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We wake up to darkness in the small town of Jackson, Wyoming. The night before we praised our 4-wheel drive vehicle as it tracked easily through the beefy snowflakes that covered the banks of the meandering Hoback river. It's still snowing at 7:30am when we take the left out of Jackson and head for Teton Village about 12 miles away. We can't see the mountains, but like a person hiding in a dark room, we can feel their presence.

It's an easy walk from the free parking lot to the Village Café, the no frills coffee shop near the tram, and we weed our way past hopeful locals with their beacons slung around their chests and their avalanche shovels poking out of their packs. There's a latté buzz in the air as people wait to see if the tram will be running. It has snowed a foot a day for six days and locals want out of the gates and into the deeps. But outside it sounds like a war zone with head-turning explosions every few minutes from the bombs. It makes the hair on the back of our necks stand up because we know they're bombing for only one reason: a huge quantity of snow.

"We high-five at the bottom as if we were at the Super Bowl, and I realized we haven't stopped to eat or pee for hours..."

For the '99-'00 winter season, Jackson Hole is hosting a trial run of a new open gate policy, enabling skiers and snowboarders to access approximately 2,500 acres of backcountry terrain through five gates located on the ski area boundaries. Passing the new policy was no easy task. The decision came to fruition for the resort after months of discussion with the Bridger Teton National Forest, Teton County Search & Rescue, the Teton County Sheriff's Office and Grand Teton National Park. And they reserve the right to reverse the policy if too much demand is placed on the Search & Rescue team.

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Each gate has obvious signs posted around it, such as a warning of general hazards, the daily Bridger Teton backcountry avalanche forecast, a map of the terrain and a symbol denoting one of five internationally accepted avalanche ratings. The mountain encourages guests to hire a guide from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Alpine Guides. Beacons, shovels and instruction on avalanche safety is included in the price, as well as the rights to the coveted first tram ride. All guides are highly experienced in the backcountry, many are mountaineers, climbing guides, or formal ski patrollers and all have Level II avalanche certification. But arguably more important, they know where the powder stashes are and they love to find them.

"Skiing in-bounds, it's fun to race around and hit what opens, but out-of-bounds is about slowing down and playing with Mother Nature..."

We meet up with Dave Miller, a 16-year veteran guide for Jackson Hole. The tram is a no-go for the morning, so he takes us to Saratoga bowl for early freshies. The sun comes out and there's almost too much to look at. We're on tour now, hitting the gondola as it opens and leaving more first track marks in the light snow. Then Thunder lift opens to the cheers of the crowd waiting in line, thinking only of the line they'll take. It's all business now as we scope out our route, jump into our bindings like 24 hours of Aspen, and hit the epic Tower 3 chute. I pass over a bomb hole, blackened like a crater, and a guy searching in vain for his lost ski. I'm singing "steep and deep" with each turn and laughing as the confectioners sugar powder sprays onto my cheeks. We high-five at the bottom as if we were at the Super Bowl, and I realized we haven't stopped to eat or pee for hours.

Jackson Hole   Zoner Trip: 4 nights $269   Snow Report   Resort Profile

Then the tram opens and the energy in the box reaches high levels as 63 warm bodies exhale to steam up the windows. There's a warning sign that reads "Give this mountain the respect it deserves," and Dave tells us how years ago a visitor from the east coast got disoriented at the top of the tram and skied off a cliff. I rub a circle of steam from the window and give my total respect to Jackson Hole. We're at 10,450 feet. Teton Village is at 6,311. Do the math and that's a leg burning 4,139 feet of, as Dave says, "Euro-type terrain, chutes, couloirs, wide opens, steeps, long cruisers — whatever you like."

Next we meet up with Laurie Davis-Shepard, supervisor of the guide service. She waves good-bye to her 67-year-young client, Toni Laird, who's been skiing Jackson since 1969. Toni tells us that she's gone six weeks without missing the early tram at 8:36am. "Why waste your whole morning finding good snow when the guide takes you immediately to the perfect place?" At the top of the tram, Laurie suggests the southern Hoback and she's right. The snow is light and airy compared to cream cheese not 200 yards north. My legs feel like I've skied six downhill races but we take another run, up the Sublette chair which just opened, and ski one of the expert chutes to Toilet Bowl then down the only groomer of the day back to the bottom of mountain. This was just the in-bounds tour.

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The next day the bombs have ceased, the winds have died down and we're on the first tram. All geared up, we traverse over to one of the five gates. Laurie tells us, "When we can't get to the backcountry here, we still have the mountain. Skiing in-bounds, it's fun to race around and hit what opens, but out-of-bounds is about slowing down and playing with Mother Nature."

It is overwhelmingly beautiful here and from out the gate, we can see five canyons over. The buzz of the resort has disappeared along with any other ski tracks. The first canyon we encounter is Rock Springs Bowl (each bowl is named after a city in Wyoming), which flanks the resort boundaries. We're floating one by one down pitch after untracked pitch under the majestic Rock Springs buttress.

The entrance back into the Hobacks is a friendly traverse. "From five canyons over, you can still ski back and catch the tram," Laurie explains. Funny how you know when you're back in bounds, it's just a feeling you get.

Hooked on that feeling, we head up for another run out the gate. We pass a camera crew from Teton Gravity Research and catch up with Todd Jones, the co-founder. "The terrain is awesome," he tells us. "The backcountry access has made this place a different mountain- a mini Europe." Professional freeskier Micah Black says, "Sometimes the guys and I will throw in $40-$50 each and hire a guide. We get the first tram up and make numerous runs by noon."

We hike a bit over to Green River bowl for some low angle skiing, purer to the backcountry experience. We find waist-deep powder stashes, get lost in a maze of pines and stop to learn about avalanche history or the names of the surrounding mountains. Laurie smiles and tells us to head for the willow trees, where the snow is deeper. Her love and respect for this area is contagious. "We leave no trace," she says, "only tracks."

And tracks are all that we see when we drive out of Jackson the next day, planning our next trip back. You can hire a guide for full or half day. Call 307-739-2663, reservations are recommended. Current rates are $295 for a full-day (1 person) and $325 for a full-day (2-5 people). Half-day rates are $235 for morning and $145 for afternoon (1-5 people).

— Krista Crabtree, MountainZone.com Correspondent