Pinedale, WY – Sublette County Commissioners meeting this week decided against a proposal by Citizens to Save White Pine (CSWP) by which the county would have purchased White Pine ski area located 10 miles east of Pinedale.

County Commissioners gave varied reasons for rejecting the measure by a vote of 2 to 1, including government competing with private business for summer operations and bailing out bad business deal made by the former owners of Wyoming’s oldest ski area. The proposed deal’s backers argued that the ski area’s two chairlifts and one rope tow bring economic benefit to the region during the otherwise quiet winter months.

Situated in a sparsely populated area of southwestern Wyoming, White Pine’s 370 acres have little competition for winter operations. CSWP purchased the 1,100 vertical foot ski area’s assets from Stuart Thompson in October 2010 after it became apparent that it would not likely open for the 2010-11 winter season. They indicated, however, that they had no intention of serving as long-term owners of the resort which logged 16,000 skier visits and sold 502 season passes last winter. Thompson told Sublette County Commissioners last month that the ski area needs to tally at least 20,000 skier visits to break even. He faulted the CWSP for not getting the ski area up and running by Thanksgiving last year.

Rex Poulson of the CSWP said the group rushed to keep the ski area open last fall and really had no idea the extent of their undertaking.