Jackson Hole was the venue for the first official WDSC trip and, although snow conditions were pretty average (not even a sprinkling of powder until our last day), WDSC had a good holiday,

The skiing at Jackson is most suited to expert and strong intermediate skiers (and those lunatics who want to get “big air” off cliffs). Runs for beginners are excellent but very limited and there are no really good routes for progression once the easy runs off the Teewinot Chair have been mastered. Family groups need to be of very much the same ability level, if they are to enjoy skiing together here, though most lifts have runs from them with which a competent intermediate can cope.

Good skiers will get the most benefit from a week at Jackson but beware of the piste grading – a double diamond black here is extremely difficult, tougher than similar runs in Europe or Colorado but often just short, nasty, very steep routes between rocks or trees. The grading of many black diamond runs is uneven, some being very difficult (i.e. like a tough European black) and others being little more than a hard European blue. This depends, obviously, on snow conditions at any given time.

Don’t miss the journey up on the Tram. The views at the top are tremendous (but don’t expect an Alpine vista in the Rockies) and don’t be put off by the hype surrounding the steepness of Rendezvous Bowl or by the dire warnings in the Tram stations. Most strong intermediates will manage without too much difficulty, in good conditions, by following the green markers, which lead on to Rendezvous Trail by the least steep route.

The runs off the Thunder and Sublette Chairs make an excellent playground for good skiers, but leave the double diamond blacks to the real experts. The Hobacks and the runs off the South Pass Traverse are good in powder conditions.

The nicest runs at Jackson Hole are probably the runs either side of the Bridger Gondola – Gros Ventre and Sundance. These are long blues which give a vertical drop of about 2,700 feet and which have a consistent gradient from top to bottom. The runs from the Casper Chair are also quite pleasant and this area can be reached from Après Vous by the Togwotee Pass, after skiing a few runs on Après Vous for an early morning warm-up.

We stayed at the Lodge at Jackson Hole. This is a bit out of the way but runs a shuttle bus to the town at night and to the ski area of a morning. The buffet breakfast was excellent, as were the free snacks at the nightly “happy hour”. Rooms were comfortable and spacious. The Wort looked to be the place to stay in the town centre. It's probably better to stay at the ski area than in the town.

Jackson itself is quite spread out, although the main action is to be found around the town square. I found it lacked atmosphere compared to the town centres of Steamboat and Breckenridge. Inside the bars was a different matter. The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is superb – but the saddles at the bar are not comfortable! The Silver Dollar Bar is less interesting but had live music when we went there. The Gunbarrel Restaurant has an excellent range of steaks. Another interesting night out can be had watching the local ice hockey team – Go Mooooooose!

 If you want to explore the area around Jackson, a car is a must. A day to Grand Targhee, on the other side of the Tetons, for its wide-open powder skiing, is an enjoyable excursion and a variety of trips to Yellowstone NP can be booked in resort. Grand Targhee has less demanding sking than Jackson Hole but the area is very limited and good powder is needed to make things interesting. For fat cats with big wallets, snowcat skiing can be had and a complete area of the mountain is reserved for this.

 Jackson Hole is not a good choice for Europeans making a first trip to The States, mainly because of its remoteness from other major resorts and because of the problems that can occur in travelling there. One for the bucket list but much better North American resorts elsewhere.