Jackson Hole To Open for Summer Operations Despite Highway Collapse

Over the weekend, a section of Highway 22—which connects Jackson, Wyoming, to Idaho via Teton Pass—collapsed , but Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will still open for summer operations on Saturday, June 15th.

The road failure gave JHMR pause regarding its planned summer operations kick-off.

Over the past three days, the resort assessed how the road closure "will impact employees, their families, and guests," according to a recent press release. JHMR eventually "determined that the incident will not delay [our] opening day."

Summer activities available on opening day include the Via Ferrata, the acclaimed Jackson Hole Bike Park, and lift-assisted sightseeing via the Bridger Gondola. The resort's Aerial Tram has been open for sightseeing since May 18th.

"Three of the four roads into Jackson, Grand Teton National Park, the Town of Jackson and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort are open, and our local businesses are ready for the season to begin. We would love to see you this summer," said JHMR President Mary Kate Buckley, highlighting that Jackson is still accessible for tourism despite the Highway 22 collapse.

Given the high cost of living in Jackson, much of the local workforce—including some employed at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort—lives on the other side of Highway 22 in more affordable communities like Driggs and Victor, Idaho.

With the road closed, these workers face three to four more total hours of commuting. When functional, the Teton Pass connection between Driggs, Victor, and Jackson is about a 30 minute drive each way.

"Employers are now asking us to commute triple the amount for the same wage," an anonymous JHMR employee who lives on the Idaho side of Highway 22 told Freeskier . "With how long it takes to commute I can’t even recreate outside of work, and that’s why I moved to this beautiful place. It’s a wild time, to say the least.

In a statement, JHMR shared that it has "made adjustments to assist some staff members with housing options at the resort and are exploring additional opportunities."

"The Jackson Hole community is incredibly resilient, and it's times like these that our community comes together and supports one another, visiting guests, and our local businesses," the statement continued.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is developing a temporary, two-lane Highway 22 workaround that circumvents the collapsed portion of the road through National Forest land. WYDOT hopes that this workaround will be ready in a matter of weeks, but there are no estimates for when Highway 22 will be officially repaired and reopened.

Ariel Kazunas, a board member for ShelterJH, a local housing advocacy group, expressed frustration with the response to the road collapse in a conversation with POWDER's gear editor, Max Ritter.

"Rather than talking about long-term cures, we're talking about short-term bandaids. People who live here are tired of being told, 'We'll just figure it out; that's mountain town resiliency.' Locals can't live locally here, and that impacts how healthy that community is," she said.

Related: Teton Pass is Closed- How Does it Affect the 'Wydaho' Community?

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