Teton Village, WY –Following the second best ski season in the Wyoming resort’s history, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) is spending $4.5 million this summer, including the addition of the Marmot chairlift for winter 2011-12. The new lift is a double chair that will carry skiers and snowboarders 1,200 vertical feet from South Pass Traverse, below the existing Thunder Lift, to the top of the Bridger Gondola.

The Marmot Lift will significantly improve the skier flow across the mountain, making it easier than before to travel not just up and down the mountain, but also across. In the early and late season, the Marmot lift will allow intermediate and advanced guests to stay on the middle and upper reaches of the resort to optimize snow conditions.

In other developments, JHMR officials are adding more snowmaking in critical areas of the lower mountain that will ensure more open terrain during the early and late season, even on lower snow years. The addition of a new grooming machine and additional staff will translate into better corduroy and smoother cruising all over the mountain. Also, a dedicated Park and Pipe cutter will further improve the resort’s terrain and Stash parks.

The Kids Ranch is the facility that houses all of JHMR’s summer and winter children’s programs. For the winter of 2011-12 a million dollar improvement will make the traffic flow and registration faster and more fluid.

Jackson Hole is also expanding the duration of its ski and snowboard season this winter. JHMR is scheduled to open on Thanksgiving Weekend (November 26th) and close Easter Sunday (April 8th) for a record total of 135 days. In 2010-11, a winter season that saw 558 inches of snow fall in-season on the upper mountain, the resort closed on April 3 after opening on November 27 with unprecedented wall-to-wall, top-to-bottom coverage. Total skier visits for the 2010-11 season reached 478,553, the second highest in the resort’s recorded history.