Sleeping Giant’s final winter? Ski hill to suspend operations next winter

Loss of donors, revenue issues force nonprofit to plan suspension of winter operations

Posted 1/23/20

After running deep deficits for several years, Sleeping Giant Ski Area plans to cease its winter operations at the end of this season.

The board of the nonprofit Yellowstone Recreations …

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Sleeping Giant’s final winter? Ski hill to suspend operations next winter

Loss of donors, revenue issues force nonprofit to plan suspension of winter operations

Posted

After running deep deficits for several years, Sleeping Giant Ski Area plans to cease its winter operations at the end of this season.

The board of the nonprofit Yellowstone Recreations Foundation, which runs the ski hill, announced the suspension of winter operations “with tremendous sadness and sorrow” on Tuesday. The decision is set to take effect next winter.

The recently installed zip-line operation will remain open in the summer months, but the announcement could spell the end of skiing and snowboarding at the North Fork ski hill.

“The support from the community has been remarkable, however the number of skiers and snowboarders we currently attract does not make winter operations financially feasible as we run a deficit of over $200,000 per year,” said Yellowstone Recreations Foundation Manager Amy Woods. “The decision is agonizing but necessary.”

The news has hit the local skiing community hard, many who came together a decade ago to help operate the non-profit organization.

“When we heard the news, it was like hearing a patient was moved to hospice,” said Dr. Nathan Rieb of Powell, whose family has considered the mountain a winter home away from home.

Rieb was moved to tears on Tuesday while recounting memories made at Sleeping Giant with his wife, Lisa, and their five children.

Employees and volunteers also took the news like a punch to the gut.

Board member Otto Goldbach said he started volunteering to groom the slopes and help with the operation’s management four years ago after spending time at Sleeping Giant with his family and falling in love with the mountain. He also helped raise money to buy needed equipment. More than a dozen volunteers traveled to the North Fork to volunteer on the ski patrol.

Goldbach said when one of their major donors decided to back out, it forced the decision to close. The decision came quickly after board members met last Saturday. A massive fundraising campaign helped reopen the facility in the 2009-10 season after it was dormant for four years.

The state put $500,000 into the ski hill in the form of a grant, Park County invested $132,820 worth of federal dollars that had to be spent on projects within or near the Shoshone National Forest and donors like Jim Nielson and Anne Young of Cody made major contributions to help reopen the slopes. The facility returned the favor with relatively inexpensive passes, instruction opportunities, access to premier nordic trails and free lift tickets and equipment rental to help get youth involved in the winter sports.

“The generosity of the mountain may have contributed to its demise,” Rieb said. “The programs were great for the community but hard on revenue.”

The Powell Recreation District will continue to run a Saturday bus to Sleeping Giant, said rec district director Colby Stenerson. The bus costs $3, leaves at 7:30 a.m. and returns around 5:30 p.m.

“It’s disappointing,” Stenerson said of the plans to close the ski hill, “but if they’re losing $200,000 a year it’s understandable.”

“We’ll look into the option to run to Red Lodge,” he added, “but rates and free skiing for fifth graders at Sleeping Giant made it popular.”

About 30 kids ride the bus each week, he said.

When Yellowstone Recreations Foundation opened the zip-line in 2016, the intent was to diversify Sleeping Giant’s revenue. But it didn’t raise as much money as hoped, Goldbach said. “In order to really keep going, we need about $350,000 more than it now brings in to make it work.”

According to the foundation’s most recent available tax filings — for July 2017 to June 2018 — about 40 percent of the foundation’s nearly $1 million in revenue came from donations and grants. With more than $1.1 million in expenses that year, the foundation reported a loss of roughly $129,500.

Although winter operations will be suspended, the zip-line is expected to be unaffected and is scheduled to open June 15 — though the foundation might look to sell the infrastructure.

But there is still some hope.

A small group is forming to try to save the mountain for next year’s season, Goldbach said.

“We’re looking for new donors, and a working group is coming together to come up with ideas. We’ve had quite a bit of interest in saving it,” he said.

Lisa Rieb said she’s going to remain hopeful.

“It’s a special place; there’s nothing else like it,” she said. “The willingness to invest in future generations is a positive aspect of the state of Wyoming.”

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