head down into Idaho. Then turn east on state Highway 33 through Rexburg to Driggs. It’s about a 500-mile drive. For a snow report, call 1-800-TARGHEE and then press 1.

This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Grand Targhee Ski Resort is located 82 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and 42 miles west of Jackson Hole, Wyo., near the town of Driggs, Idaho. There are two lodges and three condominium properties at the resort’s base, all with ski-in, ski-out access. Prices start at $59 a night. For information on vacation packages, call 1-800-TARGHEE. Additional lodging is available down the road in Driggs. Both Delta and Horizon fly into both Idaho Falls and Jackson. Though it’s a long haul, many Targhee skiers drive from Spokane. Take I-90 east into Montana, then turn south on I-15 and head down into Idaho. Then turn east on state Highway 33 through Rexburg to Driggs. It’s about a 500-mile drive. For a snow report, call 1-800-TARGHEE and then press 1.