first tracks: spotlight
Eagle Point partner Shane Gadbaw traded taxis for snowcats.
Wall Street W
to
Eagle Point is offering free lift tickets to California residents all winter long and free Thursdays in January to every guest.
ith just two seasons under its belt, Eagle Point, Utah’s newest resort, has seen every extremity of Utah weather—and thus, every extrem- ity of skier/rider days, from the blizzard that dumped eight feet of snow in 24 hours during opening weekend of their fi rst season to no snow opening week- end the second season. Shane Gadbaw, the resort’s on-site manag- ing partner, recalls the power going out, having to do an old-school lift evacuation, jury-rigging the phones and shovel- ing too much snow the fi rst season—to playing the waiting game that character- ized the late-snow start of the 2011–12 season. Eagle Point’s story, to date, is one of refl exes more than one of
adjusting its strategy and approach. Gadbaw and two partners purchased the property at auction from the New York City–based hedge fund Gadbaw had previ- ously managed. He’s had to prove to locals that he’s legitimately interested in benefi t- ting the community, and he’s faced rookie management errors like overstaffi ng. Even his “creative plan” to ease his wife, Kini, from metropolitan New York life to mountain living by relocating their family to Las Vegas, some 150 miles from Eagle Point, had to be chucked. Today, Gadbaw and his
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skiutah.com
No Street
family are happily settled in Beaver, Utah, running between their kids’ play dates and the resort. “That fi rst season went as well as it could have,” Gadbaw says. “It gave us a lot of hope. We’d learned a lot and we were ready to put [those lessons] into action.” When in December 2011 their opening
“The entire season is free for all California residents,” says Gadbaw. Repeat: The entire season is free for all California residents. And all skiers will enjoy what Gadbaw refers to as “the fi nest mountain road in all of Utah.” The state has funded a multi- million dollar enhancement of Highway
“People have told me it feels like how ski resorts used to be, a classic, authentic experience.”
day came and went without enough snow to open, Gadbaw saw an opportunity to look at differentiations between Eagle Point and other Utah resorts. “Our clientele doesn’t come for week-long vacations,” he says. “They drive in for long weekends from Las Vegas and Southern California. We have things that many resorts don’t, like real steeps that make for a killer powder day, as well as some terrifi c tree-lined groomed runs for beginners.” It just so happens, adapting to the clientele’s patterns and getting the word out about those distinctions requires bucking conventional in- dustry wisdom, operating just four days a week during non-holiday weeks. “We are a Thursday- to-Sunday mountain,” Gadbaw explains. “Sure, we’ll open for two full weeks from Dec. 21 through New Year’s Day, and we’ll add the two holiday Mondays (MLK and President’s Day), but the money we save by not staffi ng the resort those three days few people visit will allow us to spend on snowmaking and a terrain park.” Skiers at Eagle Point often get a perk no other resort offers—free lift tickets. In January, Thursdays are free for every guest.
153, which means the experience of en- joying the hill starts on the drive up. “People have told me it feels like how ski resorts used to be, a classic, authentic ex- perience,” Gadbaw notes. “With 125 con- dos and cabins and two lodges, plus vista after vista of undeveloped alpine terrain, it makes for an incredible nature experience,” he says. Not only does Eagle Point offer fi rst-class amenities, but you can see the owner out there, shoveling snow and help- ing you with your skis. —BARI NAN COHEN
tips up!
Southern Exposure: Explore more Southern Utah slopes by heading to Brian Head, an hour and a half south of Eagle Point. Red rock views delight skiers on 650 acres of intermediate and beginner terrain. 435-677-2035,
brianhead.com
For more information about Utah’s southern ski resorts, visit
skiutah.com.
KEVIN WINZELER
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