Jackson Hole, Wyo. has always held a special place in my heart. It first started when my family vacationed there when I was about 14, continued with annual guys’ trips during my 20s and eventually led to me living there for a couple seasons. Though I’m lucky enough to travel all over the world to ski and currently call Aspen my home, nothing will ever compare—for me anyway—to Jackson Hole.
Luckily, I was able to sneak away from the office last week for a seven-day vacation in J-hole and the timing couldn’t have been better. Here are some of the highlights:
Deep Snow in Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has been receiving an incredible amount of snow this year. In fact, they reported hitting the 400-inch mark for the season during my visit, which meant face shots for us during each of the six days we skied last week.
No Friends on a Powder Day in Jackson Hole
Enjoying incredible snow is one thing, but sharing it with great friends brings it to a new level. I was fortunate enough to spend quality time skiing pow with some of my dearest friends and my brother, who was also visiting for the week.
S&S Couloir
I’ve checked Corbet’s Couloir off my bucket list a number of times, most recently while on this trip, but this is the first time I’ve been able to stand next to someone as they send it into S&S Couloir, Corbet’s bigger, narrower, gnarlier cousin located on the same cliff band.
Jackson Hole Sidecountry Access
While Jackson Hole boasts 2,500 acres of big terrain, there’s another 3,000 acres of sidecountry terrain available to those with the proper backcountry training and equipment. There are gates located throughout the resort, but many skiers and riders take advantage of Jackson’s iconic aerial tram, which takes 100 passengers 4,139 feet to the resort’s 10,449-foot summit. During last week’s only sunny day, we found fresh tracks by going through the south gate at the top of Rendezvous Bowl and hiking and skiing Cody Peak to No Name to Pinedale and back to the base of the resort.
Teton Village
When visiting Jackson Hole, travelers have the option of staying in Teton Village, located at the base of the resort, or in the town of Jackson, located 12 miles away. The latter offers more shopping, dining and options, but Teton Village is where I lived and where I like to stay when I visit. I moved around the Village a bit on this trip, starting with a great condo in the Sleeping Indian complex, located at the base of the Moose Creek Chairlift. Guests of these condos are able to walk or take a shuttle to the base of the tram or they can simply take the Moose Creek chair to the Union Pass chair and ski down to the base. Next I moved to a hotel room at Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa, home of the new, hip Spur restaurant. This condominium hotel also offers a rooftop hot tub and is centrally located about one hundred yards from the tram. Finally, I spent my last couple nights at the Snake River Lodge and Spa, located in between the tram and gondola. My favorite thing about this property, in addition to its prime location, is its pool and spa area. The highlight is the outdoor, grotto-style hot tub, which I used as much as possible during my stay.
At the end of my week-long stay, I packed up the car, said farewell to my friends and put the resort in my rearview mirror, which is especially hard to handle considering they were reporting 17” of new snow.
If you’re interested in booking a memorable trip to Jackson Hole, Wyo., give us a ring. Our Specialists can help you decide between staying in the town of Jackson or in Teton Village and then arrange everything you need, including lodging, lift tickets, equipment rental, flights, transfers and more. They can even arrange a day of heli-skiing for you in the magnificent Tetons.
If you’ve never been to Jackson, be sure to put it at the top of your list. And if you’ve been there before, there are countless reasons to return again and again.
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