Jackson Hole magazine

06/06/2026

We are deeply saddened by the passing of John Simms earlier this week.

A true Jackson Hole original, John was a JHMR patroller, fishing guide, angler, artist, avalanche forecaster, and entrepreneur. Arriving in the valley in the mid-1960s, Simms’s first job was working as a fishing guide on the Madison and Snake Rivers. (Since drift boats weren’t yet a thing, he guided with a yellow Navy-surplus rescue raft.) He was one of the new Jackson Hole Ski Area's first ski patrollers, and also worked as a U.S. Forest Service snow ranger.

At the ski resort, Simms and lifelong friend Charlie Sands were the first skiers to drop the gnarly couloir next to the very famous Corbet’s Couloir. (Neither has ever divulged the secret of who went first!) Now named S&S Couloir in their honor, the line makes Corbet’s look easy and requires special permission from JHMR ski patrol to do.)

And that's just Simms's earliest years in Jackson. He went on to invent tools that revolutionized backcountry safety—a collapsible avalanche shovel and ski poles that could be linked for use as an avalanche probe—and also Croakies, which kept sunglasses from falling off while on the river or ski slops.

But his best-known invention might be the first pair of neoprene fishing waders. Simms's first design matured into the company Simms Fishing Products.

Read more about Simms in the link in our bio. For this summer's issue of , John chatted with us about some of the places in the valley that meant the most to him.

Our thoughts are with John’s family and friends.

Photo

05/06/2026

Happy National Donut Day! We might be spending our morning eating through all of the flavors at Snake River Roasting Co.

Photos and donuts

03/06/2026

We're OBSESSED with the weekly updates from Wyoming about the movement of Deer 665 between her winter grounds in the Red Desert and the Tetons.

WMI shared the route Deer 665 took during her second week of migration last week. During that week, she trekked 22 miles north. So far, she’s migrated 90 miles in 15 days since departing her Red Desert winter range — while pregnant with twins!

She stopped over on ridges between Muddy Creek and the East Fork River on April 16-17. She spent April 18-20 moving at a slow pace. She covered just 14 miles in those three days.

On April 20-22 she stopped over at the Soda Lake near Boulder, Wyoming. Then on April 23 she moved two and a half miles to another stopover just south of Boulder Lake, where she closed out week two of her migration.

Deer 665’s progress by April 23, 2026 puts her nearly a month ahead her spring migration of 2025, when she reached Boulder Lake by May 18. In previous years Deer 665 migrated later than the rest of her herd, but the early spring of 2026 seems to have spurred her on.

Deer 665 is following a well-beaten mule deer corridor with tracks, scents of mule deer, and s**t that are obvious to her. She’s also using her memory to follow almost the exact path as previous years. For example, her GPS collar sometimes records fixes in 2026 that are a mere 100 feet from her locations in 2024.

This migration corridor used by Deer 665 and the thousands of other deer persists thanks to dedicated stewardship. Several ranches in this area are under conservation easement. Other lands are preserved as Wildlife Habitat Management Areas by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Hundreds of miles of fences in Sublette County have been retrofitted to be more wildlife friendly.

Follow to stay up to date on Deer 665's progress.

Text + graphic from Wyoming Migration Initiative

01/06/2026

More and more birds are making their way to the valley from their winter homes. Here, one of the summer's first broad-tailed hummingbird enjoys a feeder.

Photo by Dennis Butcher

29/05/2026

The Jenny Lake Shuttle is running for the season!

This makes the hike to Inspiration Point (shown here) shorter.

A glacial basin at the foot of the Teton Range, Jenny Lake was formed by retreating ice about 12,000 years ago and named for a Shoshone woman who lived in the valley in the late 1800s with her husband, trapper and guide Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh. Both assisted early explorers mapping the range; Jenny and several of her children died during a smallpox outbreak in 1876. Today, the 423-acre lake is popular for its still-water reflections of the range’s major peaks and its web of hiking trails.

Jenny Lake’s eastern shore has a developed campground, a small ranger station, a convenience store, bathrooms, and short interpretive trails. Its western shore is wilder and only accessible via the privately run shuttle boat across the lake or a 2-mile hike. (The boat shuttle opened for this season May 15.) From the western boat dock, Inspiration Point, at 7,200 feet is a one mile hike up about 600 vertical feet.

Read more about Jenny Lake and Inspiration Point in this summer's issue of Jackson Hole magazine.

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29/05/2026

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

Wyoming is amazing for many reasons, but did you know that, thanks to its low population density and rugged landscape, it is the best state to survive a zombie apocalypse? (according to a new study, which you can see in the link in our bio) Also, did you know that May is Zombie Awareness Month??

A new study (see the link in our bio) released a Zombie Apocalypse Survival Index. This index scored 64 North American locations across four pillars: how vulnerable a population is to rapid zombie spread, how well-armed and defended it is, how well-stocked it would be for a long siege, and how physically capable its residents are of, well, running.

Each pillar is scored from 0 to 100, combined into a final index, and converted into survival odds based on a 5% global base rate scaled against the index. The average location comes in at around 5%.

Wyoming offers the best survival odds on the continent at 7.09%, scoring highest on fi****ms and low vulnerability, making it the best-placed location to ride out the undead.

Zombies were added to this actual image of a hike in Grand Teton National Park using AI.

27/05/2026

Maybe you saw kinetic sculptor Ivan Iler on the first season of the Netflix show "Metal Shop Masters?" The Michigan-based artist was one of two finalists. An exhibit of his wildlife-inspired work is at the National Museum of Wildlife Art On from May 28 – October 4.

“Kinetic art is all about trying to recreate motion and there is a lot of motion in nature. I see the way an animal moves and I try to recreate that,” says Iler.

"Art in Motion: Kinetic Sculpture with Ivan Iler" includes pieces both inside the museum and outside on its sculpture trail.

Two Iler sculptures—"Fox and Hare" and "Whale Pair"—will be in the Wapiti Gallery, while "Elephant" and "Unicorn" will be on the Sculpture Trail.

Photos courtesy of Ivan Iler

26/05/2026