JACKSON, Wyo.— Spring is often the ideal time for Teton skiing expeditions and also for talking about it! Beers and Banter with the Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum dives into Teton Ski Mountaineering online this Thursday, March 25 at 7 pm.
Join Ed Bushnell, Kim Havell, Tom Turiano, and Molly Loomis Tyson for an informal conversation about their experiences with this ever-popular sport and the ski mountaineers who have inspired their adventures. Register for free online at bit.ly/beerskiing.
Morgan Jaouenc, JHHSM Executive Director, will moderate this informal conversation, and at the end, the audience can chat in questions for the speakers.
“With so many diverse experiences from these four Teton skiers and a wealth of stories from the many ski mountaineers throughout the years, we expect this to be a fun conversation,” said Jaouen.
Meet the speakers:
Ed Bushnell grew up in northern Connecticut, experiencing his first backcountry skiing in the 100-vertical-foot woods behind his house. He moved to Jackson in 1992 but ignorance and laziness kept him mired within the boundaries of the local ski areas until 1996. That year, with the discovery of Tom Turiano’s backcountry ski guide to the Tetons and with the help of ski mentor and close friend Brian Ladd, Bushnell began to explore backcountry ski routes in the Tetons. From 1996 through 2006 he made over one hundred ski trips into the Tetons, most often with frequent partners Brian Ladd, Brandon Spackman, and Jarad Spackman. Bushnell moved to Oregon in 2006 to study law, but the mountains drew him back, along with this wife and two daughters, in 2013. Perhaps his most notable achievement in backcountry skiing was the naming of the “Tall Boy Couloir” in Cascade Canyon, after sneaking two 16-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon beers into partner Ladd’s backpack before a July 2003 ascent of the run. Ed has also completed an endeavor to ski at least once every month of the year for 240 months or 20 years as of October 2020.
Combining a passion for adventure and a love for exploration, Kim Havell spent a large part of her skiing career seeking out remote and exciting objectives. Kim has skied on all seven continents, with first descents on four, including in the Arctic and Antarctic. For over 25 years, she has pursued adventure in the backcountry, climbing and skiing high altitude peaks in the Himalaya, Andes, and the Karakorum as well as lines and other peaks across the globe from Morocco to Bolivia, Greenland, Norway, Argentina, Tibet, Japan, and Russia. She has numerous first female descents in Southwest Colorado and has completed many ascents and ski descents of 13ers and 14ers in the US. In 2013, her first winter in the Tetons, Kim completed 65 different routes, including the first female descent of the notorious Otter Body on the Grand Teton, and, in 2014, she went on to be the first woman to ski-guide the Grand Teton. With a home base in the incredible Teton Range, Kim guides for EXUM Mountain Guides, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Alpine Guides, and for Ice Axe Expeditions internationally.
A skier since the age of three, and ski mountaineer since 1985, Thomas Turiano worked as a mountain guide in Jackson Hole for many years and has authored four books about skiing and mountaineering in the backcountry around the region including Teton Skiing: A History and Guide to the Teton Range; Select Peaks of Greater Yellowstone: A Mountaineering History and Guide; Jackson Hole Backcountry Skier’s Guide South; and Teton Pass Backcountry Guide. Learn more about Tom’s work at www.SelectPeaks.com
Molly Loomis Tyson has lived in the Tetons, as a writer, teacher, climbing ranger, and adventurer since 2001. An engaging storyteller and teacher, Molly has worked with groups of all ages and abilities hoping to connect them with the wild places she frequents, igniting curiosity, understanding, a sense of stewardship, and passion for the written word. She is also passionate about using connection to place to instigate environmental advocacy and protection. As a writer, she’s published over 300 articles for many major publications. In May, Molly graduated with a Master of Environmental Management from Yale’s School of the Environment and currently works with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative.
Register for the free event with Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum at bit.ly/beerskiing to receive the program Zoom link. In lieu of the usual beer or beverage purchase, the staff asks that you consider a donation to support the program at bit.ly/beersdonate.
