JACKSON, WY – Mighty, venerable Jackson Hole celebrated its 60th anniversary last weekend with a blowout party that would have impressed even Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Tree lightings, DJs, costume contests, and holiday good cheer had the hundreds of weekend patrons absolutely stoked to the nth degree. All the joy and camaraderie of our sport was on full display for all the world to see in the Tetons.
All they needed was snow, but that was in short supply in December.
Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana? All were green and brown as we approached the Christmas holiday. In fact, the entire western USA had been flat out screaming to Ullr for something…anything cold and white. The east coast was, for once, laughing at the rest of the country.
They were killing it in Burlington and Bangor, but they were golfing in Boise, Billings, and Breck.
Luckily, Ullr showed up in Wyoming…finally…and when he did, he crashed the scene in the biggest way. It was almost as if he woke up, stretched his arms, yawned, scratched his butt, and then said, “Party at Jax?! You need me, and here I come! Just let me sit my frozen rump down on the Tetons and fart you up a blizzard.”
And what a storm it was! A fog blew in with like steam from Harry Potter’s cauldron, and then for two glorious days, flakes the size of ping pong balls whipped through the air in ever increasing eddies while spindrifts whirled in the howling wind, turning the mountain’s summit into the inside of a milk bottle.
You couldn’t see the lodge when the Tram doors opened. That’s how loudly Ullr roared.
“This is incredible!!” screamed one skier into the teeth of the maelstrom, but down she still went, cheering all the way, along with Tramfull after Tramfull of overjoyed pow hounds. All in all, it was feet – plural – of snow, and Jackson didn’t mind it one bit. On Wednesday there were 30 trails open out of 130. The next day that figure was 120.
That’s how to celebrate an anniversary – both with style and in style.
Jackson Hole’s importance in American snowsports cannot be overstated. It unquestionably belongs in the Pantheon of Greatest Ski Resorts on the Planet. Full stop. Though the mountain was founded in 1962, skiers have been shredding the Tetons since the 1930s. The mountain’s history and the history of skiing in the American west fit hand in glove.
The mountain’s formative years are a story that would take up whole volumes, the characters are so colorful and quintessential, but ever better than an illustrious history is their radiant future. Jackson Hole exceeds expectations in every category: snow coverage, lifts, overall mountain plan, and most importantly for this column, GNAR!
Oh, there’s gnar. There’s all the gnar you could wish for. There’s gnar to make you scream for your Mommy, and not just at Corbet’s Couloir. Jackson Hole is on the short list for most difficult resorts on Earth, let alone the USA. Jackson is ground zero for both double black and extreme terrain. Why else would Teton Gravity Research be based there?
“It’s not just Corbet’s, Jay. It’s runs like Tower 3 or the Alta Chutes, and you haven’t skied Jax unless you’ve tried Meet Your Maker, explains Eric Henderson, Jackson Hole’s briliiant public relations maven. “One of Jackson’s biggest claims to fame is the Jackson Hole Air Force, our regulars who excel at finding the biggest drops and steepest lines of all at the resort.”
It was back in the 1980’s when a shredder named Bennie Bang Wilson and his pals started the Air Force and it grew into more than just an underground culture; it became the soul of the gnar of the resort.
“As you progress as a skier that JHMR, if you get recognized by the founding members as a shredder, you get a badge, and a pin, a nd a patch that shows you were inducted,” Henderson finished proudly.
Moreover, the Resort dots every “I” and crosses every “T” when it comes to service, amenities, infrastructure, and overall mountain plan. Although the Kennemer family sold the a mere two years ago, their dedication to the growth of JHMR catapulted the resort into the highest echelon of winter sports venues. Under Jay Kennemer’s leadership Jackson Hole:
- Made over $300 million in capital improvements, including replacing or building new every lift at JHMR; including the final lift, the Sublette, to be replaced in 2024
- Constructed a new $31 million Aerial Tram in 2008 during the teeth of the worst financial crisis America had endured for almost 100 years;
- Built the Bridger Gondola and the Bridger Center in the winter of 1997-98;
- Helped with the creation of the Teton Village Master Plan, which was approved in the same winter;
- Encouraged the establishment of Jackson Hole Air to support direct flights to Jackson, currently serviced from 13 destinations, including New York City;
- Built Sweetwater Gondola in 2017 to service Solitude Station, built in 2018/2019;
- Consistently invested in employee housing throughout Teton County; and
- In 2019, switched to 100% green energy, making it the largest resort in North America to run on green power.
That’s a whooooooooole lotta progress from that humble 1960 beginning when Barry Corbet accompanied Paul McCollister on the first decent from the summit of Rendezvous Mountain, looked into what is now named after him and said, “Someday, someone will ski that — it will be a run.”
He was so right, they made a movie about it. You can watch and even purchase the doc film, “Someday Somebody Will Ski That.”
Beyond driving the successful evolution of JHMR, the Kemmerer family has a long history of steadfast support in the local Jackson community and the state of Wyoming at large. From their purchase of the resort in 1992 to the 2024 sale of JHMR to Eric Macy, Mike Corbat, their families and a small, select group of co-investors, they have 1) maintained the resort’s status as an independent, family-owned resort; 2) shepherded the resort through dynamic growth and an international reputation, and 3) kept the wild, extreme, stoke-filled vibe of the place fired to the ultimate. Under their stewardship, the resort rightfully ascended its place as legendary.
Jean Claude Killy, after winning the finale of the 1967 international professional ski season, was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying, “If there is a better ski mountain in United States, I haven’t skied it.” Oh, if he could only see it now!
Best of all, the VIBE (yes, all caps), remains as wild and camaraderous as ever. The mountain’s culture is still intact. You fell the Jackson love from everyone – fellow skiers, lifties, patrollers – dammit, it’s everywhere and everyone, and it’s infectious.
“The vibe at Jackson Hole is unlike anything else anywhere,” said Hall of Fame extreme skier Dan Egan. “There is a culture there that’s beyond anything anywhere else in the U.S.”
Going forward, it’s a busy year for Jax. January and February will see the mountain host freeride competitions, the former for juniors, the latter for adults. The resort’s first ever Restaurant Week is also scheduled for next week. And of course, the world famous Kings and Queens of Corbet’s competition will be February 7-14, where the best skiing and snowboarding acrobats will huck it off cliffs that would freeze the rest of us mere mortals into fits of terror.
Other events include costume parties and several retro days. The mountain will close for the season on April 12.
Jax is rightfully proud. The high all the high notes when it comes to a winter sports destination. Everything is close and self-contained. Moving around the resort is simple. Lodging options are terrific – I even had a jacuzzi in my bathroom. Yes, a trip to Jackson Hole is expensive, but it’s worth it; you get the nice for the price…the particularly nice, in fact. The highest echelon of gnar, history, lore, amenities, and party scene.
Gnar, history, lore, amenities and party? That’s the stoke in a nutshell.
But perhaps a paraphrase of famous climber Tom Frost’s sentiments is the more apropos and poignant: “Once or twice in our lives we are treated to a view of the mountains of Heaven Itself.”
That’s the Teton’s – the mountains of Heaven Itself. So that makes Jackson Hole the resort of the gods. It sure skis and feels like it, that’s for certain.
ODDS AND ENDS
While Barry Corbet was not the first person to ski the couloir, he is credited with its name. Ski Patrolman Lonnie Ball is credited with the first plunge into Corbet’s Couloir after he was left dangling when a cornice broke off at the top. Barry did ski his namesake, from the top, a year or two later.
The Kennemers have more than 100-year ties to the state of Wyoming.
In 2006, after 40 years of service, the original aerial tram was shut down to build a newer, bigger and faster version. That same year a new $10 million on-mountain facility opened at the top of the gondola, complete with Headwall Deli and Rendezvous Restaurant. On December 20, 2008, the new Aerial Tram opened. The $32 million dollar lift carries 100 passengers 4,139 vertical feet in 9 minutes, boasting the longest continual vertical rise of any lift in the U.S.
