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LUXURY
Shred the gnar at the Netflix founder’s private resort


Powder Haven


Netflix won the streaming wars by being the first to deliver entertainment to the masses, its vast library offering something for everyone as it scaled toward global domination. That’s made co-founder Reed Hastings a billionaire, but the philosophy behind his latest venture—a private, high-end ski community in the Utah wilderness—is less Netflix and more HBO.
New kind of mile-high club

Months after retiring as Netflix’s CEO in 2023, Hastings bought Powder Mountain for an undisclosed sum and has since invested hundreds of millions of dollars to turn it into the world’s most bespoke ski destination. The hope is that it can serve as a quieter alternative to the overcrowded mass-market slopes you see all over Instagram each winter.

“This isn’t about exclusivity for its own sake,” Hastings told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “It’s about creating a sanctuary for people who love this mountain as much as we do.” Here’s how the unusual public-private resort works:Memberships, which cost $25,000 annually (plus an initiation fee), give skiers exclusive access to 2,700 acres of pristine powder. The remaining 5,300 acres are open to the public.
To become a member, you must purchase real estate in the resort’s residential community, Powder Haven. Lots start at $2 million, and membership is capped at 650 families.
Real estate sales will help pay for improvements to the public side, including new chairlifts, to make sure it doesn’t get too crowded, either.

Demand is high. The first phase of development (39 lots) sold out in a few months, based solely on renderings and before roads were even paved, according to Robb Report. A 73,000-square-foot lodge with restaurants, pickleball courts, a gym, a pool, and a spa is under construction, per SFGate.

But not everyone’s thrilled. Some are worried that Hastings’s elite winter wonderland will price locals out (public pass prices have already increased). Others say that the changes threaten Powder’s mom-and-pop feel, which had set it apart from most mountains in the area. The Financial Times suggested the Netflix billionaire is “walking a gentrification tightrope.”—AE



CLIMATE TECH
The cannons keeping ski towns afloat


AscentXmedia/Getty Images


When you tell your grandkids that you used to go bombing through dumps, the most unbelievable part of the story might be that there was ever so much fresh snowfall. Shorter, warmer winters are becoming more common, and most ski towns increasingly count on an imperfect fix—snow machines—to fill a growing void of white.

Cold time is money: To cushion lighter snowfall at the beginning and end of winter, the Aspen Snowmass resort upgraded its snowmakers this summer as part of a broader $80 million development project, for example. Without the tech, subpar skiing conditions can threaten not just resorts but also surrounding restaurants, hotels, and rental services.

But…the pressurized cannons dotting ski trails typically work in tandem with local weather, so there’s usually only so much that they can do:Basic snowmakers shoot out high-pressure water and condensed air, meaning they’re useless if it’s not cold enough outside. Some Colorado ski resorts had to switch off their snowguns at the beginning of November, when temperatures got into the 60s.
A resort’s snow machines can take days to weeks to cover the slopes, depending on how much natural powder
there is already. At the extreme end, it required nearly two months, almost 400 snowguns, and an estimated $60 million to completely blanket barren mountain venues for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Conundrum: Newer snow machines can work in up to 80-degree weather, but they cost as much as $500,000, compared to $15,000 to $30,000 for traditional models, according to the Washington Post. They’re also energy-intensive, which exacerbates the core issue facing ski towns: snowmakers are “pretty much using the cause [of climate change] to find a solution,” a spokesperson for TechnoAlpin, a leading snowmaking company, told the outlet.

Looking ahead…based on current greenhouse gas predictions, lower-altitude ski towns could see 80% less snowfall by 2100.—ML

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