Industry News
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In an industry of booming corporate resorts scarfing up every last acre of skiable terrain, it’s nice to experience some homegrown, low-key, powder stashing little secret gems out there wherever they may be. Pebble Creek Ski Area is one of those places.
Located in Inkom, Idaho, about 15 minutes outside of Pocatello, the resort offers 1,100 skiable acres within the boundaries serviced by three triple chair lifts with 2,200 vertical feet of drop and an average annual snowfall of about 250 inches, according to onthesnow.com. Whats more is that the resort was recently bought by Shay Butler, better known as Shay Carl, the successful YouTube sensation from his family reality series “The Shaytards.”
“So I hadn’t been skiing for a long time and it was, growing up one of my favorite, in fact it was the favorite thing that I ever did, so skiing this last season really brought it all back. The spirit of the mountain touched my heart and I thought I’m going to go down in that little ticket office down there and see if Mary Reichman wants to sell this place.”
-Shay Butler
Source; KVPI News (YouTube Sensation Buys Pebble Creek Ski Area.)
Butler and his family had their YouTube debut in the early 2000’s starring in their family reality series which follows the lives and times of “The Shaytards.” It has gone on to become a smash hit in the online series industry and Forbes dubbed them one of the most successful video entrepreneurs on YouTube. Although Butler relocated to Los Angeles for five years to accommodate their success, he has now returned to his home town of Pocatello and begun a new era in the history of the Shaytards.
Shay and his partners founded Marker Studios and sold it to Walt Disney Company in 2014 for $500 million.
However, the purchase of Pebble Creek Ski Area didn’t quite go as smoothly as Butler had hoped. Butler made his purchase offer in February to the group of investors who have owned the resort for more than 30 years, but due to the resort residing on U.S. Forest Service land the investors were required to meet certain standards set by the Forest Service before the final sale was made.
This process took seven months and as of last Thursday Butler is the official owner. Along with the new ownership, the U.S. Forest Service approved a 40-year extension on the leasing of Pebble Creek’s land and will require a 10-year master plan be submitted by resort officials, and Butler certainly has some big plans in mind for this little resort.
Butler has already started on some much needed updates and renovations to the ski lodge by painting, carpeting, adding new countertops, and updating the lighting. Some of the winter updates in the making are more snowmaking, more parking, increasing the beginner and intermediate ski areas, and a new toilet system on the lower mountain. Some of his future plans for the ski hill itself, should the Forest Service approve the master plans, include mountain biking trails, movie screenings, concerts, a summertime tubing center, and an overall step in the direction of a four season resort.
“For over 65 years, skiers and then boarders have been up here on this absolutely fantastic mountain, and it’s all about the mountain. It’s all about the people, about the snow, about people enjoying the outdoors and feeling the wonderful energy here and no matter what happens, that will always be here and we have that to look forward to again.”
-Mary Reichman, General Manager of Pebble Creek Ski Area
Source; KVPI News (YouTube Sensation Buys Pebble Creek Ski Area.)
But these activities are not to be implemented for the soul purpose of profits. Butler insists that most profit will be returned to the resort for improvement and further investment. They will be utilizing Pebble Creek’s Facebook page as a source for hosting polls about updates and management of the ski hill so that everyone has a voice in the matters of this resort, which has become a huge part of their community.
