Elko County, Nevada — The dreams of a public ski resort in the Ruby Mountains are growing dimmer.
Last month, the Elko County Planning Commission voted 4-1 to shut down a proposal by Peter Christodoulou to rezone land that could have led to building a ski resort in the Ruby Mountains. The reasons why this proposal failed are complex.
Known as “The Swiss Alps of Nevada,” there are limited ways to ski the Ruby Mountains. The closest ski area is the Elko Snobowl, but it’s not technically in the Ruby Mountains. A heli-skiing service aptly named Ruby Moutain Heli offers access to 200,000 acres of majestic terrain. However, various concepts of large-scale ski resorts in the Rubies came and went with little success.
Ultimately, the Rubies features significantly fewer skiing businesses than other notorious ranges like the Sierras or the Wasatch, partially because of its remoteness. Nevada also has a scarcity of water, which makes creating a sufficient snowmaking network challenging.
Earlier this year, Bay Area investor Peter Christodoulo bought the Ruby Mountain Ranch. These 3,197.54 acres consist of a lower and upper parcel. The upper parcel was what would have become the ski resort. Peter believed that this plot of land could have contained 1,200 to 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. Its varied terrain offers significant options for tenured skiers and riders.
“The whole thing skews expert and rugged … there’s a ton of cliffs, there’s a ton of very steep terrain,” said Peter Christodoulo to the Nevada Independent.
Mike Shanks, who partnered with Christoduolo on the project, said the following to the Elko County Planning Board in August about Ruby Mountain Ranch’s potential as a ski resort:
“Everybody that’s ever skied looks up there and says ‘This is an opportunity…’ It’s got the vertical, it has the snow, it’s close to town and it’s private. I’ve skied on the mountain — there’s definitely opportunity there.
Christodoulo started a petition to garner support from locals and potential tourists. However, not many locals were on board with the plans, creating their own petitions to reject it. Some people voiced concerns over potential traffic issues, water usage that would be needed for snowmaking, and the impact on wildlife. Groups like the Sierra Club advocated against the plans and advocated for the land’s preservation. Ultimately, my grand conclusion is that locals didn’t want to see their rural community turn into something different.
Olivia Tanager, who’s the director of Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter, issued a statement following the vote:
“Building a ski resort in the Ruby Mountains would be like putting a Walmart in Yosemite Valley. We are thankful the Commission agreed with the community voices opposing the ski resort.”
This is why we can’t have nice things. I think there are many legitimate reasons for this ski resort not being built, but comparing it to building a Walmart in Yosemite is a little absurd for a few reasons. For one, Yosemite is a national park, and the Ruby Mountains aren’t. Secondly, there’s literally a ski area inside Yosemite! That kind of quote makes me take the opposition less seriously. Peter stated that he wanted a ski resort with an old-school vibe that wasn’t overrun by development. Here’s one of the key quotes from Peter’s interview with Amy Alonzo of the Nevada Independent:
“I don’t have some grand plan here. I love the mountains. I’ve always loved the mountains. I love skiing, I love hiking. I think you can put the Rubies in the same conversation as the Wasatch in Utah or the Sierra in California…. It should be skied and it should be enjoyed by somebody.”
That’s not to say Christodoulou and his partners handled this well. A more thorough planning process, such as detailing the proposal with maps and potential traffic and water usage numbers, would’ve strengthened his argument. I ended up watching the Planning Commission’s meeting, and even I, who wants to see a ski resort in this area, was scratching my head at their proposal. A lack of concept art and specific ideas led to confusion about his intentions, which frustrated the public and the planning commission. He said during the process that he didn’t want to put the money into the studies before getting the necessary zoning change. While that’s understandable, it clearly impeded them.
However, this doesn’t exactly mean the end of skiing in this parcel. Christodoulou previously stated that if the public ski resort proposal fell through, he could still use the land to run a snowcat skiing operation or construct a private lift for his family and friends. That’s the worst-case scenario in what could have helped bring tourism and more jobs to the area.
It seems like this will become the latest example of why we can’t build new ski resorts in the United States. I hope we someday have a legit ski resort in the Ruby Mountains, but the chances of that happening are diminishing.
Image/Video Credits: California Outdoor Properties, Megan Dingman
