Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's Aerial Tram, known to many as Big Red, is the nucleus of the resort and the highway in the sky to some of the most rugged ski terrain in North America.
In 1966 JHMR opened and Big Red started taking people up to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, holding 63 people and taking nine minutes to reach the 10,450 ft. summit. In the 1970's and into the 80's, Teton Village local and founder of the Jackson Hole Air Force Benny Wilson along with his outlaw ski posse of the likes of Dave the Wave, Rick Hunt, and Doug Combs among others would take advantage of that access and push the limits of what and where you could ski off the resort and changed the face of extreme skiing in North America. The next-generation rag-tag rippers like Sick Rick Armstrong, Micah Black and Steve and Todd would continue to push the limits of what could be skied in and out of the resort boundaries using the Big Red as a jump-off point.
JHMR's Big Red in all her glory.
In the winter of 1999-2000 Jackson Hole officially opened its gates to the outside the resort boundaries, which effectively opened up thousands of acres of backcountry access off the Tram, and capacity was reduced from 63 to 55 to allow for backcountry gear. Just a few years prior, Steve and Todd Jones founded Teton Gravity Research and began documenting extreme skiing from Jackson Hole's Tram and around the world.
Right off the top of the Tram, you can get your adrenaline going in the famed Corbet's Couloir TGR featured for a never-before-seen jump session into it in 2012's Dream Factory. Or scope your line from Big Red, sign out with ski patrol, and take the 20 foot jump into S&S Coulior like Todd Ligare, Griffin Post and Josh Dirksen did for 2011's One For The Road.
Whether the red box is used to ski within the resort's boundaries or to access places like The North Shore, Breakneck or Smart Bastard, TGR and Jackson Hole's Aerial Tram have sustained a fruitful relationship over the decades.
Exclusive look at the TGR x JHMR Ski Your Face design from the new Ride Big Red Collection. Photo: Zoe Leibovitch
TGR and Jackson Hole are excited to release a limited edition merch collaboration in celebration of the beacon in the sky that is Big Red. Aptly called the Ride Big Red Collection, featuring the artistry of illustrator TW Rushing. Available exclusively online, at the TGR Jackson Store or any of JHMR's retail locations.
About The Author
stash member Teton Gravity Research
It all began with a dream and a little cash scraped together from fishing in Alaska... Since 1995, we've been an action sports media company committed to fueling progression through our ground-breaking films (37 and counting) and online content.