At lunch Friday Jan. 27 NASJA West was formally addressed by Jerry Blann, president of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The major topic was the retirement of Jackson's 40-year-old tram.
The alternatives to serve the top of the mountain are:
A new tram with upgraded capacity 25M.
Recondition old tram 16M (this is pretty much ruled out).
Coventional gondola 12M (undesirable because wind would close it 20% of the time).
Double cable gondola capable of withstanding 65mph winds is being priced, probably at least 16M. Tram can handle 75mph.
It will take 2 years to build a new tram, so a temporary solution of 1M chair or 750K surface lift (less likely) will be built this summer in Rendezvous Bowl and used until there is a new lift. The tram will be there for at least one more year, so ski patrol can use it for control work at current standards. Tram capacity is 350 per hour. Bridger gondola will be raised from 1800 to 2400 to compensate. However, I believe no tram will make Thunder and Sublette more crowded. There is some consideration of raising Thunder's capacity also.
JHMR currently sells 100K scenic tram rides in summer. I mentioned my plans for the August 2017 solar eclipse. The Bridger gondola will get a restaurant at the top this summer, and it will be used for the scenic rides for the time being.
JHMR financial realities:
The area has invested 56M in improvements over the past decade and currently carries 25M in debt.
Heretofore JHMR has never exceeded 400K skier visits. They are projecting 415K this year, which they attribute mostly to their 130% of normal snow. I asked what 1996-97 record snow year skier visits were, Jerry didn't know but said prior record was 390K in 1999-2000. I suggested to the room that the extra 25K can be attributed to "last year of the tram" visitors.
Jerry polled the room as to the estimated drop in skier visits (5% range) that JHMR will have with no tram. He reminded us that about 1/4 of JH skier visits are from locals with season passes. So a prediction of 15% drop in skier visits presumably means 20% drop in destination visits, as the locals are a captive audience.
Votes ranged from no change to 20+% drop. Average vote was 5-10% drop, my vote was 10-15%. I think next year will be low (down 20%) because some of this year's skier visits (like Patrick) were stolen from the future, sort of like auto sales when there's a big rebate on.
The State of Wyoming has a 1.8 billion surplus due to oil and gas revenue. That's why JHMR is looking for some state money. The tram is the 2nd most recognizable symbol of Wyoming tourism to the Grand Teton. Wyoming is very Republican but currently has a Democratic governor, so it's a politically charged issue. There is also a perception elsewhere in the state that Teton County is rich and should pay for it. I suggested that the county should in fact contribute, and that might make the state look more favorably disposed. Jerry agreed that made sense and that negotiations were ongoing. There was a meeting of several parties involved scheduled in early February.
I should note that I rode the tram exactly once in my 3 days and 67,600 vertical of skiing JHMR Jan. 27-29. I think the tram line was running long with "last year of the tram" visitors, though early morning powder was also a lure. Just as this year has extra visitors, next year will have fewer than average, so it might well be an attractive year to ski Jackson in terms of low crowds. I do believe in the long run that Jackson needs a Snowbird/Squaw capacity tram. Not only for marketing image, but for the current easy patrol access for avalanche control purposes vs. the 4 lifts that will be needed to reach the top if there is no tram.
The alternatives to serve the top of the mountain are:
A new tram with upgraded capacity 25M.
Recondition old tram 16M (this is pretty much ruled out).
Coventional gondola 12M (undesirable because wind would close it 20% of the time).
Double cable gondola capable of withstanding 65mph winds is being priced, probably at least 16M. Tram can handle 75mph.
It will take 2 years to build a new tram, so a temporary solution of 1M chair or 750K surface lift (less likely) will be built this summer in Rendezvous Bowl and used until there is a new lift. The tram will be there for at least one more year, so ski patrol can use it for control work at current standards. Tram capacity is 350 per hour. Bridger gondola will be raised from 1800 to 2400 to compensate. However, I believe no tram will make Thunder and Sublette more crowded. There is some consideration of raising Thunder's capacity also.
JHMR currently sells 100K scenic tram rides in summer. I mentioned my plans for the August 2017 solar eclipse. The Bridger gondola will get a restaurant at the top this summer, and it will be used for the scenic rides for the time being.
JHMR financial realities:
The area has invested 56M in improvements over the past decade and currently carries 25M in debt.
Heretofore JHMR has never exceeded 400K skier visits. They are projecting 415K this year, which they attribute mostly to their 130% of normal snow. I asked what 1996-97 record snow year skier visits were, Jerry didn't know but said prior record was 390K in 1999-2000. I suggested to the room that the extra 25K can be attributed to "last year of the tram" visitors.
Jerry polled the room as to the estimated drop in skier visits (5% range) that JHMR will have with no tram. He reminded us that about 1/4 of JH skier visits are from locals with season passes. So a prediction of 15% drop in skier visits presumably means 20% drop in destination visits, as the locals are a captive audience.
Votes ranged from no change to 20+% drop. Average vote was 5-10% drop, my vote was 10-15%. I think next year will be low (down 20%) because some of this year's skier visits (like Patrick) were stolen from the future, sort of like auto sales when there's a big rebate on.
The State of Wyoming has a 1.8 billion surplus due to oil and gas revenue. That's why JHMR is looking for some state money. The tram is the 2nd most recognizable symbol of Wyoming tourism to the Grand Teton. Wyoming is very Republican but currently has a Democratic governor, so it's a politically charged issue. There is also a perception elsewhere in the state that Teton County is rich and should pay for it. I suggested that the county should in fact contribute, and that might make the state look more favorably disposed. Jerry agreed that made sense and that negotiations were ongoing. There was a meeting of several parties involved scheduled in early February.
I should note that I rode the tram exactly once in my 3 days and 67,600 vertical of skiing JHMR Jan. 27-29. I think the tram line was running long with "last year of the tram" visitors, though early morning powder was also a lure. Just as this year has extra visitors, next year will have fewer than average, so it might well be an attractive year to ski Jackson in terms of low crowds. I do believe in the long run that Jackson needs a Snowbird/Squaw capacity tram. Not only for marketing image, but for the current easy patrol access for avalanche control purposes vs. the 4 lifts that will be needed to reach the top if there is no tram.
. I'm pretty sure from reading around that I'm not the only one that have or will make the trip this year for first time because of the Last Call for the Tram.
