Jackson Hole

The track of my skiing at Jackson Hole is shown here.

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Part of Voyage to Revelstoke in 2023

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Let Jackson Hole be a reminder to find out about automobile parking. I left my hotel about 8:20 and arrived at the base of the ski area about 10:20. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper from the turn out of Jackson west onto Teton Pass Hwy until the turn north on Hwy390. Right after making the turn north, I notice and large LED sign with an arrow pointing left and a message something to the effect of, "Paid parking only in the Village or Carpool". Making a quick decision, I turned left and parked at what I later learned is the Stilson Parking Lot. There were only a couple dozen cars where I pulled in. I asked a guy pulling ski gear together if this was the place to catch a shuttle to the ski area. He thought so. I parked and was approached by another guy who offered to take us both to the Ranch parking lot in the Village (base of ski area). We'd get a free ride and the guy would get to park his car for free - mutually benefit. It was still bumper-to-bumper from the Stilson lot to the Ranch parking lot, but I got to meet to young folks. Two worked in Jackson. One at a hydroponic facility growing micro greens for restaurants - interesting. One had quite his job in December before an anticipated layoff and was just skiing everywhere.

As I walked from the Ranch parking lot to the base, I realized I'd remembered everything important except my goggles in my haste. Well, I didn't relish the prospect of paying big bucks for goggles or sunglasses. It occurred to me that maybe the lost-and-found would have some. I went into the visitor information center and ticket office and said I'd forgotten my goggles. She pointed at a drawer across the room. The drawer was full of lenses without the frames, but there were two goggles with frames - kids goggles. I made one of them fit. It felt like I was looking through a diving mask at times. I returned the goggles at the end of the day very happy that my credit card hadn't been abused.

The line at the Aerial Tram was 40 minutes. I took the Casper gondola up instead spending most of the morning exploring the runs on the north end of the ski area. The snow was mostly broken powder from the 14 inches of snow that had fallen yesterday unless the run had been groomed. If my knees were so sore, I'd have enjoyed it much more. Someone on a chair suggested the Tram line would be shorter at lunch. At 12:00 it was still 40 minutes, but my knees were aching for a break so I queued up. I've decided I definitely do not like confined spaces while packed in like candles in a box with 100 other people (candles). It was a nice day to be on the top of the mountain. The wind was blowing a bit, but the views spectacular. And, the snow skiing down was soft broken piles of powder. I spent the next couple of hours on the upper portion of the mountain pushing through the discomfort of my knees and waning leg strength.

Jackson Hole is a spectacular mountain with challenging and varied runs. Inbounds there isn't much in the way of tree skiing and the lift lines can be long. I'm glad to have skied it on a day with great snow and pleasant weather.

After asking a number of people, I found the bus back to the Stilson parking lot. This is when I discovered that where I'd parked my car was a long way from where the bus pickup and dropoff point is. My weak legs combined with the long walk almost resulting in me calling 911 for a rescue in the parking lot!