Cody, Wyoming — It’s been a bizarre past year at Sleeping Giant. After deciding not to operate for the 2023-24 season, a heavy snowstorm in the spring led to flooding in the base lodge. This led to an entire summer of clean up, resulting in the ski area to not operate its zipline for the summer. A timely clean up, plus some vandalism, led owner Nick Piazza to decide not to operate for this upcoming winter. Now, it could be undergoing an ownership change.
Nick Piazza announced has announced that the Wyoming ski area is now on the market for $500,000. Cowboy State Daily interviewed Nick Piazza, which is worth reading in full, as it dives into the challenges of running a rural ski area. To summarize, Nick is either looking for a financial partner that will help fund the needed improvements or sell the ski resort. If he ends up selling, he’s even willing to negotiate this $500,000 price point.
“We’d love to find a strategic partner so we could maintain our financial role, but somebody else would do more operations,” said Nick Piazza. “We are kind of checking the market…Our goal from the beginning is to keep Sleeping Giant open. We recognize that we need more help. We just don’t have the manpower.”
Piazza acquired the property in 2020 for under $100. Since then, he’s spent $1.5 million on the property. These improvements included a new yurt, lift maintenance, and installing lights for night skiing. He also runs a business in Ukraine and has spent much of his life there. You have to imagine that the challenges brought forth by the war there has become a major distraction. His team’s primary goal is to find a financial partner that’s on the ground and operating the ski area.
“What we need is someone to come in and live it on a day-to-day basis, which probably isn’t and never planned to be me,” said Piazza to Cowboy State Daily. “We’re happy to try and find those kinds of people.”
If that doesn’t happen, an outright sale is a possibility. There’s many more acres of land that come with it. More skiable terrain and overnight lodging are some possibilities that could make this place a more viable business.
You can view the listing here. More photos of the property are below.
Image Credits: 307 Real Estate, Sleeping Giant Ski Area & Zipline
