Phones have been ringing all winter long at Grand Teton Skating Association with one pressing question: Are the rinks open?
The Jackson non-profit manages the rink at the Jackson Town Square and another in Teton Village. This winter, both had short seasons that started mid-January and ended, abruptly, last week.
“If you don’t have snow, then we cannot build [the rinks] up,” said Akop Manoukian, executive director of GTSA. “If you don’t have the cold weather, then you cannot put the water on.”
The bottom line, he said, is that his rinks need cold temperatures and snow, both of which were hard to come by on the valley floor this winter. Without that combination, it’s difficult to build up the levels of the ice that are needed to provide safe skating conditions.
Manoukian said as much as he would’ve liked to keep the private rinks open for tourists and locals, it just wasn’t possible this winter.
Snow King Mountain Resort is still planning for a March 22 closing date, General Manager Ryan Stanley said in a text. But Jackson Hole Snow Devils posted late Tuesday night that it had cancelled its annual World Championships Hill Climb due to “insufficient snow.” It was slated to start March 19.
The U.S. National Weather Service’s Riverton office said all nine of its climate sites reported its warmest meteorological winters, or Dec. 1 to Feb. 28, to date. High pressure cycles pushed Arctic air masses to the other side of the country, bypassing the Tetons which have instead seen record levels of winter rain. Lack of snow at lower elevations also contributes to low albedo, meaning the snow can’t reflect the sun back into the atmosphere so the ground gets warmer, faster.
The warmest, and one of the wettest, winters in Jackson’s history also forced the shortest window of the county’s three public ice rinks, at least in recent memory.
“We’ve probably had [the rinks] open 50 to 60 percent of what we normally would during the course of a year,” said Andy Erskine, who helps run Jackson/Teton County Parks and Recreation.
That meant recreational broomball — a popular ice rink game akin to hockey but sans skates — was rushed along this year to get the league out on the ice before it was too late, Erskine said. Informal hockey leagues also had to cut their seasons short.
“The temperatures are such a huge factor with the sun angle this time of year,” Erskine said. “It’s just a safety issue, once it starts melting we can’t get equipment on there to run a Zamboni over it.”
Most public and private cross-country ski trails also started grooming late, but are less vulnerable to temperature-related closures than skating.
Like Snow King, other ski resorts said they will be spared from early closures. While all three Teton County resorts delayed opening, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort confirmed via email that it still plans to close April 12 and that snowpack has never caused the mountain to close early.
“That mid-April closing date has been consistent for about the past 15 years,” Andriana Rogers, communications manager for the mountain, said in an email. “With additional storm cycles in the forecast and wall-to-wall coverage, we’re feeling confident about the remainder of the season and the quality of skiing and riding we’re delivering to guests.”
On the other side of the Tetons, Grand Targhee Resort is still on track for an April 19 closing date.
This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Andriana Rogers’ name and include an update from the Jackson Hole Snow Devils. — Ed.
