Jackson Hole Skier Magazine - What's in a Name

Town Square Inns of Jackson Hole Wyoming

What's In a Name:
Mountain Code for the Uninitiated

By Ben Wilson

Moran Face. The early morning light had set the slope glittering. Like a thousand diamonds tossed skyward, the air suddenly exploded in light. George looked at Nova, Nova glanced at Shane, Shane howled at the sun dog, and the instant that I spied the rock placed in the middle of the face like a nose, George took off! In the glittering madness, in full layout, he arced through the sun dog as we stood in awe. "What a head rush," I said, and from that day forward the rock on Moran Face was called Headrush.

A simple explanation for a colorful local place name. But take a crack at these: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dilly Dally Alley, Mikey Likes It, Voo Doo Ridge, Brain Damage, Banana Nuber. And don't look to your vacation planner and trail map to explain them or point out Water Tower Traverse or tell you how to drop into He-Man Line, slide through Burrito Chutes, or hide out in Deepest Darkest Africa.

Local landmarks usually sport more sensible, obvious appellations. For example, The Grand Tetons were named in the early 1800s by French trappers who were inconvenienced by the physical barrier between Pierre's Hole on the west and Jackson Hole on the east. Lonely French trappers could hardly be expected to gaze on the gorgeous peaks and remain, well, unpiqued.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, nestled in the Teton Range was founded in the early Œ60s by partners and ski buddies Paul McCollister and Alex Morley. The pair set out to develop a lasting legacy to the early trappers and Wyoming. Skiers would "rendezvous," as did the mountain men of yesterday, on Rendezvous Mountain. The names of fur trappers John Coulter, William Sublette, Jim Bridger, Davey Jackson, and John Hoback would adorn some of the resort's more well-known ridges.

Did someone say Hobacks? The pair of ridge runs that conjure up visions of 3,000 vertical feet of bottomless powder, runs so long that the weather changes on the way down. Locals' favorite, Sublette Ridge, burns the thighs better than any stair-master. North Coulter's legendary late-afternoon, untracked-powder stashes, and Jackson Face's unequaled plunge are well known to locals and don't remain long undiscovered by visitors.

But McCollister and Morley did not stop at just the baptismal font of history. The pair settled the names of Wyoming cities and towns on the bowls across the mountain: Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper, Cody, Rawlins, Buffalo, Rock Springs, Riverton, Lander, Tensleep.

So what's in a name? Plenty‹usually air and snow, or both. "Mikey Likes It," properly known as Amphitheater Rock, got re-dubbed because a certain snowboard instructor delighted in it. You might still hear locals refer to Sundance Gully as "Dilly Dally Alley," recalling a time when it was a narrow steep-walled gully scattered with large boulders and fallen trees. Saratoga Bowl used to be out of bounds and a great poach! Head Rush, Wave Point, VooDoo Cliffs, Granny's, Pillow Talk, Diaper Rash, Boxcar, Forrest's Crack, Flip Point, Insomnia, and Spring Board are all excellent take off points for the air enthusiast. But signs? Those are another thing altogether.

In the early Œ80s, while riding up the Thunder double lift (changed to a quad in the Œ90s) a visitor queried me about the lack of signs on runs. Said he kept getting lost! How could you get lost? I wondered. The signs are at the top, you ski to the bottom.

"Take Sublette," he said, "what are all the runs below the top section?" It's all Sublette my man. It's all Sublette! We ended up later on "Mahogany Ridge" at the Mangy Moose Saloon, slugging down Slippery Nipples and Melon Balls. After the bar closed we hit the last untracked powder on Chimney Ridge (it's the roof of the Holton Innoops I mean the Hilton Inn. No, now it's just the Inn at Jackson Hole).

See what I mean about names around here. They change as fast as the wind blows bottomless powder into Hoppy's Hole, which, if you're lucky, won't slough you out over Rockin' the Middle Chutes down into Triangle Trees.

Another local's favorite is Toilet Bowl. What's in a name? Everything in this case. Toilet Bowl is named not after a town, but for its appearance on occasion. Sometimes clean with powder snow, other times dirty with avalanche debris that can flush you out on a moment's notice.

Had enough? Well, how about Corbet's Couloir. An unassuming name, yes, but Corbet's is the most awe-inspiring maintained ski run in America. For much of the year you have to jump in! And, oh, what a jump! The great west wall on the left side was manhandled by "Sick" Rick Armstrong dropping in from outer space. He hopped off the cornice onto a vertical snowpatch, then freefell to a landing zone in front of the Cave.

Moving to the skier's right is the Nose of Corbet's, where from five to 25 feet of airtime gets you inside. But for pure insanity you have to talk to Forrest "Jump" about the crack. Slipping out to the right and disappearing between two rocks, Forrest reappeared some 80 vertical feet lower and a lot closer to S & S.

S & S Couloir (Simms & Sands, or could it be Sands & Simms?) has its own reputation to uphold. Named for the pair of patrolmen who were checking out the entrance one day when presumably Sands‹or was it Simms‹was joking around and inadvertently tapped Simms‹or was it Sands‹on the back, sending him into the couloir. Eventually they both came skiing out the bottom in synchronized 8's (that's the story guys, I'm just the messenger).

Wow! Jackson Hole, amidst the grandeur of the Tetons, a stone's throw away from Grand Targhee and Snow King.

What's in a name? Everything.

Next time you find yourself floating against a delicious pressure or plowing through an unbelievable wind drift, maybe you should name your own Secret Slope!

Ben Wilson, raised skiing Rendezvous Mountain, is a ski instructor and Captain of the Jackson Hole Air Force.