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Just Jackson
Well, why is that? Why is it that every time you are at a party and the topic of skiing comes up (and admit it, when is the last time it didn't come up at any Boulder soiree?), an ex-Jacksonite couldn't be seen excitedly waving a microbrew in one hand while slightly slurring, "Dude! Dude! No, Dude! You just don't understand." Here is why: Jackson has enough terrain that you could ski for a lifetime and not repeat a turn. It has steeps that make your mortality evident; views of the Tetons that moisten the driest eyes; a tram that scoots up 4,000 vertical in 12 minutes, while playing the Grateful Dead; a new open-gate backcountry policy that skiers regard as the best thing since the demolition of the Berlin Wall; air so clear and clean it will likely be bottled and retailed soon; and runs down the infinite Hobacks that require you to stop a half dozen times to catch your breath, while screaming "Epic! Epic!" at your ski buddies. One of the best ways to live the life described above is through Jackson's Wild West Adrenaline Camps. Among the offerings are a Women's Ski Camp, a Telemark Steep and Deep Camp, the Freeride Snowboard Camp and a Backcountry Camp. Pro instructors who know the mountain's 2,500 acres inside and out staff all the camps. The programs run all winter (check www.jacksonhole.com, or call 888-DEEP-SNO to find dates that work for you) and are an excellent deal at $795, including tuition, lift tickets, lunches, evening parties and guest speakers. If you have a teenage ripper in your family, check out the resort's Team Extreme program, open to advanced skiers aged 12-17. This four-day clinic gives aspiring big-mountain freeriders the skills they need to tear up the hill safely. Team Extreme covers everything from the basics of layering and hydration to snow pits and transceivers, to advanced topics such as self-arrest and route finding. The session ends with an out-of-bounds tour with a guide. Heady stuff for those more accustomed to vicarious X-Box thrills. The drive to the northwest corner of Wyoming takes about seven hours, about the same as a journey down to Telluride in the southwest of our state. And as a bonus, not one inch of it is on I-70. Some of the biggest dumps from the annual 430-inch snowfall come late in the season, and the base will be the deepest of the year. Odds are that a call to a faithful ski buddy and the uttering of one word will set a spring road trip in motion. "Jackson." The new standard for lodging in Jackson Hole is the elegant slope-side Four Seasons Resort, immediately adjacent to the Bridger Gondola. The rooms offer either a mountain or pastoral view and feature fireplaces, high-speed Internet, marble baths and twice-daily housekeeping services. The Four Seasons also features an in-house ski concierge that provides equipment rental, fittings and ski tunes and can arrange any on-mountain activity. There is also an 11,000-square-foot spa that offers more than a dozen types of massages. Dining options include the award-winning Westbank Grill and two other restaurants. For more information, visit www.fourseasons.com, or call 307-732-5000. Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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Jackson." It's always just "Jackson." Serious skiers and
former Jackson locals (ex-locals who populate Boulder in large numbers, perhaps
regarding it as a halfway house to urban reality), never bother to refer to it
as Jackson Hole, or more specifically Jackson Hole, Wyo. It's like asking a New
Yorker what city they are referring to when they mention "the city." The
implication being that if you need to ask, your skis are probably sitting in
the corner, unused, unwaxed and with slightly rusted edges. The further
implication being that until those sad boards have been pointed downhill at
"Jackson"... well, you aren't that much of a skier, are you?
