Jackson Hole Upgrading Thunder To High-Speed Quad for Upcoming Season
Some of our rankers testing out the moguls underneath the Thunder chair in February 2020.
Jackson Hole’s mid-mountain Thunder chair is slated for an upgrade next season, as per an announcement from the resort this week. For the 2022-23 season, the fixed-grip quad will be replaced with a modern, high-speed quad with a higher capacity. The existing seven-minute lift ride will essentially be cut in half, to just 3.6 minutes.
Jackson Hole says the Thunder installation should be complete in October 2022, with the new lift fully operational for the beginning of next winter.
Our Take
It’s hard to find fault with Jackson Hole—the mountain is one of the highest rated in our rankings—but one of its few drawbacks is the lack of high-speed lift alternatives to mid-mountain tram terrain. For years, the only way to lap this zone has been through the Thunder and Sublette quads, both of which have offered access to some of Jackson Hole’s best steeps, but are slow, fixed-grip chairs. Neither of these lifts are terribly long, but most competing destination resorts at similar price points offer high-speed lifts in comparable setups. The Thunder upgrade looks to address this shortcoming, and will become one of Jackson’s shortest lift rides—only behind Teewinot, Moose Creek, and Casper—once complete.
Besides ride time, the one other major benefit to the new Thunder lift will be in its capacity upgrade. Jackson Hole has historically been able to handle crowds well, but in recent seasons, the popular Thunder and Sublette lifts have borne the brunt of large lines, especially on powder days, weekends, and holidays. While a new capacity metric hasn’t been announced yet, high-speed quads can often carry up to 2,400 people per hour—which would be a 71% upgrade from the Thunder lift’s current throughput. Accordingly, the upgraded Thunder should provide considerable relief in this area.
We’re looking forward to returning to Jackson Hole next winter to check out the new Thunder lift for ourselves.
Considering a trip to Jackson Hole next winter? Check out our comprehensive mountain review. Additionally, check out our Rockies rankings.
