thanksgiving skiing

Grand Targhee Announces Opening Day 2007

By Chris Hansen, 11-21-07

It’s official. Word came down Tuesday that Grand Targhee would open the day before Thanksgiving, November 21, garnering them the coveted “We-Opened-Before-Thanksgiving” award. According to a release from Grand Targhee Resort Tuesday,

Grand Targhee officially kicks off its 2007-2008 season on Wednesday, November 21st with a partial opening of Fred’s Mountain via the resort’s high-speed quad chair Dreamcatcher.

If you’ve never skied “The ‘Ghee,” Dreamcatcher is the main chair taking skiers and boarders to the top of Fred’s Mountain. It accesses the majority of terrain there. But the terrain that is slated for opening, according to the release, is “most terrain north of Dreamcatcher lift.” The release also states that Chief Joseph Bowl is open from summit to base. However, they do not mention operation of Chief Joseph lift, and I’m assuming it will not run for Thanksgiving weekend or any time in the coming week until there is more snow. (Here’s the link to Grand Targhee’s trail map.)

Lift tickets have been discounted from their relatively reasonable prices. Adults are $41 (versus $59), seniors 65 and older are $30 (versus $38), and children 6-12 are $29 (versus $36). Children under 5 are free with an adult paid ticket, just as they are during the rest of the season.

They’re currently reporting a 41” base at the 9,200 ft. level. That’s fairly impressive this early in the season considering that, according to the Bridger Teton National Forest Avalanche Center, the Raymer Plot at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (9,300 ft.) is only registering 30 inches. But the west side of the Tetons has been getting hit quite a bit harder with the past couple of storm cycles, so it’s not too surprising.

(I managed a quick tour on Teton Pass Sunday afternoon, and while the conditions were nothing to write home about—or even a whole blog post, for that matter—the coverage seemed slightly better than adequate for mid-November. My years of skiing in the Cascades more than prepared me for the wet-to-begin-with-yet-further-rain-soaked conditions, making for a pleasing tour with the dog if not half-heartedly satisfying turns. However, last weekend’s conditions notwithstanding, Teton skiers and snowboarders are resting assured that this wet, early season snow is bonding well to the now-faceted October cover on select aspects, hopefully minimizing catastrophic events later in the season. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.)

But if the conditions aren’t to your liking over at “The ‘Ghee,” they will issue a “Snowcheck” as part of their “Unconditional Snow Guarantee & Snowcheck Policy.” Should you find the conditions unsatisfactory, simply turn in your ticket within the first hour and receive a full day voucher to use any other day during this season. Not a bad policy. And if you’re quick about it, that’s two runs on Dreamcatcher (not that I would advocate such behavior).

Even better, “A full Thanksgiving menu is also planned for the Targhee Steakhouse.” Knowing Targhee, they’ll do their best to make sure the groomers are well worth the price of admission, but my money’s on the turkey.

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