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Jackson Hole Gets First
Permit for Fixed-steel
Climbing Routes

By Jeff Burke

Think of a schoolyard jungle gym with its ladders, ropes,
bridges, and climbing bars. Now think of a larger and far more
sprawling version turned on its side and affixed to a steep moun-
tain, with people using it to move up and across the alpine landscape.
You’ve just visualized a via ferrata—and Jackson Hole is building one
right now, the first ski area to do so on Forest Service land.

Thanks to the passage of the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity
Enhancement Act (SAROEA), which authorizes summer facilities at
public land ski areas, Jackson is joining its European peers in devel-
oping its own permanent cable sidewalks that claw for the sky, lead-
ing the way to a new summer adventure that has long been exclusive
to the Alps.

Slated for completion this fall and open to the public next
summer, the feature will give guests one more reason—and a very
compelling one at that—to visit the resort in the late spring, sum-
mer, and fall.

FALL 2016 | NSAA JOURNAL | 27