Jackson Hole vs. Aspen: Which Is America’s Best Ski Destination?
Is Jackson Hole facing an identity crisis? The exclusive Wyoming ski town has just about everything going for it: world-class slopes, A-list locals and some of the most expensive real estate on the planet. And that’s the problem. The Hole, it seems, is desperate not to become Aspen, Colorado’s unapologetically ostentatious winter wonderland for one-percenters. And so conspicuous consumption is conspicuously avoided and a relaxed dress code of blue jeans and cowboy boots is rigidly observed, even as the area’s net worth nearly rivals that of a Gulf oil state. But, protestations aside, are the two really so different?
ARRIVED ON THE SCENE More from Robb Report
2000s | ARRIVED ON THE SCENE 1940s |
NOTABLE CRANK Kanye West  | NOTABLE CRANK Hunter S. Thompson  |
UNOFFICIAL TOWN VEHICLE GMC Yukon Denali  | UNOFFICIAL TOWN VEHICLE AWD Tesla  |
FAMOUS WATERING HOLE Million Dollar Cowboy  | FAMOUS WATERING HOLE Living Room at Hotel Jerome  |
CULTURAL INSTITUTION Longest-Running Shoot-Out (1957)  | CULTURAL INSTITUTION Wheeler Opera House (1889)  |
Pow Factor (Advantage: Aspen)
JACKSON HOLE 3 | ASPEN 4 |
SKIING AREA 2,500 acres | SKIING AREA 5,527 acres |
ACREAGE PER RESIDENT 0.1 | ACREAGE PER RESIDENT 0.3 |
IN-DEMAND SKI PRO Tommy Moe One of two American men to win | IN-DEMAND SKI PRO Chris Davenport World Extreme Skiing Champion, |
Cold Hard Cash (Advantage: Jackson Hole)
JACKSON HOLE $229,825 | ASPEN $158,313 |
AVERAGE INCOME OF THE $22,508,108 | AVERAGE INCOME OF THE $6,620,696 |
MOST EXPENSIVE HOME $69,500,000 | MOST EXPENSIVE HOME $49,500,000 |
MOST EXPENSIVE IN-SEASON $104,000 | MOST EXPENSIVE IN-SEASON $252,000 |
Verdict:
If you consider the gravitational pull of its wealth, Jackson Hole has done a remarkable job keeping its cultural signifiers more giddyup! than Gstaad. But billionaires and celebrities cosplaying as cowboys doesn’t make a resort town the new Sundance—it makes it Westworld.
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