THE MOST UNDERRATED RESORT IN THE U.S.
If you ski, you've probably heard of Jackson Hole, the famous resort in Jackson, Wyoming. But have you ever heard of Snow King?
It's one of the most underrated resorts in the country.
It has the same soft, fluffy snow as Utah and Colorado, with enough variety in the terrain to satisfy both experts and snow bunnies. But it's the atmosphere that wins hearts. Half cowboy, half hotdogger, it's the staff and the lifties that create the grinning good time atmosphere experienced by skiers and snowboarders.
It's also a race mountain. Snow King just held it's second annual Masters "Cowboy Classic" weekend, two giant slalom races on the long and well-pitched Cougar run. Despite an unexpected dump of snow early Saturday, the race crew put on an impeccable show. There were enough slippers to keep ruts out of the soft snow, even for the final racers. Good natured starter Louis Able lived up to his last name, pouring water on the start to ice it into giving some extra momentum, putting an arm around shivering racers during course holds---though not to keep them warm. "I'm holding them back so they don't slide through the start," he explained, with a laugh.
Saturday's awards banquet was a gourmet surprise. Rare roast beef, sliced ham and turkey, a huge assortment of expensive cheeses and French rolls and a veggie tray greeted ravenous racers. It was a good show for a bigger future. Jackson Hole is bidding for the Masters Nationals. Speed events would be at the big mountain named after the town, the tech events would be at Snow King.
The elegant Snow King Hotel that ajoins the lifts cooperates with racers, cutting the regular price in half for those participating in an event. A queen sized double bed room was only $99. The hotel restaurant, The Atrium, serves a level of gourmet food that is a pleasant surprise. And though the hot tub is supposed to close at 10:00 p.m., those who are immersed in the bubbling hot water, surrounded by snow, will not be asked to leave until they wish to do so.
All of this is almost unknown by the rest of the snowridig world. The wide slopes are nearly empty. There are no lift lines. For those who don't ski, there is a fun tubing hill beside the race run; and several Masters athletes at the "Classic" had non-skiing spouses take the kids sliding while the other spouse raced.
At the finish, little knots of racers stood together exclaiming how much they liked the resort.
"It's a puzzle," said one. "You want to tell everyone how great this mountain is. But you don't want anyone else to know about it and come and spoil it," he said.