Change of Plans

Lost board, closed mountain, and some good ol' bloody mary slush slashing.

By Peak Design

The last time we checked in with John Dunaway, he was captaining a 489-foot container ship through the Gulf of Mexico. This time he's driving a different kind of vessel, on a different kind of terrain, in a different part of the world. Other than that, same ol' same ol'.

The rest of this story is in John's words.

high spirits

Far from the mainland, still thousands of miles from home, our prospective plan to rendezvous in Jackson Hole, Wyoming took form. You see, the three of us, Kyle, Brendan and myself, were deck officers aboard the MV Ocean Glory, returning from a voyage at sea that had already spanned over 3 months and more than 25,000 nautical miles. Still a few weeks away, the end was in sight, but it was confirmed that we’d meet for an epic week to snowboard in Jackson Hole upon our departure from the vessel. With more snow at the base than any previous season and a forecast for continued snowfall while we were in town, everything seemed to be shaping up, but quickly we were to learn that was far from the truth.

strike one

A gorgeous backdrop of mountains occupied my time while waiting at the baggage carousel, taunting me of their possibilities. With my camera gear safely on my back in the Everyday Backpack, out came my duffel loaded with clothes for the trip. Check. The mountains almost giggled as the carousel came to a halt, yet there was no snowboard bag of mine riding along. Strike one. I was so pumped about the trip that this little snafu was not about to hamper the mood so with a quick report submitted to the airline and a promise that it would be delivered that night, I ran outside to meet my buddies Brendan Hanley and Kyle Sammis. Off we went, spinning tires along the snowy streets to dump gear in the hotel and suit up for a late afternoon session to warm up on the local mountain, Snow King. With legs on fire, we finally called it quits for a bit of relaxation before the big day, hitting Jackson Hole Resort.

strike two

Upon waking, there was terrible news spreading across the interwebs and on into the breakfast area. Jackson Hole Resort is without power. Resort closed until further notice! This had to be a terrible joke, right? The entire mountain couldn’t be closed, could it? Well it sure was. A violent storm delivered winds that toppled 17 electrical poles, knocking out power to the entire Teton Village and closing the resort indeed. Strike two. The bad news came in like a strong right hook to the jaw, but it was not putting us down that easy. We made a new plan to take in the scenery until an update from the resort came in. With the jeep loaded, we took off for the day shooting photos of the landscape along with sending the drone airborne for fresh eyes in the sky. After lunch, worse news struck when the resort confirmed they would not open until Monday at the earliest. It was only Wednesday and we were all slated to leave by the weekend. Ouch!

DAY 3: Things are looking up

On day 3 we rose to a steady downpour of rain, which certainly was not welcomed. The airline still had no idea where my snowboard was, but that was a minor issue with spare gear from the guys and adverse conditions. People on Instagram were gracious enough to feed us with insider tips, so we dropped them into a map and again set off in the Jeep, disregarding the rain in Grand Teton National Park. Along the way, snow covering the roads was asking to be carved up so Kyle strapped on his board to slash away as the Jeep cruised on down the road with him in tow. With good laughs all around, we pressed onward into the park for unobstructed views and peaceful roads due to the lack of people venturing out in the weather. With plenty of photos captured and no more rain, we returned to Snow King for another afternoon session. Like the park, the mountain was fairly empty with plenty of untouched tracks to ride on into closing time. The local Snake River Brewing offered up a healthy reprieve from the elements with food to warm the soul and cold beer to soothe our aches. Tomorrow had to better!

Day 4: whiteout

Tomorrow was not better, at first. The airline remained clueless of my snowboard bag. The resort wasn’t opening. Both passes to Idaho remained closed from Avalanches. The road north to Montana was closed due to snow. We were literally trapped with dwindling options. Licking our wounds after breakfast, good news finally came to meet our ambition, the southerly route to Idaho was open! It was a mad dash into the Jeep for the 2 hour drive ahead, but nobody cared. Tunes hit the airwaves and we rolled on out of town for another scenic cruise. By the time we began climbing elevation to Grand Targhee Resort, snow was falling from the sky. Thank goodness! We hit the lifts just in time to start a half-day pass with a pillow run of powder for our first pass. Looking up the lift, conditions were turning against us in a hurry. Seriously?! The rest of the day was spent in a dreamlike state, charging down the mountain in whiteout conditions that left us struggling to find one another 10 feet away. There were moments when confusion set in whether we were actually stopped or sliding down. Ledges appeared in the midst of downhill races that sent us soaring. Our beards froze, literally. At the end of the day, it was another success regardless of the curve balls thrown our way.