THINGS TO DO IN WINTER Hit the Slopes

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With an average annual snowfall ranging from 450 inches to more than 500, skiing in and around Jackson Hole is world-class.

Snow King Mountain Resort, known as the “Town Hill,” boasts one of the steepest sustained pitches, top-to-bottom, of any area in the lower 48 states. A favorite lunchtime destination for locals, it hosts many national ski teams during the early season and local, state and regional alpine races throughout the winter. The King also offers night skiing under the lights until 7 p.m.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was named the No. 1 Ski Resort in North America by Forbes magazine eight years in a row when the magazine used to publish that list. Considered the closest to a European ski experience within the U.S., JHMR provides acres of expert terrain and out-of-bound skiing, plus the longest continuous vertical drop of any ski area in the country: 4,139 feet.

Grand Targhee Resort is located on the typically snowier west side of the Tetons in Alta, Wyoming, and is known for the most powder days of any ski area in the country. With a vertical drop of 2,270 feet, it offers a mellower atmosphere with excellent skiing for all abilities.

History Of Skiing In Jackson Hole

1925: Early valley skiers transition from using a single pole, placed between the legs to slow down, to using two poles and making turns.

1930s: Local skiers install rope tows on various mountains around Jackson Hole. Olympic ski team member Betty Woolsey arrives in the valley to train. Paul and Curly Petzoldt and Fred Brown ski the first-known descent of Rendezvous Mountain, the future home of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

1939: Snow King opens, becoming Wyoming’s first ski area.

1946: Neil Rafferty installs the first chairlift in Wyoming on Snow King, driven by the wheels of an Army pickup truck.

1964: A Californian named Paul McCollister purchases 166 acres at the base of Rendezvous Mountain and forms the Jackson Hole Ski Corporation, the precursor to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

1965: Jackson Hole Ski Corporation opens Après Vous Mountain to the public.

1966: The Jackson Hole Aerial Tram starts taking skiers to the top of Rendezvous, solidifying Jackson Hole as an international ski destination.