Jackson Hole's Full Plate Of Activities Satisfies All Summer Appetites
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of America's largest ski and snowboard mountains, puts on its summer face with an equally plentiful selection of things-to-do around the tall, steep and wide terrain of the Wyoming resort.
Jackson's bike park lays out logically out of Teton Village. Two lifts -- the Sweetwater gondola and the Teewinot high-speed quad that spin 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sept. 7 -- are retrofitted to haul mountain bikes up the hill. The gondola takes about seven minutes, while the chairlift covers the lower half with a three-minute ride.
All five of the green-rated trails run off the chairlift with 400 feet of modest vertical drop. Longest is Lucky Charm that sways to and fro for a mile to biker's right. A couple of twisty blue runs Bronco and Saratoga stick closer to the fall-line.
The gondola adds another 800 vertical feet to the park, dropping off at the 7,576-foot-high terminal. From there, advanced riders can sate their appetite for gnarl. Both Deepest Darkest and Dirty Harry challenge cross-contour to biker's right, while Deer Jump -- divided into black, double-black and professional categories -- find the steepest terrain on the other side.
On Jackson's high ground, skiers and riders are familiar with some of America's top cliff-ey terrain. This same topography dials up a via ferrata and guided rock-climbing tours.
Climbing tours can be had for morning, afternoon or full-day time slots. Single-pitch pitches center around the infamous Corbet's Couloir, just down from the top of the tramway. Max group size is three.
The fixed-cable via ferrata features some 17 routes to click into off the top of the Bridger Gondola in Casper Bowl. A practice climb precedes half- and full-day ascents ranging from introductory to most difficult along 500-foot vertical cliff.
For more thrills, Jackson offers paragliding off the top of Bridger Gondola. Tandem flights take off in the mornings, and last about 10 minutes, through Oct. 5.
The famed Aerial Tramway makes its first run up to the 10,450-foot summit of Rendezvous Mountain at 9 a.m. daily. From this above-treeline start, hikers and trail runners get a smorgasbord of choices either around Rendezvous and Cody bowls to hiker's right, or head down Tensleep Bowl or the Cirque to top of Bridger Gondola for a snack at Rendezvous Lodge.
Other things to do around activity-based Jackson Hole includes a scavenger hunt that covers the mountain top to bottom. Around base you'll find climbing wall, bungee, disc golf, ropes course, Grand Adventure Camp, biking camps ... and even more.
