Waffles with altitude, cowboys and a safari at Jackson Hole in the Wyoming mountains

“Do waffles really taste different at 10,450 feet (3,185 metres) above sea level?” I pondered that existential question as the cable car inched its way out of the station at the base of the Teton Village Ski Area for the 12-minute ascent to Corbet’s Cabin at the summit of Rendezvous Mountain in the Teton Range. The mountaintop cabin draws locals and tourists, who come for the four varieties of mouth-watering waffles. Once inside – there’s usually a waffle line stretching across the mountaintop – I had a hard time deciding whether it would be the Gateway (peanut butter and bacon); Italian (strawberries and Nutella); Englishman (lemon glaze, powdered sugar and whipped cream), or the one I finally settled on – the Trad (brown sugar and butter). Wolfing it down and debating going back for seconds, I understood what all the fuss was about. And, yes, I can vouch for the fact that at this altitude waffles do taste different. Winter may bring epic snowfalls and the skiers who follow them, but according to tourism officials in the US state, the most popular times to visit are summer and autumn. My own visit came during a glorious pine-scented, sun-dappled week in September, and I can see why. For starters, there’s the 1,250 sq km (482 square mile) Grand Teton National Park, a tapestry of verdant valleys, mountain meadows, alpine lakes and soaring peaks, dominated by Grand Teton, at 4,199 metres, the highest mountain in the range. On my cable car ride, I got a good view of its craggy profile etched against a cornflower blue sky, and decided this part of the northwestern Wyoming landscape must have looked much the same to the early Shoshone tribes and fur trappers who populated it. Today, the park offers activities, from hiking, biking and backpacking on 400km of trails to a 22km float on the Snake River; from fly-fishing and horse riding to wildlife safaris. One place you will not want to skip is the town of Jackson itself. Wyoming is known as the Cowboy State, and it’s clear why in this lovely town of just under 11,000 residents. Sure, there are the ultra-rich whose cowboy hats sport diamond bands and whose custom-made boots would set most people back a month’s wages. But there are the real cowboys too – those whose hats and boots show the wear and tear of their rigorous profession. Both kinds mingle at Jackson’s premier watering hole, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, on the town’s main square. I wandered in one afternoon, threw my leg over the saddle-shaped bar stool, and listened as the bartender told me the story behind the bullet hole lodged in the bar. As it turns out, even though the Million Dollar looks like it would have attracted every desperado in the West, the bullet hole resulted not from a gunslinging outlaw, but from a timid nightwatchman scared either by his own shadow or that of his equally timid pet poodle. In more recent years, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker and Clint Black have all made their way to the bar’s stage, with the sound of the spinning roulette wheels serving as background music. The bar is the site every October of “Cowgirls at the Cowboy”, the nation’s only all-female bluegrass and country music festival. If you are looking for a great photo op, look no further than the Town Square and its unique archway composed of hundreds of antlers shed by elks from the nearby National Elk Refuge. Check out the National Museum of Wildlife, or, if you prefer to buy Western art, stop at Gallery Wilde where 35 artists, most of them regional, display their work. Of course, you’ll need a place to stay, and there is none better than the Four Seasons Resort. Located in Teton Village, the property combines the Western aesthetic with the elegance that is a Four Seasons trademark. For an elegant dinner, book a table by the window in WestBank Grill offering a panoramic view of Teton Village and Rendezvous Mountain. A large stone fireplace and open kitchen highlight the decor, and steaks are the speciality, although many guests opt for the sampling menu, which, at US$60 for three courses, is a bargain. That same panoramic view can be seen from the massive bank of windows at The Handle Bar, the resort’s more casual dining option. I found myself returning to a table by the stone fireplace for the smoked Idaho trout dip and the Handle burger. Another favourite spot was 80 Proof, a speakeasy. Try the tequila-based Pedro Romero, named after the fiery bullfighter of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, or the Carraway in honour of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s narrator in The Great Gatsby, described as “bananas Foster in a glass”. The highlight of my stay was a half-day private sunset wildlife safari tour, which, while admittedly pricey – US$645 for up to two people, US$85 for each additional person – is an adventure of a lifetime. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NEIL SIMMONS (@neilsimmonsphotography) With my guide Seth Ames leading the way, I watched graceful kestrels pirouetting above me, a shy coyote camouflaged among the sagebrush, and pronghorn antelope and bull elk grazing nonchalantly. One of the most thrilling moments of the four-hour tour had to be getting caught in a traffic jam caused by a herd of bison – there are more than 500 in Grand Teton National Park – who, knowing they were in control, seemed in no hurry to move things along. I thought that would have been enough, but we weren’t through. Seth’s sharp eyes spotted a black bear surreptitiously making its way through a grove of trees in the hope of cooling off in a nearby lake. The scene was magic, and enough to convince me that Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has to be the most beautiful spot in America. Patti Nickell

Waffles with altitude, cowboys and a safari at Jackson Hole in the Wyoming mountains

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Great skiing, high-altitude waffles, and off-season activities from hikes and safari to floating down Snake River, Jackson Hole has it all

Great skiing, high-altitude waffles, and off-season activities from hikes and safari to floating down Snake River, Jackson Hole has it all