Jackson Hole Gets New Express Thunder Lift For Next Season

Jackson Hole gets a new express quad Thunder lift for next winter!

JHMR announced they will replace the existing Thunder quad chairlift with a faster and more powerful detachable quad chairlift ahead of the 2022-23 winter season. 

JHMR will bid farewell to the original Thunder lift pictured above that was installed in 1994 and replace it with a new high-speed quad made by Colorado-based lift manufacturer Leitner-Poma. The speed of the new lift is 1,000 feet per minute, twice the velocity of the original Thunder, and will cut riders’ time down from just over 7 minutes to 3.6 minutes. The new lift will have a contour load, similar to the Teton lift, as well as a contour unload. It will use the name Thunder and continue to access 1,454 vertical feet of terrain at JHMR.  

“The Thunder lift has been the most popular lift on the upper mountain, and it delivers access to some of the legendary terrain JHMR is known for. The new Thunder lift will dramatically cut down on skiers’ and snowboarders’ time spent waiting in line and on the lift,” said JHMR President, Mary Kate Buckley. “This substantial investment is being made to improve lift waiting times and give our guests more time on snow.”

If you’re not up to the terrain off the tram (see to-drop-or-not-to-drop for more on that), or don’t like the look of the queue, ride Bridger Gondola then ski down to Thunder Quad is a great next best option – get some lines here and/or head on to the highest lift apart from the Tram, the Sublette quad.

Removal of the existing Thunder lift is expected to begin in May. Construction and installation of the Resort’s new Thunder lift is expected to begin shortly after May, pending final Forest Service approval, and JHMR expects to finish installing and load testing the new Thunder lift in October.

Is it just us, or are a lot of you hanging out to get back to Jackson Hole?