Village lodging feels the heat

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

By Robyn Vincent

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-As waves of smoke ascended from The Hostel on Saturday afternoon, rumors about the building swirled during an opening day après ski at the Village Café.

The Hostel was wrestling a chimney fire.

The four-level bunkhouse, opened in 1966, was known as Hostel X until the Wilson family sold it last spring, fueling gossip on the fire’s cause. But a “buildup of creosote” caused the flames, accounting  minimal damage and no injuries, according to Teton County fire inspector Brian Coe.

Skier Howard Henderson had just concluded a day of runs down the white ribbon of death (or AV as it’s referred to in its snow-cloaked state), when he spotted the fire.  
“I saw an impressive bloom of nasty looking smoke ... [and then] hot flames coming out of the chimney,” recalled Henderson, who, along with former Hostel X co-owner, Ben Wilson, helped to found the longtime ski crew Jackson Hole Air Force. The backcountry brigade frequented Hostel X and enriched the building’s interior with ski photos, articles and other stamps of JH skiing past.

A 40-year façade adjacent to the Mangy Moose in Teton Village, the property will run as a hostel this season. But the new owner is expected to administer an expensive face-lift soon after.

“The rumor is they might completely remodel it next year,” said Wilson, of the property his father built and his family owned. PJH


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Village lodging feels the heat | Planet JH News Article: Business

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