14A - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - 15A

Max Chapman took over as president of the resort last fall. He replaced Manuel Lopez, who died of cancer in January.

Other aspects of the future of Snow King remain in limbo. For example, the U.S. Forest Service hasn’t made a deci-

sion yet on a proposed ropes course on the eastern boundary of the ski area’s lease area and a 1,000-foot extension of the Rafferty lift.

And ski area general manager Ryan Stanley said he anticipates another “suite of proposals” in the next six months. While he wouldn’t say exactly what those plans entail, the master plan with the

Forest Service shows downhill mountain bike trails, a network of ziplines and the relocation of hiking trails to the woods on the west end of the lease area.

The coaster and other improvements are supposed to help the ski resort gen-erate revenue to stay afl oat, Stanley and investors have said.

“Really the goal is to make it a suc-

cessful ski area,” Stanley said.Chapman has pledged new money

for the ski area. The new investment comes from the longtime investors as well as some new people, including in-vestment banker John Tozzi, who has a minority stake, Chapman said.

“We’re all trying to do what we can to make it a better mountain,” Chap-

man said.Meanwhile, there have been moves by

the investors to sell off assets at the hill’s base. Several other development propos-als are before the Jackson Town Council right now. Those projects fall under the town’s master plan with Snow King.

Will Gustafson, a California developer, wants to build a movie theater, housing

and a restaurant on a 5-acre parcel be-tween the Snow King Hotel and the Snow King Sports and Events Center. The proj-ect would total 250,000 square feet, but it is contrary to what the 2000 master plan calls for on the property. The old plan en-visions a convention center there.

Gustafson is asking for town ap-proval without an amendment to the

master plan.To the east, above Snow King Ho-

tel’s Grand View Lodge, a developer has proposed 18 short-term rental units on a 0.79-acre parcel. The project also in-cludes four employee housing units.

And to the west end of the base area, at the bottom of the Summit lift, the owner of another parcel had in 2011 proposed to

build lodging. That plan was tabled, how-ever, when planners said requirements in the master plan had to be satisfi ed before new landowners could develop.

On top of all of that, the Bridger-Teton National Forest has proposed changes to trails that connect with Snow King and a new trail that would depart from near the

SNOW KINGExisting, approved, proposed

and conceptual plans

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EXISTING

10. SnowmakingThe town of Jackson and the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club partnered to build this $3.5 million project, which is supposed to help build a base layer of snow on the mountain in November. The ski area initially applied for the state grant to make the project possible. It has been one of the few recent proposals on Snow King to draw communitywide support, although there was some concern from pass holders when the project was delayed this fall

because of contractors hired by the ski area.

11. Snow King Sports and Events CenterA face-lift is in the works for the town-owned ice rink. The nonprofi t that operates the facility has applied for a $1.79 million state grant, partly to help upgrade the rink’s conference center space. Snow King’s master plan with the town initially called for a convention center on privately owned land to the east, but ski area owners now hope to sell it to a developer who wants to build something other than a convention center (see item 5).

12. Snow King HotelSki area owners sold off the Snow King Hotel in 2012 to JMI Realty after they were unable to fi nance necessary renovations to the 204-room building.

APPROVED

1. Alpine coaster and base lodgeThe town of Jackson has approved plans for an alpine coaster that will be 38 feet tall at its highest point. It will have four 360-degree loops. The fi rst phase of the new lodge will consist of a lodge room and a restaurant located near the base of the Rafferty lift. The second phase has ski school facilities and rental and retail space.

PROPOSED

CONCEPTUAL

2. Aerial adventure courseBridger-Teton National Forest offi cials are reviewing a proposal for a six-part ropes course and a zipline in the

northeast corner of the ski area’s lease with the U.S. Forest Service. The 1.5-acre project was fi rst proposed in April 2014 and has been in an internal review process since then.

3. Rafferty lift extensionSnow King Mountain Resort submitted plans in December to replace, realign and extend the Rafferty Lift, which dates to 1978. The 5-acre project, which also includes two new short ski runs, is adjacent to the proposed ropes course. The Rafferty lift extension is still being internally reviewed by the U.S. Forest Service.

4. Short-term rental developmentA developer has proposed building 18 short-term rental units on a 0.79-acre parcel uphill from the Grand View Lodge. The project also includes four employee housing units.

6. East and west expansionsSnow King’s conceptually improved master plan includes two expansions of the ski area, one on the east end and another on the west side. The expansions, which total 244 acres, have not been formally submitted as a proposal to the Bridger-

Teton National Forest.

7. ZiplinesSnow King’s master plan with the Forest Service shows a network of ziplines around the mountain, although no specifi c projects have been proposed yet. In 2013 the town approved another zipline called the Soaring Eagle near the base of the mountain, but that project is not in the ski areas plans at this point.

8. Downhill mountain biking trailsThe resort’s master plan shows mountain biking trails that have been conceptually approved but not yet proposed. Lift-accessed bike trails are supposed to be built fi rst on the lower two-thirds of the mountain, then in the eastern expansion area (6) and also from the summit, according to the Forest Service master plan.

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5. Movie theater, housing and a restaurantDeveloper Will Gustafson has this 5-acre parcel under contract. He wants to build 250,000 square feet of development on the land, but the convention center called for there by a 2000 master plan is not in his plans. The Jackson Town Council is scheduled to discuss in March whether the plan needs to be amended for Gustafson to build what he wants. Gustafson doesn’t want the plan to be amended.

9. Crystal Creek CapitalA developer proposed lodging for this parcel in 2011, but the plan was tabled because planners said requirements in the town’s master plan had to be satisfi ed before new landowners could develop.

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KINGContinued from cover

See SEVERAL PLANS on 25A

APPROXIMATE FOREST SERVICE BOUNDARY2

KATHRYN HOLLOWAY / NEWS&GUIDEBRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE FILE