Jackson Hole Thunder High-Speed Quad: A Crucial Upgrade Lands With a Boom
The Thunder chair is Jackson Hole’s fifth high-speed quad.
Background
For the 2022-23 season, Jackson Hole performed a major upgrade for one of its upper-mountain workhorse lifts. The storied Wyoming resort replaced its outgoing Thunder fixed-grip quad, which had served the upper-middle section of Rendezvous Peak, with a detachable lift in the same alignment. The Thunder pod contains some of Jackson Hole’s most popular terrain, and the upgrade brings a number of benefits to this already very competitive resort.
The Jackson Hole trail map, with the Thunder lift highlighted in red.
The Experience
Guests who have previously spent time in Jackson Hole’s Thunder pod will notice a significant impact from the new lift. The high-speed quad cuts the ride time in half, making for an especially brisk ride time of less than four minutes—one of the fastest trips at any major ski resort in North America. Many guests will find themselves back at the top before even having time to catch their breath from the last run!
The new Thunder lift takes less than four minutes and provides direct high-speed lift service to Jackson Hole’s double-black-diamond terrain for the first time.
The Thunder upgrade brings one of the few benefits Jackson Hole previously lacked—lappable high-speed lift service on truly demanding terrain. While many of Jackson Hole’s other lifts have been high speed for years, they service areas that are chiefly beginner or intermediate in nature. The bottom-to-top Aerial Tram has always indirectly served the same terrain as Thunder, but due to its low capacity and lengthy span, it’s never been practical for spending extended periods of time in the Thunder terrain pod. None of the Jackson Hole’s other high-speed chairlifts or gondolas serve double-black trails, and consequently, the Thunder upgrade marks the first time that the resort offers a high-speed option for directly lapping this level of terrain.
Jackson Hole attracts experienced skiers and snowboarders, and the Thunder area boasts terrain ranging from advanced-intermediate steep groomers to truly extreme double-blacks, encompassing the ideal range of terrain the most guests will want. As a result, upgrading this lift to a high-speed quad has made it one of the most popular lifts on the mountain. Lines arguably only fall second to the extraordinarily trafficked tram during peak times, although even on the busiest days, they rarely get too out of hand.
The Thunder lift is now one of the most popular lifts at Jackson Hole.
Besides its limited beginner and low-intermediate terrain, Jackson Hole’s chief downside has historically been its outdated advanced and expert Thunder and Sublette chairlifts. But in upgrading Thunder to a high-speed quad, Jackson Hole solves a large chunk of that problem, leaving Sublette as the only primary lift on the mountain that remains fixed-grip.
Keen observers may be able to catch a view of Jackson Hole’s famous aerial tram on their ride up the Thunder lift.
Jackson Hole retains a very high cost of entry, but for advanced and expert visitors, the experience downsides continue to get fewer and fewer. The resort was already one of the best destination resorts in North America, and this upgrade further cements it as a top-tier mountain.
Considering a ski or snowboard trip to Jackson Hole this year? Check out our full Rockies ski resort rankings, as well as our comprehensive Jackson Hole review. You can also check out our thoughts on North America’s major 2021-22 ski resort lift and terrain upgrades in video form below.
