From the beginning, the idea behind the trip was to celebrate a job well done throughout the season.

To reconnect with the sport of skiing and reflect on why we do what we do.

To enjoy the company of each other in a non-work atmosphere.

And to test skis.

As I reflect on the past 6 days and look at the smiling faces in every photo, it is truly a case of "Mission Accomplished".
The best skate & ski staff in the industry now closes out our 77th winter season of providing our customers the finest in equipment, clothing & service through our own active participation in and passion for the sports that we sell.
On the behalf of our staff, Terri and myself would like to thank our loyal customer base for your continued support that enables us to perpetuate a true family owned and operated business. We look forward to serving you in our 78th winter season.

The last day of the trip is a little like December 26th, all of the excitement and anticipation is over but it's still fun. Everyone is faced with packing, checking out and then heading back up Ski Hill Road for one last day on snow and what a day it was. Just over an inch of snow fell overnight but it had a remarkable impact on the conditions. Jen our liftie on DC told us to head for anything that had been groomed and enjoy.

The cloud deck started to break up and the sun came out to stay shortly after noon and for the first time during the trip it truly started to feel like classic spring skiing. The snow transformed into what Terri aptly described as Wydaho mashers; resulting in perfectly carved turns for all.

Everyone had their own agenda in the final few hours of skiing. Some retracing their favorite runs over the previous few days while others tinkered with their Ski Tracks "app" setting new personal goals for vertical feet skied and maximum speed. Goals were easily attained as on this day there were only 177 skiers enjoying the 2,000+ acres of lift serviced skiing. Gene Carlson quickly pointed out that this was more than 10 acres for each one of us to have to ourselves.

Between 2:30 and 3:00 PM everyone was resigned to the fact that it was time to pack it in and start aiming home. Some headed to Dubois, Jackson and Salt Lake City while the remainder of road warriors girded our loins for the 20+ hour drive through Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.

By day #3 everyone is pretty much in the swing of things and the routine is good. It was crystal clear so we all headed up the Dreamcatcher lift for our group photo.

After our group photo most of our group was busy ripping groomers until the snow softened up. As soon as the avi-gate to Mary's was open a number of us decided to hike in search of powder. Everything looked good but in fact the snow was a bit punchy creating some challenging skiing and some spectacular falls and recoveries. I think the best caption for the following photo of one our crew would be "And boom goes the dynamite!"
Can you identify the skier?

We were in an out of the clouds for a good portion of the day until the sun finally came out for good for the last hour and a half transforming the snow into absolute cream cheese; and again most of us skied up to the last chair at 4:00 PM.

It was back to the Trap for our last "Safety Meeting" of the trip. The highlight of the day was to meet and get our photo taken with Grand Targhee's most famous ambassador "Slim" who has been on staff since opening day back in December of 1969.

The excitement of a day of cat-skiing for 12 of us was quickly crushed as we arrived the area to find out that 60 mph winds and colder temps had moved in overnight, resulting in downed trees and marginal snow conditions. To the credit of GT Cat Skiing they called it erring on the side of safety and on the side of positive business ethics, foregoing possible injury and/or a negative skiing experience for our group.
Dreamcatcher was on wind-hold which meant that we headed for the groomers back in Sacajawea. Being so early in the day this was even a questionable choice and after 4 runs everyone headed back to Snorkles restaurant at the base area and waited for DC to open.

As usual Targhee did not disappoint as the DC lift opened and everyone headed up to sample the goods. While certain areas were windblown and frozen chunder, persistence paid off and eventually discoveries of great lines and powder caches showed up.

A group of us found fresh tracks back on Painted Pony and Lost Groomers resulting is a late day rally with almost everyone skiing up to the closing bell of 4:00. It was then time to head to the Trap to fill out score cards and enjoy a few beverages.

The end of the day was spent in the hot tub to recharge sore muscles and eventually in the Blackfoot condo for an awesome pasta dinner.

With the current storm total at 12" our entire crew arrived 45 minutes early as everyone was chomping at the bit for 1st tracks. Intermittent snow showers gave way to a high overcast affording better visibility without "baking" the fresh snowfall. This resulted in fresh lines throughout the day.
Our crew of 22 spread out and canvassed the 2,000 acres throughtout the morning returning to the base of the Dreamcatcher lift with smiles on their faces. At noon we did the "flip" and moved everyone around on the test skis for the afternoon.

In the afternoon Mary's Nipple opened and Luke, Avi, Craig and Bob Larson (yes you read that right Joan...) lead the charge and were the 1st to hike in search of the best snow on the mountain; and they were not disappointed.

The end of day pattern set up nicely with everyone heading to the Trap Bar to fill out test forms, regale each other with stories of fresh tracks and hidden stashes and a few adult beverages.