It’s not atypical for town ski hills to constantly walk the line between viable operation and potential shutdown. Just ask any old ski industry veteran what it takes to run a successful ski area and they’ll likely tell you an old joke: “How do you become a millionaire in the ski industry? Start as a billionaire…”
Such is the conundrum for local ski hills like Jackson Hole’s Snow King Mountain. The money isn’t nearly as close at hand as their big name competition, the snow isn’t as deep, and the terrain not as rad. But that doesn’t mean Snow King doesn’t deserve a world-class gondola to replace its old Summit Lift.
As the town continues to swell and the tram line at JHMR gets longer, The Town of Jackson should capitalize on this backyard gem and allow resort officials to place the gondola’s base pad in the town owned, Phil Baux Park. By doing so Snow King would open up its underrated terrain to a much larger demographic.
[protected-iframe id=”66fa3dae5cdd7459305faf3899a876aa-65244901-84409940″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSnowKingMountainUnofficialSnowReport%2Fposts%2F1897295100294517&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”578″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
Right now Snow King’s list of improvements is long and perhaps most of the asks shouldn’t be answered (*zipline, planetarium, etc). But one thing is for sure– an $8 million gondola that goes from Phil Baux park to the summit of ‘The King’ would be a boon for The Town of Jackson. Barring any unforeseen environmental risk, they should fast track this project and make Snow King an actual second tier option for skiing and riding in Teton County.
As of now, no county or town dollars would be utilized in the following improvement and all that’s required is the town signing off on the plans with some legal language that holds the ski hill responsible for future issues related to land-use in Phil Baux park.
According to the JH News and Guide, the Town of Jackson will be reviewing the proposed improvements this month and we urge all our Jackson folks to write in and let these officials know they support a new gondola for ‘The King’ (*not a zipline). Oh and did I mention a season pass is only $339?
Find the entire Jackson Hole News and Guide article here: Snow King seeks to land gondola in Phil Baux Park
