Jackson Hole, Wyoming 2002

 

What we did and what we recommend you do when you visit Jackson Hole in the winter.

 

Ski Mountain Facts  - 4,139ft Vertical Drop, tons of tree skiing, lots of expert terrain.  The Best Mountain I have been to yet.  They have double blues here that would be blacks anywhere else, this gives you an idea of what the blacks are like and watch out for the double blacks.  Serious Mountain for serious skiers, beginners need not apply!  The layout of the mountain is superb, it is well marked and an extensive lift system makes it easy to move around the mountain.  The one thing that is lacking is a good mountain lunch spot.  They were really crowded so plan on eating at off peak times or not at all to avoid the crowds.  The snow was great, 2ft of fresh fluffy powder one day. 

 

Restaurants – The restaurant selection at the base of Jackson hole is limited.  There are a few high priced joints here however.  The lunch buffet at our hotel, Snake River Lodge, was awesome and worth the $24 pp.  You can ski right to the hotel, making access easy, and you can leave your ski gear with their ski valet.  They’ll even dry your gloves etc. while you eat.  As for dinner, we never tried any of the base lodge restaurants.  We traveled into the town of Jackson, about a 10-minute drive, where the selection was overwhelming. The Thai restaurant, Thai me up, is excellent and reasonably priced!  Try the curries here, they rock!  Off Broadway was a bit more dressy and expensive but we had a good meal.  Tip, stay away from the elk steaks in Jackson, all of the elk is imported and not that good.  Go with good old American Beef instead. 

 

Lodging – Bottom line, stay at the Snake River Lodge!  Don’t get me wrong this place is expensive.  But even at full price it would be well worth it.  We where able to get a room for less than 50% off.  A few tips, watch their website for package deals.  Call their reservations and ask for an obstructed view room.  They usually offer these for tons off and the view is still ok.  We were fortunate, or unfortunate depending on how you look at it, to have noisy people next to our obstructed room.  So they moved us to an upgraded room for the rest of our stay.  Yee Haw!!!!  The place looks like a really large log cabin, they have black bears carved into the wood everywhere.  They treat you like royalty during your stay.  They have a brand new spa area with indoor/outdoor heated pool and Jacuzzis.  The Jacuzzis have waterfalls!  Class Act all around, none better.

 

Best Ski Trails – If you get fresh powder while your there, then head for the trees first thing.  The best powder skiing on the mountain is Moran woods and Moran face accessible from Bridger gondola.  For a crazy, sick, black run try Corbet’s to Cirque at the top of the tram.    Saratoga bowl is also a nice place to get out of the wind.  If it is a blue bird day then head for the rendezvous and Cheyenne bowl.  They can get really windy but when the sun is shining that’s the place to ski.  Have fun!  Bump till you dump!

 

Shopping – Besides the tourist souvenir shops, the real shopping is in the Town of Jackson.  Most of the shops are artistic in nature, art galleries, sculptures, Indian wares, and woodworking.  Lots of neat shops to visit all in central Jackson.  The town is straight out of the Wild West movies; from the storefronts to the raised wooden sidewalks and saloons you’re transported back in time.

 

Other cool stuff to do and places to visit - If you have the time, about 2hrs, do the Elk refuge sleigh ride.  Over 7000 Elk herd here for the winter!  It is on the way to the airport so it makes a good last day adventure.  You’re sure to see some Male Elk fighting and maybe even a coyote or some buffalo!  If you have even more time try the snow mobile tours or the cross-country skiing, we heard they were both awesome. 

 

Have Fun!

 

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Last updated: March 3, 2002