Top 10 ski chairlifts in the western United States: No. 6- Sublette Quad at Jackson Hole

July 11, 10:58 PMSkiing ExaminerEric Wagnon

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The Sublette Quad Chair accesses Jackson Hole Mountain
Resort's famed expert terrain.          Photo: JHMR/Tristan Greszko

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Top 10 Chairlifts List

• The Complete List Summary
• No. 10: John Paul Express Quad at Snowbasin
• No. 9: Grouse Mountain Express at Beaver Creek
• No. 8: American Flyer at Copper Mountain
  
• No. 7: Big Mountain Express at Whitefish
• No. 5: Loge Peak at Aspen Highlands
• No. 4: Supreme at Alta
• No. 3: Pallavicini at Arapahoe Basin
  
• No. 2: Chair 23 at Mammoth
• No. 1: KT-22 Express at Squaw Valley
• Best of the Rest

Top 10 western U.S. chairlifts

This series covers the "top 10" chairlifts-- not including trams or gondolas-- at ski resorts in the western United States. This top 10 list admittedly is highly subjective. These are not necessarily the highest or longest lifts, but they are all memorable and special for the skiers who ride them.

No. 6: Sublette Quad Chair

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyo.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort comes up in nearly every discussion of the best expert terrain the United States. While the way down at Jackson Hole is steep, the best chairlift to take on the way up is the Sublette Quad Chair.

According to the “Unofficial Guide to Jackson Hole Skiing,” an informative online tour by local resident Bob Peters, the chair is often referred to simply as “the quad” in local lingo, even though there are several other four-person chairlifts at the resort.

Sublette Quad goes up fast

The Sublette Quad climbs 1,630 vertical feet in an eight-minute ride. Proving that those 1,630 vertical feet are steep, the 4,108-foot length of the chair is remarkably short for such a vertical rise. By contrast, the American Flyer at Copper Mountain— No. 8 on this top 10 list for its beginner terrain-- needs a length of 9,887 feet to go up 1,904 vertical feet. A little math shows that on average, the mellow American Flyer rises one foot vertically in 5.2 feet of travel, but the steep Sublette Chair rises one foot in just 2.5 feet.

Alta One Chute is the most popular of the Alta Chutes going under
the Sublette Quad Chair.                 Photo: JHMR/Tristan Greszko

Expert terrain awaits

Other than the famous Jackson Hole Tram, the Sublette Quad, opened in 1987, unloads higher on Rendezvous Mountain than any other lift. The lift accesses Cheyenne Bowl and Laramie Bowl for a return to the bottom of the lift.

Going skier’s left immediately after unloading leads to Tensleep Bowl and the Expert Chutes. This route, however, eventually ends up at another excellent expert chairlift, the Thunder Quad Chair, rather than Sublette.

While nothing even close to beginner terrain exists in the Sublette area, Rendezvous Trail, skier’s right after unloading the Sublette Quad, is one option for intermediates that goes all the way back to the start of the chairlift.

In the first half of the chairlift ride, the Alta Chutes cross under the lift. The three main chutes are numbered from the top down, so the highest and most prominent of the chutes is known as Alta One. With a guaranteed audience from the lift, the chutes are steep even by Jackson Hole standards. Unlike some areas at Jackson Hole, the exposure direction of the Alta Chutes tends to favor good snow conditions, so at least the snow quality can make them a little more forgiving.

Resi Stiegler
     Photo: U.S. Ski Team/J. Selkowitz

Pepi’s Run named for Olympian

Along the ridgeline above the Alta Chutes, Pepi’s Run is named for 1964 Olympic gold-medalist Pepi Stiegler, who went on to work at Jackson Hole Resort for almost 40 years. His daughter, Resi, grew up skiing at Jackson Hole, competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and now skis on the 2010 U.S. Alpine Team. Resi’s younger brother, Seppi, currently skis for the team at the University of Denver.

Pepi’s Run goes from the Laramie Traverse all the way down to the loading station for the Sublette Quad. Near the start of Pepi’s Run, Flip Point is another option from the Laramie Traverse. The trail is named for the skiers who years ago would jump off the cat-track and flip into Laramie Bowl.

Hobacks found below the lift

The famous Hobacks can also be reached off of the Sublette Chair, but the Hobacks extend well below the Sublette Quad’s loading station to the valley floor. The Hobacks can be fantastic in good snow, but the less-than-ideal exposure can mean difficult conditions for thousands of vertical feet with no escape.

Click here for Top 10 Chairlifts slideshow

Lift named for beaver trappers

The lift is named for Milton and Bill Sublette, who played a role in the naming of the whole place in the 1800s. Bill actually called the area, Jackson’s Hole, after his beaver trapping partner, Davy Jackson, because it was Jackson’s favorite trapping spot. In mountain-man lingo, a “hole” is a high valley surrounded by mountains. The Sublette brothers and their trapping companions are also remembered for a battle with the Gros Ventre Indians on July 18, 1832 at Pierre’s Hole, located on the other side of the Tetons in present-day Idaho.

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The Sublette Quad Chair climbs 1,690 vertical feet between Cheyenne Bowl and Laramie Bowl.
Click on map for trail map of entire resort. Map: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

 Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Promotional Video