JACKSON, Wyoming — “Mission critical” is a term used by search and rescue teams to indicate a life-threatening scenario that requires the utmost attention to safety and efficiency. For Teton County Search and Rescue, Mission Critical is also the name they have given their fundraising efforts to purchase a helicopter designated for a search and […]
Billyâs Burgers to return
After bowing out of the Town Square scene in the spring of 2012, Billyâs Burgers will be returning late this summer in a new spot, The Virginian.
âThe Virginian Lodge and Billyâs Burgers have both been much loved institutions in Jackson,â Robert Huggins, president and CEO of Virginian owner Orion Companies, said in a statement emailed by a public relations representative. âWhen it came time to reimagine the next era for The Virginian, it was a natural decision to bring back Billyâs Burgers â a place that has not only been known for amazing burgers but also for fostering a sense of community and friendship around its lively counter. We look forward to creating that same atmosphere in the new home for Billyâs Burgers.â
The mountains were calling and he decided he must go. Twice.
A Chicago kid who had just graduated from high school, Chuck Melichar had his pick of colleges to attend. He narrowed his decision to top-tier institutions MIT and Colorado School of Mines.
Melichar chose the latter, and that choice has had a significant effect on operations at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Snow King Mountain Resort since 1993. He went from Chicago to the Colorado Rockies having never skied and knowing nothing about chairlifts and their operation â both quickly changed.
For those riding Snow Kingâs Summit Lift for its last hurrah â the 40-year-old lift will have been replaced by a new gondola by next ski season â during the last day of the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb on March 28, Melicharâs 50 years of experience since heading out West from the Windy City were on display. On the lift himself when it malfunctioned and stopped running, Melichar talked the Snow King
To say it’s a relic of days gone by is an understatement. Every ski lift in the vicinity has gone higher-tech, with heated sidewalks to melt snow and hydraulic lifts that pick up speed. To load on the Summit Lift means walking or skidding onto a wooden platform where painted feet tell you where to stand. From there the journey has to be part of the destination because it will take you anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes to get to the top. (The lift changes speeds depending on who is riding it. It slows for sightseers and picks up for skiers. Regular King skiers will see people loading without skis and head to another lift, knowing the glacial pace that will ensue to suit tourists on the Summit Lift.) At the top a rope safety net is cobwebbed beneath the chair before the unloading area in case anyone falls while unloading from the wooden platform.