The Tram: Where Culture Meets Community

Every year in Jackson Hole, there are four and half months during which so much of the valley’s vibrancy, passion, and community spirit consolidates and courses through one small, seemingly frivolous space: the tram line at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. But for many Jackson residents and visitors, the tram line is anything but frivolous. It’s a central place of community, where everyone has the same goal: embrace the wild joy of skiing in the Tetons, connect with a like-minded throng, and replace the cares of the valley with a more immediate task: the challenges and thrills of skiing some of North America’s best terrain

Over its 60 years of operation, the tram has always been a differentiator and the stalwart, beating heart of the ski scene in Jackson. It’s a magnet at the base area: in line, the tramping and thunking of ski boots and boards provides a soundtrack, and the closer you get to the open doors of the red box, the greater the energy and intensity. In and on the dock, this is the place where friends find each other, make plans, catch up, chat conditions, and most unique of all, it’s an open invitation to visitors to immerse into the Jackson Hole ski culture in a way few other ski areas can offer.

Each tram fills up with the hum of conversation and anticipation, and experience presided over by the tram operator – guardian of safety and master of the music for the ride. When the doors open at the top of Rendezvous Mountain, 4,137 feet higher, 100 people filled with stoke and excitement spill out, click into their gear, and flow out and down, to every corner of the ski hill. No matter where you ski for the rest of the day, that connection and energy is always there.

The feeling of connection isn’t the only part of the JHMR experience that’s practically inescapable. Skiing the terrain creates a bond in itself, where longtime locals and first-time visitors have to continually step up their game. Steeps and features flank every groomed run, letting ambitious skiers and snowboarders test their mettle all day, every day. Backcountry terrain dominates the views, and is often a go-to for locals with avalanche gear, education, and a plan. (Visitors don’t have to be left out of the scene – JHMR offers a backcountry guide service for safe exploration.

And at the end of day, when the shadow of the Tetons indicate the ski day is done and the lifts start to close, skiers and riders trickle into the base area to celebrate another day well-lived. Even for those who are here all season, or all year, each day of good fortune on the ski hill isn’t taken for granted. People high-five and grin, gather over snacks at Tram Dock, hot chocolates at South Cable, or beer at the Mangy Moose. Down here, it doesn’t really matter if you skied a couloir off Cody Peak or tentatively ventured into the Hobacks for the first time. It’s a celebration of life and passion, a shared sense of accomplishment in a small ski scene of totally different, yet like minded people.

Brigid Mander is a skier, writer, and frequent traveler based in Wilson, Wyoming. Her work covering outdoor adventure, travel, and conservation issues regularly appears in publications from The Wall Street Journal to The Ski Journal.