
Sleeping Giant, a small ski area near Cody, Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park has hit the market for $500,000.
As far as ski area sales go, Sleeping Giant is a steal. The ski area costs less than many homes in the resort town of Jackson, Wyoming. According to Zillow, the average Jackson home value is $2,026,346. However, the ski area operates via a Forest Service land lease, so the sale only includes Sleeping Giant’s infrastructure.
The ski area’s owner, Nick Piazza, told the Cowboy State Daily that he’s looking to sell Sleeping Giant outright or find a partner willing to help him run it. “It’s us looking for a strategic partner, but it doesn’t preclude us from selling,” Piazza said.
Piazza, a Cody native who saw success in the finance industry, purchased Sleeping Giant in 2020 for a symbolic $100 in exchange for agreeing to take on future operations and expenses at the formerly non-profit ski area, according to the Cody Enterprise. Since taking over, he estimates that he’s poured around $1.5 million into Sleeping Giant to fund improvements like new lights, a yurt, and lift upgrades.
This September, Sleeping Giant shared that it wouldn’t open for the 2024 and 2025 ski season (Sleeping Giant also didn’t operate during the 2023 and 2024 ski season due to a lack of snow and staffing issues).
“As you know, we faced a lack of snow last winter, a small flood this spring, and most recently vandalism to our Big Horn lift in August involving the brand-new communication line that we purchased for it the previous year,” a statement shared by Sleeping Giant providing context for the closure reads. “None of these problems are insurmountable, but taken together with the need to hire many seasonal staff made it clear that rushing to try to get open for the season did not make sense.”
With the downtime, Sleeping Giant’s management noted that it plans to conduct repairs and improvements. Some of the ski area’s team members will likely attend a resort management training program hosted by a major West Coast university.
“It is at these times that we remember why we decided to take a chance and try to wrangle a Giant,” the statement concluded.
Sleeping Giant Ski Area Stats/Info:
Vertical: 810 ft.
Skiable Terrain: 184 ac.
Average Snowfall: 150 in.
Trails: 49
Lifts: 3
Snowmaking: YES
Night Skiing: YES
Mega-Pass: Formerly on Indy Pass
Source: Yahoo Life