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Kari Gemmel
interviewed by Anthony Qaiyum on November 20, 1995
"It really offers some of the most challenging terrain of any resort in North America."
Kari Gemmel is the director of marketing at the world-famous Jackson Hole Ski Resort in Wyoming. Here she talks about some of the reasons that Jackson Hole is one of America's legendary ski destinations.
Tripod: Can you give one reason that Jackson Hole is unique among American ski resorts?
KG: I think the reason is the mountain. We have two mountains, actually, over which 2,500 skiable acres are available. Rendezvous Mountain is probably the best known area for it's advanced and expert terrain. It really offers some of the most challenging terrain of any resort in North America.
Tripod: How would that acreage compare to another popular resort like Vail, for example?
KG: Vail has the greatest amount of acreage. I believe they're up around 3,500 skiable acres. So, just to compare what that feels like with regard to skiing density, Vail, on average, can accommodate around 20,000 skiers on their mountain. Right now at Jackson Hole a busy day is about 4,000 skiers. So there really is a capacity and quality of skiing experience that goes into the equation.
Tripod: Can you give you me an idea of how long it might take the average skier to ski from the very top of the mountain down to the base?
KG: You really need to qualify average. Jackson Hole, up until this year, has had the greatest vertical drop of 4,139 feet. It's a continuous vertical drop, which essentially means you can ski from the top to the bottom and take a lift from the bottom to the top without any interruption. It takes the average skier -- and I'm very careful about qualifying that it's somebody of advanced ability -- approximately 30 minutes, and that's with very few stops. You ski from the top of the mountain to the base area.
Tripod: I know that the town of Jackson Hole has a very distinctive flavor. Can you describe the town a bit?
KG: Yeah, very much so. Jackson unlike many resorts -- maybe there are a handful of resorts, Telluride, Aspen, Taos, and Sun Valley, being among them -- was truly a resort before the ski area was built. As a result, most of land around here is either Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management, only three percent is privately held. The town of Jackson is very reflective of the area. It's very much a Western town. We still have a lot of working ranches here. When you arrive into the town of Jackson, you really feel like you have arrived into a Western town, not a purpose built ski town. That's not a negative at all -- I think there are certainly a lot of attributes about purpose built ski towns that people find attractive. But what you experience in Jackson is something very authentic and something very in keeping with the area.
Tripod: Would you say that Jackson Hole draws a different type of tourist than other major ski areas?
KG: In that we don't have a drive population at all. I think that most of the resorts that have been able to function as destination resorts typically have a market of two million plus within driving distance. If you look at the Colorado resorts or the Utah resorts that's certainly the case. Jackson, as a result of its somewhat remote location, relies on the destination skier flying into the Jackson airport. The airport's about eight miles from the town of Jackson. Consequently, we tend to attract a more advanced skier, one that's predominantly male, and typically in the higher income bracket. I think, as a result of the requirements in order to take a vacation in Jackson -- requirement meaning having to package an airfare or an airline ticket -- it does tend to create a little bit of a slightly different type of skier than might be found in some of the more well-known destination resorts.
Tripod: Well, many of our readers are younger people who might not be able to afford a really high-class vacation. Do you offer any budget specials?
KG: Absolutely. Right now we have packages available from Chicago. We have non-stop with American Airlines. You can buy a package into Jackson, which includes round-trip airfare, four nights lodging, and three days of skiing for $295. You can access that package through our Jackson Hole central reservations, which is the authorized wholesaler into the resort. The number is (800) 443-6931. And if you reference the $295 package from Chicago, they will know exactly what you are referring to.
Tripod: What are some of the other activities besides skiing that visitors to Jackson Hole can expect?
KG: Oh gosh. One of the ways in which Jackson is promoted is as a Winter Wonderland. With Yellowstone National Park just 50 miles north of the resort, there's snowmobiling opportunities available, cross country skiing -- actually cross country skiing in Grand Teton National Park is even more spectacular. It's a beautiful, beautiful area. Beyond that there is dogsledding. Of course, we have a national elk refuge two miles to the north of Jackson. Approximately 8,000 elk congregate in that area. During the winter months you can take sleigh rides out onto the elk refuge.
And then there are all the other standard activities, such as ice skating, and all the evening activities. We have many, many restaurants in the valley ... from the barbecue, standard type of restaurants all the way to French cuisine, and everything in between. So there's a tremendous selection.
We have three ski areas here. We have Snow King resort which is located in the town of Jackson, and offers wonderful night skiing opportunities. And the third resort is Grand Targhee, and that's located about 43 miles to the west of our resort. Transportation to and from is available on a daily basis. Grand Targhee certainly is well known for its abundance of snow, and again, beautiful scenery.
Tripod: Are the lift tickets good at all three resorts?
KG: We do have a lift ticket that is redeemable at all three, yes.
Tripod: And, finally, are you expecting a lot of snow this winter?
KG: Of course. [laughs] I'm serious. Grand Targhee averages about 500 inches. And we're about 40 miles to the east, and on average we experience about 402 inches per ski season -- that's total snowfall. And to compliment that we have an adequate snowmaking system that certainly covers the lower part of the mountain. So, yeah. We're anticipating a strong winter. Advanced bookings are ahead by 18 percent right now. So we're assuming it's going to be a good winter, both with regard to visitation and overall snowfall.
Visit Jackson Hole on the Web at: http://www.jacksonhole.com/ski/index.html
Or call Jackson Hole's central reservations at:
(800) 443-6931
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