26. Breaking Point in the Spoon Couloir, Encore Episode

The Fine Line

The wind. It’s a dangerous variable, stripping snow from one zone and then loading up another. Even when danger is moderate and a ski route, well known, wind can be a wild card. With a heavy dose of wind in the weather this month, we replay an episode about skiing the Spoon Couloir. Rene Etter-Garrette had already started questioning the risk of dying in an avalanche when he and two friends headed into Grand Teton National Park on February 4, 2016. But that day, avalanche danger had been rated moderate. And Rene planned to ski a line that he'd already successfully tackled several times before. He'd been living in Jackson Hole for six winters. During the ski season he worked at a local shop tuning skis. He'd found mentors willing to share their backcountry knowledge. This time, he lead the way as he and two friends headed for the Spoon Couloir.