Jackson Hole, Wyoming is known for some of the best skiing in the country. They are most famously known for Corbet's Couloir, which we checked out and wow, that is an insane trail. We skied here for New Year's, and it wasn't as crowded as I would've expected.
The Skiing
The skiing at Jackson Hole is some of the most difficult I have ever experienced. It was the first time in a long time that I had been afraid of going down terrain.
The mountain is a decent size but primarily advanced terrain. There are 131 trails and 13 lifts. The mountain is 50% expert, 40% intermediate, and 10% beginner, which can prove hard to get those warm-up runs in. I will say that after skiing at Big Sky for four days prior, I would probably have come to Jackson Hole first.
This resort truly tests your limits on ability and can prove to you there is still more to learn.
It is also hard to comprehend how much powder they have! The knee-deep powder can be found everywhere. There are constant free refills, and always somewhere you can get first tracks.
The required reservation for IKON pass holders helped with the lines; they were still present but not excessive. The lifts are a bit on the older side with very few high-speed detachable. Other than some very high-traffic trails, their lift set-up did help with not having an overflow of people in any given area.
The Parking and The Villages
Parking
The parking situation at Jackson Hole is unlike any mountain I have seen. We can start with the positives. I appreciated how the app and website let you know the percentage full of parking. They were transparent with lots being full and asking people to change their parking plans ahead of time through alerts on their phones through the app.
The negatives were that all parking close to the mountain was paid for. The only free parking was many miles away, which for us, who rented an Airbnb on the access road, was actually in the opposite direction of the mountain. Taking the shuttle wouldn't have seemed like a big deal. However, the bus runs on the main road, which is plagued by heavy traffic, resulting in a line hundreds of cars long. This makes getting to and from the mountain to have free parking seem unbearable.
It wasn't worth it for us, and we ended up paying for parking.
The Village
The village was nice, but nothing to write home about. The main lodge for food was mid-mountain. It is crowded for food at the mountain. Around the base area, there are shops but nothing we went into. For most of what you want or need, you will have to drive into the town of Jackson.
They have ice skating and some snow sculptures.
Activities
The only activity we attended was their New Year's party. It was amazing. The kid's show was super family-friendly, and all the kids got glow sticks to ski with. The instructor torchlight was one of the largest I have seen, with hundreds of coaches participating. But their fireworks!! Jackson Hole put on the best firework show I have seen; they were bigger and better than any mountain around. They allowed you to be pretty much under them.
For activities, the resort has an events calendar of all upcoming events.
Lodging
There aren't many places to stay at the resort besides some hotels. Most of the lodging options are on the access road. We found an Airbnb on the access road that was reasonably priced and had everything we needed. When looking for places to stay, we had a few things to consider to help with our budget. A place with a full kitchen so we could make our own food to keep costs down, and a place with a washer/ dryer to do laundry on this 10-day trip we were taking. There are some gems out there, you just need to book in advance.
Overall Experience
The overall experience was incredible. I would have needed to be in better shape to enjoy all the mountain truly has to offer. It is not for the weak. If you go, be sure to check out the peak.
Check out Jackson Hole: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
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