Well what can be said about Jackson Hole? It is not only one of the most extreme resorts in America, but in the world in general. The locals would laugh in your face if you said Chamonix was extreme. You would get a reply something along the lines of "You ain't seen shit buddy" from some dude in a cowboy hat that looks straight out of a western. Like many of the ski resorts in the mid US, Jackson Hole is not a purpose built resort, but a traditional American town that hasn't really changed much since the days of Billy the Kid.

The natural terrain of the resort is what makes it special, and up until recently many of the lift systems were very dated. However the resort is now under new management and 9 new lifts have been installed as part of an overhaul to make Jackson Hole one of Americas super-resorts. This could be a good or a bad thing. On the upside it means better kept pistes and faster access to more terrain, but on the downside there is a chance that the natural feel of the mountain will be ruined to some extent. After all, the rich tourists can f**k off to Aspen if they want freshly groomed pistes - Jackson Hole is about one thing, powder, and shit loads of it! Jackson Hole seems to be one of those places that simply gets pounded with snow every week. In the heart of winter it does get very cold so you will need well insulated layers. Like all American resorts, much of the terrain is classed as "out-of-bounds", meaning if you get caught riding it you risk having your liftpass taken away and get chucked off the mountain. To us Europeans this seems pretty harsh, but hey this is America and that's what they're like. However, Jackson Hole has some amazing terrain "in-bounds". Very much a freeride resort, there are loads of cliffs, chutes, and couloirs all over the place.

The famous Corbet's couloir (pictured above) is where you'll usually find a bunch of "extreme skiers" who come here to test their skills against the beast. There is a drop-off of about 25ft into the couloir (depending on snow conditions) for those who fancy it. Once in, the couloir is very steep but is not particularly tight. Those of you who have seen "Daytripper" may have seen it. It is accessed by the Tram lift, which also provides access to most of the other expert level runs. The mountains at Jackson Hole have a very European feel to them due to the steepness. The resort will challenge the worlds best freeriders.

Although very freeride orientated, Jackson Hole do provide a park and pipe. The park lies on the area know as "The Track". The conditions of the pipe and park are variable, and to be honest you'd be wasting your time if you came here to ride the park when there's so much good natural terrain. The area called "Gros Ventre" is where most freestylers head. This is a face with gullies winding their way down, allowing for plenty of hits in and out of them, Le Tour style!
Jackson Hole often gets choked out with snow and fog. When this happens the notion of better safe than sorry comes to play, cos this ain't the type of place you wanna get lost. There are some tree covered runs in the Moran woods so if the weather's bad this is a good place to ride.

Nightlife in Jackson village is pretty poor. Like I said it's an old style town so don't clubs and bitches on heat. Besides, you'll want an early night so you can be on the mountain first thing in the morning.

Travel - Jackson Hole actually has it's own airport, but flights directly into the resort are pretty expensive as you can imagine. The closest airport is Idaho Falls, about 2 hours away by car. Shuttle buses run to and from the resort.



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