Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Conditions improve in Jackson Hole

7th February 2011, by Dave Watts

Dave enjoying the fresh powder on Saturday morning

When I landed in Denver on Thursday on a BA flight from Heathrow it was snowing gently and there were a couple of inches of fresh on the ground. But when I arrived in Jackson Hole (less than an hour away by plane) I discovered that, despite huge early season snowfalls, it had not snowed for ten days. And temperatures in the last few days had been as low as –35ºC (a guy I shared a chairlift with on my first ride up said he had not skied for two days of his stay because of the extreme cold).

Thankfully it had warmed up for my first day, but the snow was hard and icy – very unusual for Jackson Hole, which is renowned for its ungroomed powder – and the only runs worth skiing were the groomers. Although Jackson has a reasonable number of enjoyable groomed blue runs, I skied them all in half a day.

But on Friday night and Saturday morning it snowed a few inches. Not a huge amount but enough to transform the hill. We started off skiing two or three inches of fresh powder on runs that had been groomed earlier in the night while waiting for the famous Tram to open. Then it was up to Rendezvous and down the top bowl and runs below there – it was windy but that meant lots of powder had been blown into sheltered areas that were a joy to ski.

I spent the rest of the day exploring Jackson’s tremendous ski-anywhere terrain. It was tricky because mixed with the fresh snow were crusty or icy patches lurking to unbalance you. But it was hugely enjoyable and more like the Jackson I know and love – but to return to its ideal state it needs another foot of so of fresh snow.

I stayed in the eco-friendly hotel Terra in Teton Village at the foot of the hill – a very comfortable place with great rooms, a small and friendly cafe that did great breakfast bagels, and one of the nicest outdoor hot tubs I’ve been in (it’s on the third floor and looks like a small rectangular-shaped infinity swimming pool but is at hot tub temperature and has powerful jets and great views of both the mountain and the famous Mangy Mouse après-ski bar). 

And I had two excellent dinners – one at the top of the Bridger gondola where 4-course gourmet meals are served on Friday and Saturday nights – and one at the Blu-Kitchen, an Asian/Japanese fusion restaurant in Jackson town that includes lots of delicious and unusual plates to share on its menu. And Jackson town was rocking, with the Silver Dollar bar in the Wort Hotel packed with locals dancing to Country music at 7.30pm.

Next stop Breckenridge in Colorado – news from there next week.

Back to all blogs