With price tag at $650,000, community looks at options for Teton Pass Ski Resort

Teton Pass Ski Resort didn't open this winter and is for sale by its owner, but local powder hounds aren't ready to give up one of their favorite ski hills.

About 100 people crowded into a conference room at the Stage Stop Inn in Choteau on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of Teton Pass and possible options to get it back up and running.

“It’s an area beloved by all of us, folks here have been skiing there most of their lives," Mary Sexton of the Choteau Area Port Authority said. "We all want to have Teton Pass open—next year if possible. As soon as possible."

Her sentiment was met with applause.

Teton Pass has a $650,000 price tag on a Forest Service lease. The ski area is currently owned by New Zealander Nick Wood.

More:Choteau's Teton Pass not opening this winter

Options presented at the meeting included operating Teton Pass as a nonprofit or as a cooperative. However, each present challenges for the hill considering it has had revenue difficulties for years.

Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman functions as a nonprofit. Before it was a ski hill, Bridger Bowl was a state park. It was eventually converted into a tax-exempt organization and has been a successful example of utilizing this model.

"Bridger is a good example of that," Ciche Pitcher, president of the Montana Ski Areas Association and President of Discovery Ski Area in Missoula, said. "But it's also not a way to take ski area that's not viable and make it viable. Changing the structure to a nonprofit isn’t going to change cashflow challenges."

Jan Brown, executive director of the Montana Cooperative Development Center in Great Falls, floated the possibility of turning the area into a cooperative that would allow people to purchase shares and see small dividends, similar to the co-op structure of REI members. 

Brown said Mad River Glen Ski Area in Vermont converted to a co-op in 1995. Since then, it has converted its single chairlift to a double chairlift. The hill sold $2,000 shares to the community to have a stake in the business and hosts monthly meetings for members.

Montana has a well laid out co-op process spelled out in state law with a step by step process to achieve coop status.

"This is a model that Montana was built on," Brown said. "Co-ops have worked throughout our history and I believe it could happen here." 

There is a time crunch to get the situation at Teton Pass figured out. Because the actual land belongs to the Forest Service, there are certain requirements spelled out in the property's master plan that must be adhered to. 

For instance, the equipment and lodging on the property cannot be left to sit unused. 

"If there's no sale in the next four months, we're going to need to start talking about what that might mean," Michael Munoz, Forest Service district ranger, said. "That's not something we typically allow to just sit out there."

Munoz said there's no revocation date set, but it's something for the owner and the community to consider. If Wood opened the ski hill next season for the minimum 36 days to prove usage, those talks could be further postponed. 

"It's advisable for him to do that," Munoz said.

Wood made significant improvements to the property since purchasing it in 2010, however, there is still more money that needs to be funneled into infrastructure and improvements to get it back up and running. Last season, the ski area's generator failed. Teton Pass can't be operational until a new generator is put in place. 

"This is very important to the whole town, the economy of Choteau, the whole area," Jim Bouma, Choteau resident and broker with Clearwater Montana Properties, said. "I think you can tell that by the interest level here tonight. People are interested to see it open again. This is a small community. Every business is important."

Bouma is the broker on the Teton Pass listing. He believes Wood's goal is to sell the property, though he might be open to considering other options.

Rachel Vandevoort, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, put her office's support behind finding a feasible solution and encouraged the community to also consider working with Wood to lease the property or alternate solution to get the hill open next season.

Most community members who spoke at the meeting floated ideas about off-season summer use of the property to earn more revenue. Munoz said the current permit does allow summer use beginning July 1, so it would be a feasible possibility to explore.

However, Pitcher said he would be wary of pursuing that route.

"In general, insurance is a big barrier getting into ski business," Pitcher said. "The perception is that if you compile more user groups, you get more revenue. But, these individual businesses require additional business models and additional expenses. If they don’t make sense on their own, they're not likely to work when they're piled all together. There is some cost efficiency, but I'm not sure it makes sense here."

By the end of the meeting, it was clear that there would be no easy answers. However, there was no lack of enthusiasm, passion or support from the crowd that gathered in Choteau to discuss the future of the area favorite ski hill. 

"The ski business, the recreation business is a labor of love and has nothing to do with putting money in your pocket," George Willett, owner of Showdown Montana, said. "It's just not gonna happen unless everybody is invested in being a part of it and making it happen. It’s a tough business."