JACKSON, Wyo. — Construction of a new facility to replace Corbet’s Cabin, a well-known landmark of the Tetons, will begin in June 2023, and the current structure will be torn down in fall 2025.
In November 2016, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) proposed the replacement of Corbet’s as part of their Recreation Enhancements Project – Phase 2, which included several other improvements to facilities, construction of new ski lifts and development of terrain. The plan underwent standard procedures of seeking approval from Bridger-Teton National Forest through a period of public comment and a National Environmental Policy Act review.
Located at the top of Rendezvous Peak, the original Corbet’s Cabin was built “as a temporary, construction-related facility with wooden footings when the Tram was constructed in 1965,” according to the Environmental Assessment (EA) documents. With 140,000 riders using the Tram each summer, the 57-year-old facility is “outdated and undersized.”
“It was a sound building at the time, so it became a space for operations to use once the Tram opened up in 1966,” said Bill Schreiber, the director of engineering and planning for JHMR. With old skis and snowboards decorating the outside and world-renowned waffles, Corbet’s has become synonymous with the Teton experience.
The initial plan laid out in 2016 was to expand and remodel the current building to accommodate more guests with increased restroom and seating capacity, and then construct a completely new facility. But that never happened.
“The cost of any addition and remodel was so significant that it was decided to just wait until the new Corbet’s Cabin was built,” Schreiber said.
If the JHMR board approves cost of construction this winter and snow melts normally at the top of the mountain, excavation is slated to begin in mid-June 2023. The building foundation and utilities will be installed, then construction will stop for winter. The rest of the building shell will be constructed between spring and fall 2024, then crews can work inside during the following winter. The facility would be completed in 2025 in time for the 2025-26 ski season.
Schreiber says the current cabin will remain operational through summer 2025, then torn down in the fall of that year. Some of the materials from the existing building will be used on the interior of the new facility. Schreiber thinks there will be an opportunity for the public to get some parts from the old building, but there are no details on how that might work.
The new Corbet’s Cabin will be one story with a 180-seat restaurant, ski patrol operations, restrooms, a summer interpretive center, a weather station and storage. It will also have a full basement used for mechanical equipment and storage. An ADA-accessible walkway will run from the tram dock to the facility, and the deck will have approximately 70 seats.
Schreiber says the new building will be “west of the existing structure, up against the earth that forms the very top of the mountain.” While some avalanche control explosives are currently stored at Corbet’s, that will change. Instead, a bunker will be built into the ridge about 300 feet southwest of the new facility.
The objective of a new building is not to increase overall use in the area. “The intent of the upgrade is to provide visitors with a more pleasant experience at the top of the Tram,” the EA reads. Current use on busy days is already approaching the maximum capacity of the Tram to deliver people to Corbet’s, so that puts a practical limit on visitor use.
“We understand the attachment that people have to the existing building.,” Schreiber said. “We have tried to make the new facility look and feel like a mountain refuge where possible. But the existing building is not nearly large enough for the current demand by visitors both winter and summer.”
