Jackson Hole’s Ski Bum Spirit Lives On in TGR’s 30th Anniversary Film
When Steve and Todd Jones, brothers and co-founders of Teton Gravity Research (TGR), first established Jackson, Wyoming, as their home base in the early 1990s, the town’s accompanying ski resort was relatively quiet aside from a strain of extreme skiing inoculated below the bright red Aerial Tram.
Steve called it a “really hardcore ski bum scene with people working in the service industry and skiing every day.” Todd added that it was this environment, in part, which inspired the creation of TGR in 1995 alongside the production company’s other co-founders, Corey Gavitt and Dirk Collins. “We wanted to just capture the people, the movement, and everything that was going on,” Todd said.
Thirty annual movies later, and TGR remains a force in snow sports media, but Jackson looks a bit different. A house there can cost $2 million—or much, much more. Other luxury excesses that seem antithetical to ski bummery aren’t uncommon.
During the only ski trip I’ve done in Jackson, a cab driver told me that one of his clients flew into Jackson for a haircut, returning to New York by plane only a few hours later. The crowds, too, have arrived, and Jackson Hole now limits the number of tickets sold each day to control traffic. Like other famed ski towns, Jackson is officially on the map.
What hasn’t changed, though, is Jackson Hole’s status as a beacon and gathering place for diehard skiers. With a standout segment in their 30th anniversary film Pressure Drop, the team at TGR set about highlighting the local professionals, lifers, and groms who are all committed to the skiing facilitated by the resort’s famously gnarly terrain.
Tap or click the video below to watch the segment. Keep reading for more.
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The segment is, in a way, time-honored and new. Unsurprisingly, Jackson’s featured in every TGR movie since the beginning—when you’re based in the Tetons and have world-class terrain in your backyard, you might as well take advantage of it. But the segment goes further than being pure ski porn, including interviews with Todd, Steve, and others that examine the unflinching character of the mountains and culture that spawned TGR.
“When we started this thing, we were the everyday Tram rider, local guys pushing the boundaries. And that’s what TGR was born out of,” said Todd. “We thought it’d be really cool to do a segment that just showcases that spirit and that dedication.”
Amongst the faces in the new segment is Jason Strong, also known by his nom de powder, J-Strong. He’s lived in the Jackson area for almost two decades, averaging between 150 and 200 ski days each season. If the Aerial Tram is open, Strong’s riding it, a habit facilitated by his property management job that lets him take winters off.
Like the Joneses, Strong’s seen Jackson change. He noted the loss of some après bars in the Jackson Hole base area where locals would hang out and the arrival of longer lift lines. But once Strong gets into the mountains, he said it still has “that kind of original feel to it.”
One of Strong’s notable contributions to the local ski culture is a roving, mountain game of ‘Shake-a-Day’. The game, in brief, involves rolling dice for a chance to win a cash prize. Jackson Hole skiers have come to know that Strong is the facilitator, so they’ll stop him to play for a chance to win, tossing the dice onto the tops of skis in the trees or on the floor of the Tram.
No one won the pot last season, so Strong estimated that it’s ballooned above $4,000. Instead of the armored briefcase with a number lock you might expect, he keeps the cash in a Crown Royale bag that he carts with him on the slopes.
“I always say, if I ever get buried in an avalanche, whoever finds me first wins the pot,” Strong joked.
Alongside Strong, the segment features professional skiers including Madison Ostergren, Owen Leeper, and Tristan “Teton” Brown. The TGR crew also pointed their cameras at the cadre of youngsters who aren’t transplants. Instead of being pulled across state or national boundaries to the Tetons in search of steep lines, they were raised there, immersed in the mountains that have become a bucket list item for skiers everywhere.
Grom turned sponsored athlete Tucker Carr remembered morning ski trips to Teton Pass—a popular backcountry area near Jackson—before going to middle school. Later, he studied online so he could ski as much as possible because, he said, “it’s just too good not to.” In the locals segment, Carr, who’s now 21, puts those years of ski experience to use, launching a backflip and cork 720. He’s one of several examples of how Jackson shapes ripping skiers.
“It’s always been super fun just pushing each other, and it always came from a great, healthy place of just, we’re just a bunch of best friends who love skiing so much,” said Carr, describing the attitude he and his buddies share.
Wyatt Gentry
When TGR’s first film came out in 1996, The Continuum, Todd said a basic 360 was the gnarliest trick his roster of talent was throwing in front of the cameras. If you look at Carr’s Instagram page or watch other videos from Jackson’s crop of fresh-faced skiers, it’ll be obvious how much this status quo has evolved.
Inspired, mentored, and raised by those that came before them, these kids continue to elevate the level of skiing in the Tetons. The Pressure Drop locals segment may peer backwards, but it’s also another snapshot in a constantly evolving story.
The magic of living and documenting this dynamic scene doesn’t seem to be lost on the brothers behind TGR. Originally, they’re from Cape Cod, Massachusetts—picteresque, to be sure, but hardly a ski mecca.
In Jackson, however, Steve explained that his kids could take their after school bus straight to the resort, don their equipment, and make a few laps before the lifts closed. With a hint of incredulity, Steve recalled telling Todd at one point, “God, dude, imagine if our bus stop was at the base of Jackson Hole?”
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