UPDATED Thursday at 4:00 PM: According to Buckrail, Teton County officials met today and declared a state of emergency for the Village. They did this because a state of emergency opens up additional resources to aid efforts dealing with power outages, flooding, and infrastructure (remember, steel poles broke in half).
From Buckrail:
“Due to the extended nature of Tuesday evening’s power outage and the anticipation of continuing impacts from hazardous weather conditions throughout the weekend, Teton County has declared a state of emergency through Monday, Feb. 13, for Teton Village and neighboring subdivisions and private lands impacted by the power outage. The declaration is intended to provide a unifying statement recognizing the large-scale and wide-ranging community efforts to address significant winter storm conditions that began on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 7, including, but not limited to, power outages, anticipated flooding and heavy snowfall, increased risk of avalanche, and ongoing impacts to the transportation.”
Wydot is also reporting that another slide in Hoback Canyon has closed Highway 189/191 between Bondurant and Hoback Junction. According to Buckrail, "The road may be closed for some time. All available machinery is currently out on other slide mitigation in the Snake River Canyon and Teton Pass."
Meanwhile, Jackson is a total mess. Yesterday, the Sears building caved in on itself under the pressure of too much snow and apparently the Sheriff's office is literally falling apart. Teton Pass is still closed. (We haven't seen our coworkers who live on the other side of the pass in three days and we are starting to forget what they look like.) Everyone we know has gotten their cars stuck at some point during this storm, and the TGR parking lot resembles a Great Lake.
Best of luck to JHMR during their valiant (and some might say heroic) efforts to reopen our beloved hill.
UPDATED Wednesday evening at 4:00 PM: JHMR just announced on their Facebook that the earliest the mountain will be able to re-open will be Monday, February 13th.
What the hell are you going to do now, you may ask? Don’t worry: here are 7 Things to Do During the JHMR Power Outage.
There are more snowy days to come, we promise. Photo courtesy of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Due to a wind and snowstorm of epic proportions, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will be closed until further notice.
Yesterday evening, ripping winds snapped a significant number of power poles on Highway 390, cutting off power to all of Teton Village. Lower Valley Energy is currently working with five other communities to get restore power to over 4,000 customers, but it looks like the Mountain could remain closed for 5 to 7 days.
Safety is everyone’s top priority right now, so here’s everything you need to know if you’re visiting or living in the Jackson area right now.
Everyone
As tempting as an empty, powder-filled mountain may be, avoid going to the resort. Give emergency crews room to work.
Plus, with all of this new snow and no snow patrol to mitigate avy danger, the mountain is issuing a strict NO UPHILL TRAFFIC rule. Sorry people! But you will be fined — plus poaching in these adverse conditions is silly anyway. There’s considerable avy danger throughout the region.
We know this is a huge bummer, especially during a storm cycle, but just think about how all-time conditions will be once the Mountain re-opens. The resort reported 7 inches of new snow since the lifts closed yesterday, and it doesn’t look like this storm is going to be easing up anytime soon. Seriously, just think about that…
Village Employees
Until further notice, you have a few days off of work! Woohoo!
Travelers
Rerouting power for the airport is Lower Valley Energy’s top priority right now. As of noon today, power is still down.
Trucks are battling 15-foot snowbanks on the Pass right now. Photo courtesy of WYDOT via Local News 8.
Wyoming Department of Travel (WYDOT) issued a rare “no unnecessary travel advisory” for the entire region, recommending that people plan ahead or stay home tonight and tomorrow. With these weirdly warm temperatures and a winter storm warning still in effect, we’re expecting lots of rain on new snow, which is a perfect recipe for avalanches, according to the WYDOT's avalanche technician, Jamie Yount.
Due to these huge snowfalls, Teton Pass has been closed for 2 days now. There were more natural slides last night, making road conditions even more tricky for road crews already working in overtime. Conditions are also pretty sketchy in Snake River Canyon and Hoback Canyon, so you can expect closures for periods of time there as well.
The bottom line: WYDOT highly recommends avoiding travel at all cost. The storm should be letting up by the end of the week and crews will be out in full-force fighting conditions until then. Stay safe and don’t risk it!
Visitors
Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce ((307) 733-3316) and Jackson Hole Central Reservation ((307) 733-4005) are assisting with lodging and travel options for displaced guests. Buckrail confirmed that the Four Seasons, Teton Mountain Lodge and Hotel Terra are asking guests to leave the village. Unfortunately, other lodging facilities are quickly filling up. Time to hit up Couchsurfing?
The resort will be issuing refunds, but the time/location for that has not been announced.
Julie Kukral and Leslie Hittmeier contributed to this story.
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