Our guides are locals and are among the region’s most experienced and knowledgeable backcountry skiers and riders.
We guarantee small groups and a client to guide ratio of 4 to 1 to provide plenty of individualized attention. Our guides will find the best snow and terrain to suit your ability, provide expert instruction, and interpret the natural environment for a fun and educational outing. All guides are certified in CPR, Advanced First Aid (Wilderness First Responder or Winter Outdoor Emergency Care), and Avalanche Safety (Level II +), and adhere to the guidelines established by the American Mountain Guides Association.
Owners/Guides
Co-owner Jeff Jung has been professionally skiing in the Tetons since 1994 as a lead ski patroller at Grand Targhee Resort and as a backcountry guide for Teton Backcountry Guides (called Rendezvous Ski Tours at that time). Jeff has skied extensively throughout the western United States, with exploration spanning from Alaska’s Chugach Range, British Columbia, and the Canadian Yukon, to the Sierra Nevada of California, Wyoming’s Teton Range, and throughout Argentina and Chile.
Jeff is certified as an Outdoor Emergency Care Technician and an EMT. He holds a Level III Guides Avalanche Certification from the American Avalanche Institute in Wilson, WY, and has been trained under the guidelines of the AMGA participating in the Ski Guide course in Wyoming and the Ski Mountaineering Guide Course in Valdez, Alaska. In addition to free and fixed heel ski mountaineering, Jeff is an avid rock climber, surfer, and mountain biker.
Co-owner Diane Verna has been a professional backcountry ski guide in the Tetons since 1996. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Outdoor Education from Prescott College in Arizona. Her studies combined natural history interpretation with outdoor recreation skills. She has worked for Outward Bound as a Field Instructor in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, in the Adventure Education Department for Prescott College as a Backcountry Skiing Instructor, and has instructed Nordic skiing for various institutions.
Diane is certified as a Wilderness First Responder from the Wilderness Medical Associates of NOLS and has been an EMT for Teton County, Idaho. She is certified in Nordic Instruction from the Professional Ski Instructors of America and has studied Avalanche Forecasting under Jerry Roberts on Red Mountain Pass in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Diane has participated in the AMGA Ski Guide course in Wyoming and the Ski Mountaineering Guide Course in Valdez, Alaska. In the summer months, Diane guides interpretive day hikes and backpacking trips in the Tetons.
Skiing & Snowboarding Guides
Tony Jewell grew up in the California suburbs, but once he visited the mountains of Wyoming, he knew he found home! Tony has been backcountry skiing since the mid-seventies and loves sharing his passion with others. In 1980 he started working for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is one of their senior instructors with over 450 weeks in the field. Many of these weeks involved extensive winter expeditions. Tony is a dedicated skier and has been a Nordic ski instructor for over 25 years including 14 seasons at Grand Targhee. Tony has traveled, climbed and led trips in many mountain ranges around the world including Alaska, Canada, Pakistan, India and New Zealand. He owns a photography business (Tony Jewell Photography) and will photograph clients on his tours, too! Tony lives in Alta, Wyoming with his wife Deb and two sons.
Kate Koons grew up in the great state of New Jersey where she learned the importance of sharp edges and how to bump her sister off of the Poma lift. For 23 years, Kate has worked as an educator, guide, and program manager all over the world. For the last 17 years, Kate has worked for NOLS, leading expeditions and managing the winter program in Teton Valley, Idaho. Kate’s passion for the mountains has brought her all over the world, including work stints in the Himalayas and Antarctica, yet the Tetons always draw her back home. Kate currently works for the American Avalanche Association coordinating the Pro Training Program, as well as working the occasional NOLS course. She has a Wilderness First Responder and holds a Pro 2 Avalanche certification. When the snow has left the mountains, Kate can be found at home in Victor with her husband and two dogs, trail running, biking, gardening, or dreaming of the next adventure.
Matt Lloyd is on an endless pursuit to find the perfect powder turn. He’s grateful for every backcountry moment and appreciates each uniquely special day in the mountains. Matt celebrates his 15th year of his outdoor career: he’s Level I-III Avalanche certified, AMGA-trained, Wilderness First Responder/CPR-certified, a PSIA-certified ski instructor for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and during summer months, he’s a local fishing and whitewater rafting guide! Matt is blessed with the wonderful support of his wife Kerry and son Brooks. Expect a fun, educational and memorable day customized to your specific goals when exploring the Teton backcountry with Matt.
Abbi Mountain grew up making snow angels in the forested hills of northern New England. Wanderlust took hold early on, and sent her off to gather up her own collection of wild tales from the Everest region of Nepal, to the high mountains and low jungles of Peru, and beyond. She fell in love with the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem over 15 years ago when she spent a winter monitoring wildlife and living in a snow cave outside of West Yellowstone, MT. She has recently become more civilized and now lives in a yurt in Teton Valley, ID. Abbi is a practicing massage therapist, herbalist, certified Wilderness EMT, and occasional reserve firefighter in town when she is not guiding people on snowshoes or cross-country skis. She delights in sharing the rugged beauty, plant and animal lore, and colorful history of the Tetons with people of all abilities and experience levels. Her knowledge, and enthusiasm for this place are contagious, and you may be tempted to stick around and build a snow cave of your very own.
Josh Parker is known for his exceptional enthusiasm and passion for backcountry skiing. Parker, as Josh is fondly known, is all about helping you realize your goals in mountains. He has been a Ski Guide in the Tetons since 2006, has spent nearly three decades sliding on snow, and instructs Level I avalanche courses. In the summer, you may him with a chainsaw in his hands earning a living fighting wildfires for the Forest Service. He and his wife Sarah call Teton Valley, ID home. Parker is Level III Avalanche certified, has completed the AMGA Ski Guide course, is a member affiliate of the American Avalanche Association, and is Wilderness First Responder certified. Parker also demonstrates perfect form and technique of the alpine turn!
Paul Rachele is a Midwest transplant who drifted to the mountains after college and never really left. He appreciates the power and simplicity of sliding through the mountains. Some of his most memorable ski descents are of the Grand Teton and Denali, but his favorite run is the Do It’s on Teton Pass. Paul is Level III Avalanche trained. In 2016, Paul received the highest certification a guide can acquire by becoming an internationally certified mountain guide through the IFMGA. He spends his summers in the Wind River Range and on the Grand Teton.
Evan Miller has been skiing for as long as he can remember. His parents introduced him to cross-country skiing in southern New Hampshire and a lifelong passion for exploring “just beyond the next hill” was initiated. In 2008, Evan moved to Utah in order to pursue work with the NOLS, where he still works in the ski program. Since moving West, Evan has explored snowy environs across the globe in the Western U.S.; the Selkirks and Coast Ranges of British Columbia; India; Alaska; New Zealand; and even Antarctica. But the Tetons continue to be a favorite with reliable powder, inimitable Western hardiness, and lack of traffic lights. Evan has begun training for AMGA mountain guide certification, is CPR and Wilderness First Responder certified, and holds a Level III Avalanche certificate through the American Avalanche Institute.
Assistant Guides
Matt Blodgett, better known as “Blodg”, originally hails from Maine and moved to Teton Valley, ID in 2008 in search of bigger mountains and deeper snow. Soon after, he began venturing into the backcountry and has been sharing his enthusiasm and passion for snow science and deep powder with friends and clients ever since. He has a Level III Avalanche Certification from the American Avalanche Institute as well as Wilderness First Responder and CPR certifications. Blodg is in constant pursuit of perfect skin tracks and transcendental powder turns. When not in the mountains, you can find him playing banjo on the back porch or plotting his next adventure.
Nick Miller grew up in the midwest where he found his passion for skiing at an early age. Over the years, his passion grew stronger eventually bringing him the Tetons where he now calls home. Nick has been skiing in the Teton backcountry since 2006 and enjoys sharing and exploring his passion for the outdoors with others. In the Summer months, Nick leads a Wildland Fire Helitack Program with the US Forest Service. Nick holds an American Avalanche Association Level II, as well as EMR and CPR certifications.
Peter Stone was raised across the Intermountain West in Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. He has been a lifelong backcountry enthusiast and has worked as a professional outdoor instructor and guide over the past seven years. Peter holds AIARE Level II certification, Wilderness First Responder certification from WMI, and is a Leave No Trace master educator. This is Peter’s first season with Teton Backcountry Guides and he’s looking forward enabling others to experience the magical wonderland of the Tetons in winter.
Teton Backcountry Guides is an insured business operating under a special use permit from the Caribou-Targhee National Forest since 1986 and a Concessionaire’s permit from Grand Teton National Park. References can be provided upon request.
