Stephen Koch

I did not snowboard the north face of the Aiguille du Midi while I lived in Chamonix in 1990, although I wanted to. I did make some turns along the north side of the ridge traversing to the glacier on my way to ride the Gervasutti Couloir on Mont Blanc du Tacul. The “Gervasutti,” as [...]

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My client called me 10 minuted before we were to meet for an early tram asking, “what do you think about the snow conditions? The Hobacks are going to suck.” I told him that I believe the “Hobacks will be at least as good as yesterday.” And yesterday they were great with creamy powder. My [...]

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Back up! Below are some photographs of the avalanche debris pile from the avalanche that hit the Bridger Restaurant at the top of the Gondola at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Mother nature…simply amazing! Recommend on Facebook Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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It has been suggested by JHMR that I remove the photos of the avalanche debris that hit the Bridger Restaurant at the top of the Gondola at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort that were here. I have complied and will discuss with JHMR and hopefully have them back up. I believe transparency is the best thing. [...]

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SITUATION: Special Information: The Wyoming Department of Transportation will close Teton Pass at 8 A.M. Tuesday for avalanche reduction work. Re-opening time will be dependant on the amount of snow impacting the highway. An upper level low pressure system brought dense snow, strong winds and very warm temperatures to Western Wyoming Monday. Winds at 10,4000 [...]

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I am home, in Jackson, WY and the windows are being rattled by what I assume is continued avalanche control work by the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol, several miles away at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. They are probably loading up sleds with explosives (fertilizer), lowering them down slopes to the perceived starting points and [...]

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A major avalanche occurred at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort today. The avalanche apparently occurred naturally after the ski patrol had finished their initial avalanche control and were preparing to do a secondary. The avalanche traveled down the mountain and over cliffs and struck the Couloir Restaurant, knocking out windows and toppling tables and chairs [...]

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I woke up this morning to a foot of light density snow outside of the garage door. Driving to Mountain Athlete at 5:50 a.m. was challenging with the limited plowing that had occured at that hour. After teaching snowboarding to a father and son team from GA in the afternoon I was able to walk [...]

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I am posting this PC because I think it is funny and hasn’t been seen much. I also want to give props to its very talented designer, Matthew Speakman. Matt is temporarily living and working in PA until his return to Jackson. Matt took an old photo of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first [...]

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I like to work late. While in Antarctica after climbing and snowboarding the Vinson Massif in 1999, I had the opportunity to let my internal clock adopt its own schedule. I gradually, over the course of a week, went from going to sleep at 10 p.m. to going to sleep at 6 or 7 a.m. [...]

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