JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. -- Jackson Hole is undergoing a renaissance apparent in its dramatically shifting landscape. The completion of the 124-room Four Seasons hotel this winter -- with the mountain's first truly slopeside restaurant, views of the snow-clad Tetons, and high-end services such as a ski concierge -- caps a series of recent luxury lodge openings in the newly expanded base area of Teton Village that is bound to bring in a whole different breed of skier.
Celebrated for epic ski terrain, the wild glacial valley known as Jackson Hole for years has attracted daredevil sporting types and year-round ski bums. It was named, appropriately enough, for a 19th-century mountain man and fur trader -- and the ''mountain man" types stuck around. The frontier town of Jackson, about 12 miles from the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's Teton Village, has a population of just 8,647 and its roots grounded firmly in the Old West tradition. Land development is severely restricted (only 3 percent of land is available for private ownership or development), and environmental consciousness is high. Walk down the main street and you'll see old-fashioned wooden storefronts, boardwalks, and lively Jackson town square. This is a town that every May holds a public auction of elk antlers shed in the National Elk Refuge; proceeds benefit the refuge.
