$15 TO SAVE TRAM: $19,998,500 to go

When Jackson Hole Mountain Resort officials announced in June that the iconic aerial tram had only one winter remaining before it would be shut down in the summer of 2006, Jackson locals along with skiers everywhere were overwhelmed with frustration, confusion, and a sense of loss.

(c) Will Gardner

In response, the community has rallied in a grassroots attempt to fund either a new tram or an alternative access solution to the top of Rendezvous Peak by selling a gray T-shirt with the words ‘Save The Tram’ printed in red letters. The T-shirts are being sold at Lee’s Tees in Jackson and Teton Village for $15.

"We’ve already raised about $1,500,” says store owner Lee Gardner. Of the $15 fee, $10 from each sale goes directly into the tram fund. According to Gardner, the idea spawned from his 19-year-old son who was at the lake wondering what Jackson would be like without the tram. He presented the idea to his dad; the elder Gardner liked the idea enough to have the shirts printed overnight. “These kids who grew up here don’t know anything different from the tram,” says Gardner.

Despite the resort’s initial cost estimation of $20 million to restore the 40-year-old tram, Jackson locals and skiers around the continent have united in the effort by purchasing the gray T’s. “Mostly locals have bought them, but I’ve had people call me from Los Angeles and Canada wondering if they could get some of these,” adds Gardner.

(c) Will Gardner

The owner of Lee’s Tees met with resort officials two weeks ago to discuss the fund-raising effort. Although the resort does not yet know if it will use the money, Gardner says the money will go to a good cause. The resort has said it will need state or federal financial support to either replace or renovate the existing tram. But like nearly every Jackson local who has expressed discontent regarding the tram’s future closing, Gardner admits that “Jackson wouldn’t be Jackson without the tram.”

To purchase the ‘Save The Tram’ T-shirts, visit Lee’s Tees at 80 W. Broadway in Jackson and in the Village Center Building in Teton Village, or call 307.733.6671.