The ski area partially covers Rendezvous and Apres Vous Mountains. Known for its challenging terrain, half of the runs are rated expert, 40% intermediate, and only 10% beginner. The intermediate terrain is primarily on south-facing Apres Vous Mountain, while Rendezvous Mountain has Jackson Hole's more advanced terrain that includes bowls, glades, and chutes, and over 4,100 vertical feet of skiing, the greatest continuous rise in the U.S.. The slopes on Rendezvous primarily face southeast. In addition to the skiable terrain in-bounds, there is an even larger area to be explored off-piste. These areas are accessed through marked gates by expert skiers/boarders who are equipped with avalanchesafety gear. Jackson Hole's original aerial tram was closed to the public in the fall of 2006 and replaced with a new tram that opened in 2008. The tram's vertical rise is to an elevation of above sea level. Construction on the new, 100-passenger Doppelmayr CTEC tram began the day after the Resort closed for the 2006-2007 ski season. service began on December 20, 2008. During the two seasons without a tram, a temporary double chairlift named East Ridge was built to service the runs at the top of Rendezvous Mountain. This lift was subsequently moved and renamed the Marmot Chair, which provides access from the base of the Thunder Lift to the Bridger Gondola summit. Other lifts include 2 eight passenger Gondola's Bridger and Sweetwater.gondola, four high speeddetachable quad chairlifts, and eight fixed grip chairlifts. Recent additions include the Marmot Double Chair in 2011 built by Doppelmayr CTEC, the Casper Detachable Quad in 2012 built by Leitner-Poma, and the Teton Detachable Quad in 2015 built by Doppelmayr. In the summer, the resort offers numerous activities such as mountain biking, hiking, paragliding, bungee tramopoline, ropes cource, rock climbing, and the Via forata in Casper bowl at the top of the Bridger gondola. The resort and region is served by the Jackson Hole Airport, 11 miles north east of Teton Village
History
Before 1961, the area of the future resort was the Crystal SpringsGirl Scout Ranch. Paul McCollister purchased the ranch and formed the Jackson Hole Ski Corporation in 1963 with partners Alex Morley and Gordon Graham. Construction began a year later, and Apres Vous mountain opened to the public in 1964 with 3 double chairlifts. Eagles rest, Teewinott, and Apres vous. The original tram on Rendezvous opened on July 31, 1966; carrying 52 people and 1 conductor. and took 10½ minutes to reach the summit of Rendzous Mountain at 10,450 ft. The resort officially opened to the skiing public in December of 1966. and reigning Olympic gold medalistJosef "Pepi" Stiegler of Austria was hired that same year as ski school director. In 1992, McCollister sold his interests in the resort to John Kemmerer III. from there, the Kemmerer Family made multiple new changes to the resort, including new lifts, hotels, and new ski runs. Jackson Hole hosted World Cup ski races in the inaugural 1967 season, and again in 1970 and 1975. The most recent races in 1975 were downhills, won by Franz Klammer and Marie-Theres Nadig. The first national Powder 8 Championship was held at Jackson Hole in 1970.
Avalanches
Jackson Hole was the site of two in-bounds avalanches in late 2008, first on December 27 and another two days later on December 29. The first avalanche resulted in the death of skier David Nodine, one of three in-bound deaths in the American West in the 2008-09 ski season, the most since three skiers were killed at Alpine Meadows in 1976. The second avalanche occurred in the Headwall area and buried part of the Bridger Restaurant but resulted in no injuries. An in-bounds avalanche swept a longtime member of the ski patrol, Mark Wolling, off a cliff on January 6, 2010. Although he was rescued, he later died from his injuries. A double-black-diamond run in Cheyenne Bowl was named after Big Wally. It is marked on the trail map as Wally World. A set of flags lying on the run's fall line indicates where he was found.
