Mountain Collective
The Skiing at Grand Targhee
The resort itself isn't nearly as steep as its cousin across the range. The terrain here evokes more of a Wolf Creek vibe than a Snowbird one. Skiers start at the Dreamcatcher lift and ski that chair or head to skier's left to Sacajawea or to skier's right to Blackfoot. Targhee has only these three lifts, although it does run a guided snowcat operation on most weekends, just beyond the boundaries reached via the Sacajawea chair.
Skiing toward Sacajawea gets skiers a wealth of gladed shots that all funnel to a traverse that lead to to the lift's base. Once at the top of Sac, a little work gets skiers above a cliff band that holds the steepest terrain in-bounds at Targhee. Shots through Toilet Bowl, Pink Slip and Bobcat feature some kind of drop toward the top—you can make it a three-foot thing, or a 20-foot thing—and, from there, mild runs through trees that alternate between mellow and moderate steepness. It's not long, however, until you're back in the gully of the canyon and headed back toward the cat track to Sac.
Some of the most enjoyable terrain on the mountain is just beneath the Sac lift. It's a mild slope, but the trees are spaced widely enough that, on a snow day, skiers can hit the gas and hurtle through big tree gaps like a TGR gangster. Similar terrain exists underneath and around the Blackfoot lift as well.
To skiers' far right off of Blackfoot, there sits easy-skiing powder fields dotted with little Christmas-like trees here and there. Hero shots everywhere, for everybody. The only drawback to this mellow powder-holding terrain is that the vertical is short and getting back to the lift involves a skating-worthy cat track traverse.
One footnote on Targhee that's worth mention: The resort can often get socked with thick, persistent bands of fog. The moisture gets trapped up against the Tetons' west ridge and, in the extreme cases, it can take a day or two to clear. Skiers at Jackson can often see the same systems seeping over the top of Rendezvous Peak and descending down the mountain toward the Sublet and Thunder lifts. The difference is that the fog at Jackson easily dissipates to the East as there is nothing to hold it in for more than a few hours. During days like this at Targhee, the trees are your friends. Stick near them for some contrast and definition as skiing in the wide-open sections of the resort will be difficult. Ski slower, of course, and be watching for that fog to clear as you'll likely have the place to yourself when it finally does.
The Town: Grand Targhee
Driggs has been pooling cool-person equity for all of those 15 years and the results are beginning to show inside town. The housing stock around Driggs and south toward Victor is unremarkable, made of the same stuff that comprises subdivisions of inland California or the Texas plains. But all of these houses full of all of these people have to eat somewhere, and that's where Driggs has vastly improved the options for those plying its streets for eats and, most importantly for this conversation, for Targhee skiers.
One of our favorites is Forage & Bistro. Forage features the kind of new American fare that you might find in Brooklyn, Chicago or Austin. Fine, fun eating for all comers, with items like braised Lava Lake lamb shank, duck sausage pasta carbonara and the Forage veggie burger with cheese. Breakfast in Driggs goes down in grand fashion at Pendl's Bakery. The baked goods are Austrian style, which means apple strudel. Eat it and go ski. For solid Thai food, head to Teton Thai, which expanded to Driggs from its popular location in Jackson's Teton Village.
Lodging within Driggs is decent, but Targhee isn't a mass market destination resort, so you won't see the kinds of hotels and inventory that exists across the mountains in Jackson. Some of the best places to stay on the Targhee side are the newer homes that have been built near town and up Ski Hill Road toward the resort. Deals can be found on Craigslist and within VRBO's Driggs inventory. On the mountain, there are some great options built into the small base village, including The Tower Suite, a single residence overlooking the village, and Teewinot Lodge, a charming log lodge of guest rooms surrounding a main living area that's grandly trimmed in timber of the region.