Februburied in Jackson Hole
February 2021: a fluid, flowing memory of one endless white-room of weightless cold smoke. Days blended, the framework of time dissipating with each trenched, overhead turn through blower. Blank canvases abundant, gargantuan smiles ever-present; powder is the medium upon which skiers and riders portray their souls.
Anyday, February – Tigger driving that train.
Last month will go down in history as the third snowiest month ever recorded at Jackson Hole, with 172” falling at Rendezvous Bowl and 193 ” recorded at the Raymer plot. This exceptional February brought dreams to fruition and disbelief to seasoned local meteorologists.
“I have been forecasting the weather here for 30 years now and skiing Jackson Hole for almost 40 years and I have to say, February 2021 might have been one of the best months ever. Not just in terms of quantity of snow, but the quality of the snow. It was both deep and light, day after day!”
-Jim Woodmencey, Mountain Weather
Woody also added that the 172” of snow recorded in Rendezvous Bowl is almost 100” above average for the month of February.
02/05/21- When consumed in large quantities, this product may cause feelings of euphoria, weightlessness and uncontrollable laughter.
Photo by: Chris Figenshau
Amidst the incessant snowfall, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort hosted two world-renowned events: The Yeti Natural Selection Tour and Kings & Queens of Corbet’s. The former, Travis Rice’s sport-progressing brainchild of a competition, yielded a decisive victory for superstar Mark McMorris. The latter, the annual legendary, gravity-defying display of skill and style. Karl Fostvedt and Madison Blackley were crowned King and Queen, respectively. Hans Mindnich and Audrey Herbert took second place; Jake Hopfinger and Zoe Vernon rounded out the podium in third. Competition was stiff this year, and rounding out fourth and fifth place for the men were Parkin Costain and Elias Elhardt, respectively.
Madison Blackley claimed the 2021 Queen of Corbet’s!
Abundant powder calls for a concise review of some insane stats:
- There were only 4 days with no fresh snow, and 10 days with double digit 24 hour totals.
- 193″ of snow fell at the Raymer plot for the month, which tied the record for most snow in February at the Raymer Plot in 2019 (that’s 16 feet!).
- In Rendezvous Bowl, 172 inches of snowfall were recorded in February.
That is over 100 inches more than February’s average snowfall of 71 inches. - February 2021 now also ranks as the third snowiest month on record, behind December 1996 with 215 inches and February 2019 with 193 inches.
*All of these snow statistics are derived from daily field measurements taken by the JHMR avalanche-forecasting program, in partnership with Bridger Teton National Forest Avalanche Center.
Our long-time snow reporter Jeff Leger summed up a day in February with his snow report from 2/20/2021:
After 20″ on the 20th of February:
Shake the Sandman from your eyes without fear, because it’s Saturday and your wildest deep-powder dreams continue to appear. 20″ of top shelf Teton blower coated the flanks of Rendezvous Mountain over the past 24hrs and we are poised to pick up even more as the day unfolds. . . The line between reality and fantasy is fading into a crystal vapor haze, as the non-stop February faceshots set your snow powered soul ablaze.
-Jeff Leger, JHMR Snow Reporter
02/28/21- Lichen it. Jeff Leger up against the green screen.
Photo by Chris Figenshau
