Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings, who bought a ski mountain in Utah, snaps up more land for his public-private mountain experiment
Reed Hastings is turning part of Powder Mountain into a ski club for the wealthy.
The Netflix cofounder is jacking up season pass prices and selling lots starting at $2 million.
The mountain is adding over 1,000 acres of public and private skiing terrain.
Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings likes to give back. He's donated roughly $1.1 billion to causes like education reforms and increasing internet access in Africa.
But he also invests in the wealthy, as seen in his ongoing involvement in Powder Mountain, one of the largest ski resorts in the country located above Utah's Ogden Valley.
For the first time ever, part of the ski resort will be closed off to the public in favor of homeowners and private skiing. Members in the private resort will be able to enjoy ski-in ski-out access, high-end lodging, and private lifts, according to a report in The New York Times.
"We decided that we needed to lure people here by offering a private experience that they can't get anyplace else," he said in an interview with The New York Times.
Hastings invested $100 million into the resort in September and signed a 10-year partnership with a luxury development firm, Meriwether Companies, according to a Forbes report.
Hastings plans to reintroduce the new and improved resort later this year, according to Powder Mountain. New residents can purchase a lot of raw land starting at $2 million per lot, according to the resort.
Hastings also raised the price of season passes to $1,399 from $1,259. Those 75 and older have to pay $1,049 for a season pass, even though it used to be free, according to the resort.
The former Netflix CEO said he is privatizing part of Powder Mountain to help remediate years of financial struggles.
"In order to pay our bills, we need to sell more real estate, and to do that we are introducing private homeowner-only skiing a year from now," Hastings said in a statement.
The billionaire has also taken steps to improve the mountain's public offerings and make the resort more sustainable, such as by limiting their acreage and using an ecosystem specialist, according to a statement from Powder.
The mountain announced in a statement that the resort planted 5,000 trees after an insect blight damaged the surrounding trees. It also allocated 1,400 acres of land to the east bench of the Ogden Valley for conservation.
The mountain also invested $20 million to create three additional public lifts this summer. It also upgraded bathrooms and reduced the price of night skiing from $39 to $19, according to a statement.
The mountain was previously owned by a group of millennial investors who struggled to maintain the mountain, according to a report from The Information. Hastings became a partial owner of the resort in April 2023 after stepping down from Netflix in January. Then, he became the majority owner when he invested $100 million into Power Mountain in September.
Previous BI reporting indicates ski resorts have consistently struggled to meet their average snowfall. Mountain ranges in Sierra Nevada have had to rely on man-made snow.
Hastings announced his plans to make part of the ski resort private in December 2023, but Powder Mountain announced a new land acquisition and lift on Friday. The new lift is in addition to the three being added this summer.
The expansion will bring new challenging terrain for private homeowners. It also brings two new public areas to the west side for public use. In total, the resort will grow from 8,464 acres to over 10,000 acres.
The new lift will unlock 1,047 acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain, giving access to 900 acres by lift and 147 acres by hiking.
Hastings also said the decision to limit day ticket sales and not accept megapasses will help keep Powder Mountain uncrowded and independent, which has been a longtime selling point of the resort.
"We're fortunate in Utah to have enough land to expand our skiable terrain and keep the ski experience uncrowded," Hastings said in a statement.
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