Utah’s Yellowstone Club?
This new private mountain resort development in Utah is an exclusive enclave catering to the “one percent of the richest one percent” of skiers and riders, according to Ski Area Management magazine. The new Wasatch Peaks Ranch is smaller than Yellowstone Club in Montana, in size and membership, but not price. The private ranch property encompasses 20 square mile property in Morgan, Utah, located 35 minutes north from Salt Lake City, 10 miles south of Snowbasin, also near Powder Mountain.
Wasatch Peaks Ranch encompasses 12,740 acres, to include a planned 3,000 skiable acres of terrain, with 5 lifts and 70 miles of trails exclusive to members. The private ski and golf community proposes up to 750 homes in a 10-15 year phased development, according to reports, with one residential dwelling per 160 acres, unabashedly appealing to affluent alpinists. 705 memberships are proposed to be sold for $500,000 each with equity investments in $5 million blocks. As of December, WPR had sold 94 memberships, plus equities.
Ski access is the privilege of investors and homeowners. Leitner-Poma of America has installed two lifts thus far, including high-speed quads with heated seats and bubbles. Skiers have access to 1,650 acres of terrain, with a top elevation of about 9,500 feet, with the goal is 3,000-ski acres featuring private skiing in 15 bowls and 4,600’ vertical, there’s even the potential for heli-skiing.
Wasatch Peaks Ranch president and CEO is Bob Wheaton, former Deer Valley general manager, he led Deer Valley ski resort through decades of growth. He said Leitner-Poma of America has worked “to design and customize a lift experience that mirrors the luxury guest experience that our members will have.” One of the Ranch’s 10 initial investors is Lessing Stern, son of Deer Valley founder Edgar Stern.
Other perks and private amenities, an 18-hole Tom Fazio golf course, mountain biking and hiking on over 80 miles of trails, and a private wildlife preserve for fishing on the Weber River, and big game hunting of mule deer, elk and moose, and upland bird hunting. It is truly a ranch, with golf and skiing benefits. Wasatch Ranch controls a continuous ridgeline comprising 24 peaks and 15 bowls on the property and adjoining National Forest.
Stay tuned for details and membership opportunities at the latest elite ski resort community. Will it rival Yellowstone Club in Montana with its private ski and golf resort and roster of well-to-do celebs and entrepreneurs? Or be more down-to-earth like nearby Powder Mountain’s utopian Summit Group mountaintop society?
Wasatch Peaks Ranch met with opposition from locals during permitting, concerns for the environmental impact, developers argued the economic gain would be beneficial, and their plan is to respect the rural character and beauty of Morgan County. Previously owned by the Bass family of Snowbird fame, and the Holding families – think Sun Valley and Snowbasin, the Ranch was acquired by its current owners in January 2019, it had been listed for $39,000,000 by Mirr Ranch Group. Another new ski resort community is being developed in Utah near the Jordanelle Reservoir in the shadows of Deer Vally – called Mayflower Mountain Resort.
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Alta
Deer Valley
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Powder Mountain
Snowbasin
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Wasatch Peaks Ranch
Mayflower Mountain Resort
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