Just as Jackson Hole Mountain Resort hit 400" of snow and counting for the season, wind gusts brought down around 15 steel power lines in and around Teton Village. All of Teton Village is without power, and JHMR announced that they would not be able to re-open until Monday, February 13th at the earliest.
Press Release from JHMR:
"10:30 AM: Due to a massive wind storm last night, a significant number of power poles along Highway 390 were blown down, causing Teton Village to lose power. This power outage is being addressed by Lower Valley Energy, but the significance of this damage will be impacting Teton Village for up to seven days. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) will not be operating until further notice.
2:30 PM: After receiving updates throughout the day from Lower Valley Energy and assessing resources in Teton Village, JHMR is unable to re-open for the weekend, and the earliest targeted open date at this time is Monday, February 13th. Safety is the first concern, and JHMR is asking for only specific operational staff to come to Teton Village through the weekend. There is also the request for no unnecessary travel to Teton Village through the weekend as another winter storm approaches.
Currently, Lower Valley Energy has crews working around the clock to reconstruct the power poles. JHMR would like to remind locals that there is no uphill travel at this time, and JHMR is seriously enforcing this policy and asks everyone to stay off the mountain during this incident. The Ticket Office will not open today for refunds, guests are asked to keep tickets and refunds will be managed as soon as possible. JHMR will continue to update with information as it is available on jacksonhole.com and on social media channels."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQCP6NagMS2/?taken-by=jacksonhole
Jackson hole is absolutely insane right now. I was lucky enough to call the valley home last season and was just noting yesterday that I chose the wrong year to put the ski bum life on hold and finish college. I thought getting a 40"-50" storm cycle three or four times in a season was good, but I legitimately don't think they've had more than 15 days of sun this year. I open up my Instagram/Facebook/Snapchat feeds daily to constant posts of more powder. Not even a month ago all the roads going in and out of Jackson shut down due to large amounts of snow, and it looks like it isn't lightening up anytime soon.
Lance Koudele captures the fallen power lines and desertion of Teton Village:
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/857867/Jackson-Hole-Down
Teton Pass, a common commuters route, and destination for backcountry skiing has also been closed since overnight Tuesday due to the snow, and while the Wyoming Department of Transportation typically has a prediction posted as an estimated opening time, it looks like they have just straight given up on any predictions at this point:
DO NOT venture out into the Backcountry near Jackson this weekend! JH Avalanche has reported extreme conditions.
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