When The Ski Slopes Are Too Crowded, Why Not Rent Your Own Ski Area?

In winter 2017, four friends were chasing powder storms around the West when they called Nathan Etcheverry at Pine Creek Ski Area near Cokeville.

They'd been talking for three weeks about the perfect day to rent the entire mountain.

"I said, ‘This day is going to be pretty good. You might want to look at this," Nathan told Cowboy State Daily. 

The friends booked it. When they arrived that morning, 18 inches of fresh powder blanketed Pine Creek's 640 acres under bluebird skies. 

Nathan's father, Paul, ran the lift just for them. Nathan guided the group all morning, then cooked them lunch in the lodge before heading back out for more runs. Four guys. One lift. An entire mountain. Bell to bell, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

"They just kept skiing around the lift," Nathan remembers of that epic day. "It was probably one of the best days we've had."

If this seems like a dream come true and you're moved by Pine Creek's motto — "Skiing the way it used to be" — then gather up your friends and rent the whole place for $6,000 a day.

Split among 50 of your best ski pals, $120 per person is about half the price of a lift ticket at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and other top ski resorts. 

"We're pretty sure we're not giving them that Vail experience," said Alicia Etcheverry, who along with her husband Nathan manages Pine Creek's private rental program. "We're still just the everyman's mountain."

What Pine Creek lacks in amenities, it makes up for in authenticity. 

"We don't allow Wi-Fi. There's no public Wi-Fi," Alicia explained. "That has annoyed some people, but it really enhances the experience for everyone. They're very much present. They're very much like, ‘OK, this is how it used to feel, right? We're all here together.’"

Cell service? Only at the top of the mountain. There's a landline in the lodge if you really need to make a call.

The rent-the-whole-resort program has grown from about five rental days when it started around 2010 to nearly 30 days a year now. 

"We have probably like seven or eight who come every year," Alicia noted, with some groups booking a year in advance for their preferred date.

"The majority really are friends and family getting together," she said, recalling birthday parties, anniversaries, company retreats and even a couple of weddings — "which is a really affordable way to do a wedding anymore," Alicia added.

The mountain operates Friday through Sunday for the public, leaving Monday through Thursday available for private rentals, excluding holidays. 

The Luxury Alternative

For those seeking the Aspen-level experience, there's Brush Creek Ranch's Green Mountain near Saratoga.

At $675 per person per day, or $8,500 to buy out the entire 600-acre private mountain for up to 18 people, Green Mountain delivers an entirely different tier of exclusivity.

"It was a powder day, and it was pretty great," said Karli Miller, the ranch's marketing director, recalling her own day on the mountain. "There was like six of us. So you pretty much had fresh powder every run."

No lift lines here because there is no lift. A heated snowcat shuttles skiers up the mountain, and the exclusive Brush Creek Ranch is prepared to outfit skiers in all the gear they need. 

Halfway through the morning, warm cinnamon rolls appear by the fire. A delicious lunch is served in a cozy yurt at the mountain's top — gourmet fare from the ranch's chefs using produce from their greenhouses and beef from their cattle.

This was the passion project of the late Bruce White, the ranch's owner who passed away a couple years ago but left behind a singular vision: a place offering "the perfect blend of heart-pounding excitement and peaceful tranquility" with no crowds. 

Miller noted they offer a locals' rate to spend the night: $900 a room with all meals included, plus $675 per person for the day if you want to ski the private runs carved out of the forest. 

Brush Creek Ranch allows a maximum of 18 skiers per day on 12 groomed trails and six gladed runs descending about 1,200 vertical feet. 

Rent The Butte

John DeVino is the general manager at Antelope Butte Ski Area near Shell. He recalled attending a conference at Powder Mountain east of Ogden, Utah, which was rented for private use. 

“It was 100 people and we had 400 acres,” DeVino told Cowboy State Daily. “That was pretty cool.”

Now DeVino oversees the full-day private rental of his “500-acre gem” in the Bighorn Mountains between Greybull and Sheridan. 

"Last year we had a company come in and rent it on a Tuesday for a corporate retreat," said DeVino. "It was probably 35 degrees and sunny. Everybody was loving life."

For $6,000, Antelope Butte will throw in rentals for up to 65 people, running the Summit Lift and cranking up the kitchen and bar as needed. 

Antelope Butte prides itself for keeping snowsports affordable, with free passes for anyone under 18 and $54 lift tickets. 

It costs a lot more to rent ski areas in Montana, Colorado and Utah.

Showdown Ski Area near White Sulphur Springs, Montana, rents for $20,000 a day for 75 guests. 

For a “once in a lifetime opportunity at 10,000 feet, high in the Tushar Mountains in southern Utah” full resort rental starts at $15,000 per day at Eagle Point Ski Area near the town of Beaver. 

Too pricey? Mount Ellis Academy — a Seventh-day Adventist school in Bozeman, Montana — owns a little ski area on the edge of town called Bear Canyon. It has a cozy little lodge and one T-bar lift, which is currently broken. 

But there are plans to fix the lift and again start renting out the area to private groups at a rate of $500 per hour — which includes firewood to keep everyone warm between runs. 

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.