Jackson Hole Skiing Offers a Huge Variety of Challenges, Thrills and Even Cruisers!

Jackson Hole skiing is legendary among those who "know." Not to sound snooty, but hey, it's true. The Jackson Hole Ski Resort, at Teton Village, is home to the ski area that has the longest continuous vertical rise of any American ski mountain at 4139 feet from base to the top of Rendezvous Peak. Bring your iron legs for skiing the Big One. A nice thing about the area is that although it's a loooooong way down from the summit, the base elevation is only 6311 feet. This is lower than other major Rocky Mountain ski resorts and good news for those folks coming from sea level who are prone to altitude sickness.

The Jackson Hole Ski Resort is located in Teton Village, and the mountains are part of the Teton Range (Rendezvous is the steeper hill and Apres-Vous is the gentler hill). JH Ski Resort is a huge, largely natural mountain with plenty of off-trail crud and powder skiing for those who like it steep, deep and challenging. The resort claims 50% of its runs are expert, 40% are intermediate and 10% beginner. Be aware that some of that expert terrain might be considered "death-defying" or even "death-wishing" to some (such as the notorious Corbet's Couloir, and lots of their intermediate terrain would be black diamond terrain in other ski areas. There are plenty of ego-boosting cruisers too. This mountain is going to please the expert, and as the sign at the old tram's base stated "this mountain is unlike anything you have ever skied"...or something to that effect. That old sign now sits on top of the mountain. So, I guess the warning comes once you're already up there. You can always ride the tram back down. A new tram opens in December of 2008. Although the Big One can seem awesome and terrifying to the novice skier, know that there are also very long and wonderfully wide beginner runs too...and a great ski school. Learn to ski here and you can ski anywhere. Lift ticket prices change at different times of the season and there are three age categories.

Two other ski areas are nearby. Snow King Resort is in the town of Jackson and Grand Targhee is on the western slope of the Tetons...not far for eagles but a bit of a drive over Teton Pass from Jackson Hole. Both skiers and snowboarders are welcome here, as they are at the JH Ski Resort . I am actually embarrassed to admit that I have never skied Snow King, but I intend to remedy that next season so I can report on it. It really looks like fun and it looks steep.

I have skied Grand Targhee and I love it! Grand Targhee Resort offers the best, deepest and fluffiest powder snow in the area. It's base elevation is higher than Teton Village. The area is low-key and has a family feel to it. The view from the summit of Targhee is unreal. You see the western side of the Grand Teton and it's majestic!

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