Posts Tagged ‘jackson hole’
Guest Blog: Jackson Hole Ski Resort Review
Photo Credit- Tristan Greszko/Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
Our latest blog post comes from a long-standing Ski Independence client and veritable food, drink and skiing connoisseur. John shared his Jackson Hole ski resort review with us after he recently returned there many years after his first visit.
“I’m goin’ to Jackson, I’m gonna mess around,
Yeah, I’m goin’ to Jackson,
Look out Jackson town.”
Johnny Cash
Jackson Hole is a town-sized dude ranch. That’s not a criticism, it is a proper western town, but one can’t help noticing that the day of the cowboy and the wild west is more legend than present day reality. Still, I love the place.
8 Unique Ski Experiences to Try This Winter
Great alternatives to your usual après-ski
Dancing in your ski boots, soaking in the outdoor hot tub, indulging in hot chocolate & freshly baked treats, sipping cold beers on a sunny terrace – all highly recommended after a day on the mountain! Après-ski is a ski holiday must, but the range of unique activities and alternative ski experiences on offer is now bigger and better than ever, so whether you’re looking for an alternative to traditional après-ski or for a different way to spend your day on the slopes, check out our pick of the latest and greatest in unique ski experiences.
1. Sample the Dolomites’ finest cuisine on a Gourmet Ski Safari
Alta Badia is the place to be for anyone who loves eating and drinking as much as they love skiing! This is thanks to its Sciare con Gusto programme (roughly translated as “skiing with flavour”) which is a series of events throughout the season combining passion for winter sports with delicious cuisine. With the stunning scenery of the Dolomites and unrivalled local hospitality, this is simply not to be missed.
Gourmet Ski Safari (image: Alta Badia Tourism)
Ski from one mountain hut to another, sampling a different dish designed by top Michelin-starred chefs in each one, as part of the Gourmet Ski Safari; this year’s theme was childhood favourites so traditional dishes executed to perfection were the order of the day. Book a place on a Sommelier on the Slopes event if you want to taste some of the best local wines in the company of a ski guide and local wine expert. Just remember you need to ski down the mountain at the end of the day! If you like to be first up on the slopes you can also enjoy breakfast on the slopes at the Las Vegas Lodge – take a snow cat up the mountain and sample the best local products from the Alto Adige region. To top it all off, you’ll be on the slopes before the lifts have even opened!
Catherine, Senior Ski Product Support
>> We recommend: the fabulous 5-star Hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano, just a 5 minute drive from the Alta Badia ski area.
2. Get closer to the locals in Jackson Hole
The Ikon Pass: Arriving in 2018/19
One Pass | 26 Ski Destinations
A brand new season pass is coming for Winter 2018/19!
**UPDATED 8 March 2018**
Exciting news for fans of skiing in the USA & Canada: the Ikon Pass is a new season pass set to go head-to-head with the Epic Pass next winter, offering skiing in 26 destinations on one lift ticket. Chief Marketing Officer of Alterra Mountain Company, Erik Forsell, said, “The Ikon Pass is a collaboration of like-minded mountain destinations across North America where incredible terrain, unique character and local traditions are celebrated.”
Ikon Pass holders will be able to access resorts including Steamboat, Winter Park, Mammoth Mountain, Tremblant, Squaw Valley, Aspen Snowmass, Jackson Hole and Big Sky, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Ski Big 3 (Banff Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Banff Mount Norquay) all featured Ski Independence resorts and among the best ski destinations on the planet. We have two pass types available, with discounted children’s rates on offer before 9th April 2018.
Ikon Season Pass
Adult: £627 / Teen: £502 / Child: £313
- Full season pass with completely unlimited skiing all season in 8 destinations including Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper Mountain Resort, Squaw Valley, Mammoth Mountain and Tremblant plus 7 days skiing in a huge number of other resorts including Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Deer Valley, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Aspen Snowmass.
- Until the 9th April 2018, children’s passes are better than half price with the purchase of a full adult pass.*
Ikon Base Pass
Adult: £418 / Teen: £334 / Child: £209
- Unlimited access to 8 destinations including Winter Park, Tremblant, Copper Mountain and more, as well as 5 days at destinations including Steamboat, Mammoth Mountain, Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Killington Resort and Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Aspen Snowmass, AltaSnowbird and Ski Big 3 (Banff Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Mount Norquay).
- Until the 9th April 2018, children’s passes are half price with the purchase of a full adult pass.*
>> Full Ikon Pass Details Available Here <<
The Ikon Pass In Numbers
- 26 destinations in 9 US states & 4 Canadian Provinces
- 63,709 skiable acres
- 3,304 trails
- 481 lifts
Ikon Pass Destinations
The Ikon Pass will rival the hugely popular Epic Pass in scope and scale for skiing across North America and our team of Ski Specialists can advise you on how to get the best out of your Ikon Pass next winter, whether you’re planning a multi-centre holiday or more than one trip in the season.
- Colorado: Steamboat, Winter Park Resort, Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain Resort
- California: Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain Resort
- Eastern USA: Killington Resort, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Loon Mountain Resort, Snowshoe, Stratton
- Wyoming: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
- Montana: Big Sky Resort
- Utah: Deer Valley Resort, Snowbird, Alta Ski Area
- Canada: Tremblant, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures in British Columbia, Blue Mountain, Ski Big 3 (Banff Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Banff Mount Norquay), Revelstoke
Speak to a Ski Specialist on 0131 243 8097
*T&Cs apply to all purchases, please get in touch with us for further details.
Snow Photos: 19 January 2017
Snow Photos – our latest selection
Snowfall in Europe has been massive in the last couple of weeks which is great news for anyone either in the Alps now or going there soon. Snow-forecast.com’s latest snow overview reads, “if you’re going to France this week, you couldn’t have timed it any better.”
Over in North America, there has been as much as FIVE METERS falling at Heavenly Lake Tahoe since the start of the year and more snow is expected to across the mountains throughout the week, including Colorado’s Vail, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge; Utah’s Park City Mountain (which has received 226cm in January); and the Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Mountain Resort (500cm in January alone!).
Here’s our round-up of the best recent snow photos from our featured resorts:
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”13″ gal_title=”Snow Photos 19 January”]
Finally, this great video has been doing the rounds on social media – massive amounts of snow in Flaine! Read the rest of this entry »
Winter 2014/15 #WinterIsHere
Great news! If you haven’t already heard, the snow has well and truly arrived in the Alps and North America. #WinterIsHere is trending on Twitter and we wanted to share a few recent images and videos to inspire you for Winter 2014/15.
- Vail, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek in Colorado are now all open and there’s been enough snow that Vail’s back bowls should be open for the Thanksgiving weekend celebrations.
There’s still time to buy your Epic Season Pass, giving you access to all these resorts and more, if you’re quick! >> Book online here
Great shot from Vail – so much powder!
- 12 inches of new snow in Breckenridge, here’s a clip of the skiing on offer on Peak 9:
Inside Track – Ski Bucket List; Andy
Andy is one of the longest serving members of our reservations team and he really knows his stuff, has visited resorts all over the world and is a pretty good skier to boot. A fully qualified BASI instructor, Andy still manages to get a couple of weeks teaching in each season in some of his favourite resorts and has often accompanied our group trips like the Monster Ski challenge.
Read on to discover Andy’s ski bucket list top 5, his favourite places to stay and his recommendations for couples and families. He also shares some memorable ski experiences from trips to Chamonix and Whistler. Read the rest of this entry »
Our Top Reasons to Visit Jackson Hole and Big Sky
There are endless reasons to visit Jackson Hole and Big Sky and experience the best of skiing in Wyoming and Montana. While we can’t list them all here, we’ve come up with a very short list of the best of what’s on offer and show you why booking a place on the 2014 Ski & Snowboard Magazine Reader Holiday (an amazing 10-day itinerary) is a must-do!
BIG SKY – Thanks for another great trip
Our flights out of the UK all worked well and our Air France card meant we got the ski baggage for free and helped ourselves to the lounge at Heathrow. The change in Minneapolis was fine, and we had an evening meal there before the second leg to Bozeman. The transfer to the Hotel was pretty good at around only 50 minutes and we got into our room at about 0030hrs so not bad and we were able to get up ready for the first day.
Our hotel, The Summit, was really great, not quite the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole but close and had good eating options at reasonable prices and the included breakfast was extensive and totally met our expectations. The staff were friendly and helpful and everyone we met was really nice …such a break from London. Our studio room was fine and the fold down bed comfortable plus it had a great bathroom and handy kitchen. We’d say a studio was good for two, probably a bit small for four. Our mountain view from the room was nice with only a hot tub between us and the lifts…not sure we have ever had to make so little effort to get onto the slopes before and the swimming pool sized hot tub was really good and even had bar service – highly recommended! Read the rest of this entry »
In Utah the powder is dry…
The first thing they tell you is, “Utah is not a dry state”. Oh yeah? Well, where can I buy a bottle of wine on a Sunday? Sorry, liquor stores are closed on Sunday. OK, tomorrow then? Well no – not if Monday is a holiday. Utah may not be a dry state, but a man could get thirsty waiting for the off-licence to open as many State supermarkets are not allowed to sell wine, spirits or strong beer. More of Utah’s flirtation with prohibition later, but we were there to ski and on that subject the news is better – much better.
Our friends at Ski Independence recommended the Park City area. We’d skied British Colombia, California, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, but there was a Utah-shaped gap in our North American skiing CV, which we thought we should put right. Deer Valley looked an appealing base particularly as it’s a ‘no boarders’ resort, but we listened to advice that Canyons might suit us better. Briefly, an area just 45 minutes’ drive from Salt Lake City’s airport comprises three principal ski sites, Park City, with Deer Valley to one side and Canyons to the other; they are not joined up, but you can buy a pass which provides access to all three. Each is about 15 minutes drive from Park City. Read the rest of this entry »
New Year, New Snow
Having witnessed one of the snowiest Decembers on record across the Alps; picture perfect conditions over the Christmas week, and a short lived spell of mild weather for New Year, the Alps are now getting ready for the first dump of 2012…and it’s another big one! With some European resorts already reporting more snow to date this winter than the whole of last season, the Alps are now enjoying some of the best snow conditions in the world. Below is a quick round up on where to find the best snow conditions. Read the rest of this entry »
