Of all the ways to die, mine was looking like it would be by a giant moose.

It looked harmless enough from the chairlift and again as I skied nearby watching it graze amongst the snow. But that all changed when suddenly this 500 kilograms of fury charged at me. I fell to the snow awaiting the inevitable explosion of pain, but literally seconds before impact the moose veered away and continued down the hill.

While maybe not as hairy, the local skier is the other animal at Jackson; white-eyed and intense attacking the mountain with a ferocious determination. It is not uncommon to see these animals - of the human kind - hock themselves off one of the many 30 foot granite cliffs that line the various chair lifts.

However, get them off the mountain and it's a different story. Having expended all their energy after another epic day on the mountain, the locals are low-key and easy going; content to lean back against the bar at the Mangy Moose pub at the base of the hill, and reflect on the day's assault.

The mountain
Wyoming is known as the "The Cowboy State" and Jackson Hole prides itself on this rustic image right down to its cowboy-on-bronco logo. With its low-key restaurants and no-nonsense shop-fronts, the frontier roots of Jackson Hole are clear. A lot of the flashiness and glamour that comes with other ski towns is refreshingly absent. Here it is early model trucks, people in jeans and work boots that actually are used for work.

Jackson Hole is part of the Grand Teton peaks. The resort itself cuts across two mountains: Apres Vous and Rendezvous with 2,500 acres of in-bound terrain and open backcountry that accesses more than 3000+ acres and a vertical drop of 4,139 feet.

It's not for the feint-hearted with 50% of its runs considered expert and only 10% beginner. The ski season is open between late November 29 and early April and daily hours are 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. daily and averaging annually several metres of snow, peaking between December and February.

Snow conditions
There are no friends on a powder day which would suggest this friendly town is full of strangers given how often it dumps.

On one of the many powder days where the snow has fallen steadily overnight, lift lines begin to appear at 7.45am - more than an hour before the lifts actually open.

During the wait for the mountain to open, there is always a nervous buzz amongst the building queue, as skiers and boarders stare up the mountain and plot their course. In the distance you can hear the boom of the cannons as ski patrols blow any potential cornice build-ups out of the mountain. It's almost a powder day tradition here that when the gondola opens there is an explosion of noise as skiers hit their poles together and riders slap their boards.

On one of these days, it is not uncommon to be treated to knee-high dry powder literally metres from the groomed runs and amongst the trees.

There are few places that combine such a vertical pitch and large snow base like Jackson. The terrain is as steep on piste as can be found anywhere in the world with a variety of open bowls, bumps, trees, and rocky prospects. While there are facilities for the beginner, this is largely an advanced ski mountain with the majority of runs ranging from blue to double black diamond.

Off the mountain
The majority of visitors will fly into Jackson from one of several routes including Los Angeles and Chicago. Contrary to what many people think, the on-mountain village - the Tetons - is a 15 minute drive away from Jackson town proper and 40 Minutes drive from Jackson Airport.

Apart from riding the mountain, there are many other activities that can give the legs a chance to recover including snow-mobiling and sledding through the 1500 odd elk herd that graze nearby. There are also the usual resort facilities including spas and saunas. Shopping is fairly limited but there are some retail stores at the foot of the mountain and more in the town proper.

Accommodation
The Jackson valley, covering Teton Village and Jackson town, has more than 10 000 units for a whole variety of budgets and tastes ranging from five-star hotels, bed and breakfasts, condominiums to rustic cabins and a multitude of accommodation booking agencies that can be found online.