Master Plan Deep Dive: Snow King

Last week, Snow King received approval from the USFS to proceed with its master plan, clearing a major hurdle to implement the ambitious expansion. This comes weeks after the Jackson, WY mountain got approval from the Jackson Town Council to install a 8-person gondola after years of planning. In the wake of this news, we decided to take a look at the plan’s most notable proposals and potential impacts for seasons to come.

For more details on Snow King, see our review here.

Upgrades

The lift, facilities, and terrain upgrades proposed in Snow King’s latest master plan. The resort’s lift-serviced skiable acreage will increase by more than 50%.

Terrain Expansion

Once Snow King’s master plan is fully realized, the resort’s lift-serviced footprint will increase by more than 50%. The backside expansion looks to bring easily accessible open-bowl skiing to the resort for the first time, with options for all ability levels (this terrain technically exists within the resort already, but it’s unmarked, hike-out only, and little known). In addition, the plan proposes a large glade expansion, which we assume would chiefly suit advanced visitors, on the front side. But most notably, the resort will expand its beginner and intermediate offerings, building on its lackluster current setup that hurts Snow King’s appeal with families.

Snow King’s beginner offerings will substantially change with this plan. The plan calls for the resort’s only existing top-to-bottom green run, the Slow Trail, to be decommissioned, with the resort’s proposed zipline taking its place along parts of the line. The current trail is flat and catwalky, and according to some at the resort, was never meant to function as a true beginner run. In its place, Snow King proposes a new Slow Trail with a wider footprint and mellower pitch than the existing setup. The new run will pass along the top of the Rafferty chair, allowing beginner access along the full length of that lift for the first time since its 2015 extension.

The new backside setup looks to offer some notable improvements for beginners. Three surface lifts will exclusively service green terrain in what will become a new summit beginner area. A fourth lift will also service one green trail.

The resort’s proposed beginner layout retains a few problems. The new Slow Trail routing would remove beginner access from the top of the Cougar lift. In addition, return access to the main base area still won’t be available to beginners, meaning that those wanting to do top-to-bottom resort laps will have to hit at least one blue or harder run to make it there (blue runs at Snow King tend to be on the mellower side compared to other Rockies resorts, but they sometimes aren’t groomed).

The overwhelming majority of intermediate terrain improvements will come on the resort’s back side, where four new blue trails are proposed. A few small blue-rated trails will also come to fruition in the expanded frontside area.

Advanced terrain has always been Snow King’s strong suit, and, while not as substantial as improvements for less experienced skiers, it looks like terrain of this caliber will see some upgrades. Two black trails are proposed on the new back side, while a handful are proposed on the expanded front side. Most notably, the resort’s S Chutes, which currently require hiking to access, will finally receive lift service.

Lifts

Arguably the resort’s most glaring transformation will be the Snow King Gondola, which, as proposed, will replace the aging Summit Double. The 8-passenger gondola, which will substantially increase capacity along the line and cut ride time in half, will be permitted to operate between the hours of 9am and 9pm during the winter, expanding the resort’s night skiing footprint. The Cougar lift will be slightly truncated to accommodate the gondola base, although the line will stay essentially the same.

Four lifts will be added on the resort’s back side to service the expanded terrain. We spoke with a Snow King staff member who confirmed that Lift A will be a chairlift, while Lifts B, C, and D will be magic carpets. According to Liftblog, all new lift projects have been taken up by Leitner-Poma.

Facilities

With this plan, Snow King intends to build a summit lodge at the top terminus of the proposed gondola. This building will include a restaurant and other guest facilities, and as proposed, will have a massive overlook of town. The new lodge will replace an existing ski patrol shack, and patroller facilities will be incorporated into the new building. A new ski patrol facility is planned at the top of the Cougar lift. The resort says all new buildings will be “carefully placed to minimize visual impacts.”

Our Take

On the surface, Snow King’s ambitious master plan looks to deliver substantial changes to the overall mountain experience. It’s hard to see the terrain expansions as anything but positive, and we expect the Snow King Gondola installation to bring faster, more convenient service to visitors. These developments will almost certainly increase the resort’s appeal to out-of-town visitors and families.

However, it’s conceivable that these changes could negatively affect the mountain’s overall feel. We worry that the gondola and summit lodge, along with the proposed zipline, may bring an aura of commercialization to the resort. We won’t really know the impacts until the projects are done, but language in the master plan does suggest that the resort has an understanding of the risks associated with poorly integrated infrastructure. One other worry: the backside expansion is entirely south-facing, so we’re unsure how that area will hold snow.

A Snow King employee confirmed to us that the resort plans to complete the gondola and backside Lift A upgrades for the 2021-22 season. We plan to return to the resort as upgrades are made, and we’ll keep you updated with any changes—of which we expect several—that affect the overall experience.