Corbet's Couloir

With closing day (4/3) fast approaching, one of the few things I had left to accomplish before leaving town was Corbet's.

 
Usually it's a ten to thirty foot drop but with the 538" of snow to date and the manicuring from ski patrol, successfully skiing Corbet's requires only a side step down the goat path into the couloir, and entering off a five foot jump over the rock at the bottom, and a hard right then left.

Due to the lack of sun and abundance of wind, skiing the 50 degree slope down the soft snow in Corbet's was pretty mellow. I only took a quick break up at the top to examine the cave dedicated to Doug Coombs, a Jackson Hole legend. Pretty awesome.

The only thing left for me to see on the way down was a more up close look at S and S Couloir. That's an in bounds drop open only for those who gain permission from ski patrol.

I'm all set hucking that far into a couloir, but you never know. It's dumping right now and there's snow in the extended forecast, still. That's been the story of this winter.

Giving Props

Always needing to know the conditions of the day, checking weather has gone from a daily occurrence to more of an hourly necessity. With over four thousand feet of difference in elevation from valley floor to summit peak, snow conditions can widely vary. Especially at work, we're always refreshing several weather sites to see who will give the best report. I have all these guys to thank for keeping me up to date and in the know for specific reasons.



NOAA - forecasts at any specific coordinate (latitude, longitude, and most importantly... elevation)

mountainweather - a more accurate local's forecast (usually)

jhavalanche - all weather, snowfall amount, snow pack and avalanche essential information

WY22 web cam - illuminated, nocturnal view at elevation of falling snow

Satellite Loops - Western and Northeastern Pacific satellite loops

TetonSnowInfo - incomprehensibly detailed summation of all websites listed above, and then some

town web cam - sunset vista with town, buttes, elk refuge, Apres Vous peak, the airport and the tetons painted by the sun

OnTheSnow - snowfall amounts for last 30 days, and detailed, daily snow report


These websites, in addition to the snowline (888-DEEP-SNOW), are the reason why I, for example, was able to take advantage of the first snowfall in October when it rained hard in town but dumped 42" in 48 hours. That's one example of countless times I've been able to figure out what's going on at elevation when it's doing some very different in town. Meteorology probably isn't in my future, but I'll miss needing to check the weather this much when it's all said and done.