Jackson WY alternates, consideration to pax drive

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
In the event JAC is below minimums, I need to consider alternates.
One consideration is how long a drive the alternate would be for the pax.
And, what kind of weather/terrain the drive would entail.

Anyone dealt with this scenario and have suggestions?
Thanks

Googlemaps offers a nice blue line, and time to drive - but it makes sense at this time of year to avoid high terrain.
airport/driving time
AFO Afton 1:20
DIJ Driggs 1:50
IDA Idaho Falls 2:00
DUB Dubois 2:00
46U Alpine 0:46 no cars?
COD Cody 5:00hrs not feasible
 
Driggs. However, most of the weather on the western side of the JAC ski valley is the same and the road has JUST THIS LAST quarter, been re-opened.
 
Both Driggs and Idaho Falls worked well for us. The drive is spectacular any time of day.
Good luck.
 
Dubois is essentially unattended self-serve, no cars there.
Haven't been to Afton in a few years, very nice FBO, but I kind of doubt they would have rental cars there, either. Call to check.
PNA Pinedale or BPI Big Piney aren't that far away either, maybe 1:30 drive time? Pinedale FBO says they have cars, again, call to be sure.
RIW Riverton, or LND Lander are about 3 hrs drive, served by a local rental company, Peerless, but I think they rent with limited mileage. (Note Riverton still shows a Hertz link on Airnav, but they haven't had that office there in years.)
As Dr. Chien said, Driggs is the best choice, but, yes, weather may be bad there too, and if it's a big storm, just as likely to be below minimums as JAC. That said, the west side of the Tetons is essentially a different world, very often entirely different weather than the Jackson side. I'm not sure why you listed 1:50 drive time, it's more like 45 minutes. You may have found a reference to this past summer when Teton Pass was closed due to landslide, but open now. Teton Pass can be bad with weather, but, usually, it's either open or not.
What are you flying? At the risk of being pedantic, light planes, even if FIKI, are barely minimally up to the task of winter weather/real IFR in the Jackson neighborhood, proceed with caution. But, on a nice day, the scenery is world-class spectacular. Enjoy!
 
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MountainDude said:
Both Driggs and Idaho Falls worked well for us. The drive is spectacular any time of day.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
...in good weather.

If you miss at JAC because it's 1/4 mile visibility in heavy snow, you're probably not going to want to drive in from Driggs or anywhere else either - There's terrain, curves, and spots where there's only a guardrail between you and death if you slide off the road. Best to go somewhere like Idaho Falls and wait for the next day.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
There's terrain, curves, and spots where there's only a guardrail between you and death if you slide off the road.
Click to expand...
Don’t count on there being a guardrail between you and death anywhere in the Rockies.

As the old joke goes, we used to put up guardrails, but the tourists kept knocking them down.
 
GaryM said:
Don’t count on there being a guardrail between you and death anywhere in the Rockies.
Click to expand...
Or anywhere else. The husband of my wife's friend's sister was killed in an accident right next to O'Hare a few weeks ago after departing the pavement on an off ramp where someone else had already taken out the guardrail and ended up in the river.

And yes, I remember some scary spots between JAC and parts west. There's not always a guardrail...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
And yes, I remember some scary spots between JAC and parts west. There's not always a guardrail...
Click to expand...
Here is a photo of the aftermath of this summer's Teton Pass road collapse that several posters have mentioned in this thread.

Fortunately, this section of highway DID have a guardrail. That's it, lying at the bottom of the slope. :)

1735540954540.png
 
I went to college in Rexburg ID many years ago and skied at Jackson Hole many times. The ride over Teton pass can be an adventure. Make sure you are prepared. My parents lived in Star Valley so I have been to the Afton airport many times. The terminal is nice and they do have weather cameras you can check out. https://www.aftonwyoming.gov/community/airport.php I dont know about car rentals - that would be the biggest issue. If I remember the fees at Driggs were pretty high back in 2020 but I havent checked lately. If you end up in Afton, the Aviat Aircraft factory is there. I bought my O-320 from them.

If things get to the point where you cant get into Jackson, Idaho Falls is probably your best bet. They have rental cars and hotels. The drive is only an extra hour so low time cost and much safer. Have a great trip and know that travel in the Rockies is always tricky.
 
Pocatello is an option. Weather likely better but you still have to cross the Tetons. I was in Pinedale in August. Great airport and FBO, but if weather is bad at Jackson it’s unlikely to be better in Pinedale.
 
KPNA. Far enough away to potentially have better WX, close enough to drive to Jackson. Airport manager Riley is a great guy, almost always have hangar space for transient parking of you want it out of the elements. I've also been into DIJ several times. Great airport and facilities, but so close to JAC the weather is likely very similar.
 
Thanks for all the leads.
Amazing how much effort can go into finding alternative plans when the weather is marginal.
Looking like a window is opening up tomorrow so it may all be for naught...but gotta do it.
 
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