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PrintThe Dog Days of Winter
Teton Valley teems with teams of canines and humans enjoying the snow
Photo By Lisa Newcomb
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My dog Bella loves face shots. In fact, she seems to embrace everything about winter in Teton Valley. When the first pre-winter snowfalls hit, the three-year-old Lab mix gets an extra zip in her step. The crisp winter air and fresh powder seem to energize her as much as they do winter sports enthusiasts of the human variety.
And Bella’s not alone. It’s practically an unwritten requirement of residency in the valley to own at least one canine companion, one that can keep up with your endless outdoor adventures, especially in winter.
Real estate agent and contractor Dave Dery, a valley resident of twenty years, has two dogs, Morgan and Tater, and he brings them with him almost everywhere he goes. In previous years, when he worked on construction sites, the dogs accompanied him. Now that he spends most of his time working in real estate, he says, his dogs stay home more often, and they’re that much more excited when he or his wife Amy break out their skis.
“The dogs are just ready to go,” Dery says. “It’s so much fun to get out there. We’re constantly playing with the dogs. They’re just fun to have with you … fun to watch.”
Morgan, a Lab-mix rescue dog, loves to dive off the groomed track and into the deep snow, Dery says. That’s something my Bella does with gusto, too, as if she were a dolphin jumping in and out of the blue ocean water.
The Derys most often take their dogs Nordic skiing, seeking out groomed trails or ungroomed areas where dogs are permitted. One of the former, a trail that sees more than 10,000 users (with and without dogs) every winter, is Teton Canyon, groomed throughout the season by local nonprofit Teton Valley Trails and Pathways (TVTAP).
“The biggest thing that we really try to educate users on … is that [they should] be conscientious of everybody else who’s out there,” TVTAP executive director Tim Adams says. His organization grooms trails in five locations throughout the valley, including in the Alta, Driggs, and Victor areas. Four of these trail systems permit dogs, the lone exception being the Teton Springs Resort trails on the Headwaters Club golf course south of Victor.
