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Grand Targhee: Skiers' Nirvana in Wyoming

BY JOHN MARSHALL | The Associated Press

5:55 PM EST, January 9, 2008

On the slopes at Grand Targhee, Wyoming (Associated Press)

Bill Royall chose the University of Denver so he could take the winter quarters off from school and hit the slopes.

His powder-searching ways continued after college, landing him in Vail for a few years before it eventually became too crowded, too trendy. A move to Aspen ended with the same claustrophobic result. And so it went, Royall's quest for a quiet skiing sanctuary going on for years, taking him to places such as Steamboat Springs, Taos, Sun Valley. And it always ended the same: moving out when the crowds moved in.

The nomadic journey seemed to come to an end about 20 years ago, when he arrived in Jackson, Wyo., a place still oozing with that dusty-floor saloon charm of the Old West. But, like all the other ski towns that had lured Royall with its charms, Jackson changed, attracting fuzzy-jacket-wearing out-of-towners to the slopes, and trendy shops with pricey paintings and sparkly T-shirts eventually lined the streets.

Then Royall found Grand Targhee, Wyo.

Down-home flavor
Just a few miles from the Idaho state line on the western side of the Grand Tetons, this small resort at the end of a long, winding road has the pristine powder hard-core skiers need, the coziness that families love and the charm that purists like Royall crave. A down-home alternative to upscale Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee is a throwback to the days of small-town ski resorts, the kind of place where lift operators know the regulars' names and the glistening snow is the only sparkle anyone will ever need.

"When you go to a lot of big-time resorts, it's a lot of hustle and bustle, glitter and glamour, and we don't want that," says Royall, a stone carver from Southport, Maine, who spends three or four months every winter in Grand Targhee with his wife, Emery. "Grand Targhee is a nonthreatening ski environment."

Grand Targhee's appeal starts with the Tetons, the 13,000-foot peaks that jut dramatically from the high plains like jagged teeth. Reach the top of the main lift and you get a clear view of these craggy mammoths, seemingly a short double-diamond run away.

But Grand Targhee is more than just a hill with a view.

Thanks to a unique weather pattern that shoves incoming storms to the western slopes of the Tetons, Grand Targhee has an annual snowfall of nearly 500 inches, with up to 650 inches in the whitest of winters. And the storms don't seem to hit the other side of the Tetons quite as hard; a storm that drops 10 to 12 inches in Jackson may dump up to two feet in Grand Targhee. Get more than 40 feet of snow a year, and you'll be skiing powder nearly every time out.

"The first thing people usually hear about -- which is a good thing -- is the snow issue," says Susie Barnett-Bushong, Grand Targhee's marketing director. "People all over the world recognize that Grand Targhee consistently has some of the best snow annually."

Grand Targhee has a little of everything: groomer runs for beginners, terrain parks for the rail-and-box snowboard crews, SnowCat rides for backcountry skiing and more than nine miles of cross-country trails through wooded glades and open meadows.

Cozy convenience
Summertime has just as many options, from horseback and mountain-bike riding to zip lines and climbing walls.

The base area is small, particularly by today's sprawl-across-the-mountain standards, but Grand Targhee has everything you might need: a bar, a couple of restaurants, a ski shop, a small market and more stores just down the road in Driggs, Idaho.

If upscale restaurants, art galleries or mango mojitos are your thing, Jackson is just 45 minutes away.

Cozy and convenient, that's Grand Targhee.

"It's just a wonderful place," said Kathy Campbell of Norristown, Pa. "You can just let the kids go, ski for a while and everybody meets each other at the bottom for lunch. It's a great family atmosphere." But even the coziest of places need room to breathe. That's why Grand Targhee is working on a plan to expand lodging from 96 to 525 units and add another lift, along with more restaurants and activities. The resort and the Teton County Board of Commissioners are hashing out details.

"We truly are maxed out, so to make it a better experience on the same footprint, a great little nook at the end of the road, we need to have some of the services that our customers are really asking for," Barnett-Bushong said.

Of course, sometimes progress comes at price.

"The expansion will be great, and I hope it goes through," Royall said. A short pause followed. "On second thought," he said, "our little secret might get out; so maybe I don't want expansion. This place is perfect the way it is."

IF YOU GO TO GRAND TARGHEE
GETTING THERE. The Jackson Hole Airport is 42 miles from Grand Targhee and has plenty of flights with major airlines, though you will have to cross a mountain pass to get to the western side of the Grand Tetons. Idaho Falls Regional Airport is 85 miles away, and flights are a little cheaper than those to Jackson in the summer. Grand Targhee has a contract with a shuttle company to pick up guests flying in, and that's usually the best bet if you don't plan to leave the resort and won't need a car. But if you want to drive around the area, car rentals are available.
ACCOMMODATIONS. There are 96 rooms on site, starting at $99 a night, and the resort manages 50 more properties, including condos, less than 10 miles away. A few motels and cabins are a little farther down the road, in Driggs, Idaho.
INFORMATION. Lift tickets: full-day $59; half-day $41. (Children $36, $29 half-day; seniors $38, $30 half-day) Skiing until at least mid-April; grandtarghee.com or 800-827-4433.