YouTube star Shay Butler is now the proud new owner of Pebble Creek Ski Area, near Pocatello, Idaho. (photo: Facebook)

YouTube Celebrity Buys Idaho Ski Area

Inkom, ID – The “SHAYTARDS” channel on YouTube counts nearly five million subscribers, and the man behind the channel is now the proud new owner of Pebble Creek Ski Area in Inkom, near Pocatello in southeastern Idaho.

YouTube star Shay Butler is now the proud new owner of Pebble Creek Ski Area, near Pocatello, Idaho. (photo: Facebook)
YouTube star Shay Butler is now the proud new owner of Pebble Creek Ski Area, near Pocatello, Idaho. (photo: Facebook)

Shay Butler, or “Shay Carl” as he’s known on YouTube, has bought the mountain from a group of investors who have owned Pebble Creek for the past 30 years.

Butler actually decided in February to purchase the ski area, but it took until last week for the U.S. Forest Service to approve the transaction. They’ve also approved a 40-year extension on Pebble Creek’s Special Use Permit.

Butler, who learned to ski at Pebble Creek as a child, has no previous ski resort job experience, and also holds no misconception that the ski area will become his cash cow.

(file photo: Pebble Creek Ski Area)
(file photo: Pebble Creek Ski Area)

“This is not my mountain, this is the community’s mountain,” Butler told the Idaho State Journal. “We’re just trying to provide access so the local community can enjoy this beautiful landscape.”

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Although little-known outside of southeastern Idaho, Pebble Creek boasts an impressive 2,200-foot vertical drop. Its 1,100 skiable acres sit on the northwestern slopes of 9,271-foot Mount Bonneville, the highest mountain of the Portneuf Range in Caribou National Forest. Three triple chairlifts service 54 named runs.

Butler’s YouTube channel has earned numerous accolades, including a 2009 Mashable Open Web Award for “Best YouTube Channel or Personality.”

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