Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is massive. It boasts 2,500 acres of in-bound terrain, thirteen lifts, and a jaw dropping 4,139-foot vertical drop. And we haven’t even mentioned all of the easily accessible side country and backcountry terrain yet. Whatever you do, don’t get psyched out by the shear size and scope of this behemoth of a mountain. Relax, take a deep breath of that fresh mountain air, and visualize your game plan of how you are going to ski or ride this wondrous mountain. And don’t worry this game plan is just a tentative outline, a sketch before you lay ski edge to snow and leave your mark. Feel free to improvise and adjust based on conditions and other factors. At a minimum this should get you thinking about how to start and where to begin your powder assault. So do your best Lewis and Clark impersonation and start exploring and mapping out the mountain for a perfect day at Jackson Hole.
The Classic
The traditional, classic, and local’s preferred choice to start the day and get up the mountain is to hop in line and wait for that giant red box, the Aerial Tram, to quickly and efficiently whisk you to the top of the mountain. It’s a direct flight, no layovers, no connections and when you get off at what seems like the top of the world you can access just about anywhere on the mountain. For many the tram is the only lift on the mountain and they ride it up and race it down all day and all season. It gets you to the goods and the pow as quickly as possible; the only way faster would be time travel. It’s the classic route up at Jackson. If it were a breakfast it would be two eggs, hash browns, and bacon. It’s the recognized standard and it’s got everything you need. After you get off up top you can descend the bowl and ride over 4,000 plus vert back to the bottom or stay up high on the mountain, where typically the most snow falls by lapping Sublette or Thunder. Just keep in mind that the tram is the star of this snow show and typically you just don’t walk right up and onto it especially on the big pow days. It’s normal to wait a few boxes before you get to ride up with 99 of your closest friends, but you can’t beat an under ten minute ride to the top of the mountain. How long it takes you to ski down is another story.
Plan G (Gondola)
The tram line can snake on forever some days and some times you’d prefer to be moving and skiing your way around the mountain rather than standing around. If you opt out of jumping in the tram line to start your day it will take you longer to make your way to the top of the mountain (if that is your goal), but you can still get pretty much everywhere the tram goes except for Rendezvous Bowl. The Bridger Gondola isn’t a bad way to travel either, as you get to sit down and rest your legs and you might just get a window seat. The gondola sits 8 and the line usually moves pretty quickly. You can access a lot of terrain from the gondola or use it as an access point to begin your way up to the higher lifts. The good news is wherever you go you’ll be skiing and on the mountain, while some may still be waiting for their first ride. Getting off the gondola is literally your crossroads as you can head skier’s left towards Casper, Sweetwater, or Après Vous, or head skier’s right towards Thunder. The other option is to lap the cruiser runs under the gondola or go off into the trees and look for powder. A little secret is that with most people trying to get up to the upper mountain the powder stashes on the lower mountain seem to hold up longer. The gondola may not take you to top of the mountain, but if you do some exploring off trail you’ll be sure to find some powder that the tram riders are going to miss. With plenty of blues and black diamonds accessible from the gondola this can be a great way to start your day.
Thinking Outside the (Tram) Box
Most people at the Village are programmed to head to the tram or gondola, so let them and let them get out of your way. Another solid and underrated choice to get onto the mountain is to take Teewinot, the beginner chair, and use it like a mass transit bus line over to Après Vous. While most people are clamoring to get up high to the powder others may just want to cruise. The terrain over at Après Vous is a corduroy cruiser’s paradise, it’s also the most efficient and quickest lift on the mountain, so you can really make laps and add up your vert. Most who find themselves at AV are looking to stay on the groomers, so use this to your advantage and explore off trail and into the trees for you powder fix. Saratoga Bowl is an area of black diamond runs only accessible from AV that can be a powder hound’s playground. Après Vous has a lot to offer and a lot of varied blues and black diamonds that often get overlooked, so sometimes it pays to mix it up and start you day off the beaten path.
Whatever your game plan you’re sure to have a great day at Jackson Hole.
