In 2013, managers of Sleeping Giant said they couldn't make a profit if they weren't allowed to build a zip line. Now, a potential buyer of the closed property said at a public meeting Wednesday that without successful summer attractions, there may no longer be skiing on the iconic North Fork attraction.

Wednesday night, the parking lot in front of the Cody Region Wyoming Game and Fish Department was packed and the public meeting room was standing room only to hear the possible fate of Sleeping Giant Ski Lodge.

A potential buyer, HMH Capital of Dallas, was introduced to the crowd as having experience with recreational leases and dealing closely with state and federal agencies. They were the first to approach current owner Nick Piazza with a plan that benefits Park County communities, Piazza said. HMH representative Brent Hargrave said the company's plan is to bring summer attractions to the prime location but, only if summer attendance succeeds, will they include winter activities. Yet there is hope.

"I want to point out the elephant in the room, [reports] there will never be skiing again at Sleeping Giant. That is not true," Hargrave said, adding "I'm not here to say that we're going to come in here and do skiing right off the bat; our main focus ... is the summertime opportunities that Sleeping Giant has. That is our main focus. But we are not saying that we are just going to not do ski. We hope that with successful summer operations, that actually gives us more opportunity to build on the ski side."

The news wasn't popular with the many who packed the room to support skiing in Park County. That said, the meeting was scheduled in the second week of February and the hill has yet to receive enough snow to ski.

The lodge has been closed since the 2024 season due to the lack of snow, Piazza said.

"If you don't get snow before the Christmas break, where we make more money than January and February combined, well, that's a bit of a stretch," Piazza said.

He said while running the ski lodge, they were really happy to make $100,000 in January and February. But just over the Christmas break alone, the lodge could pull in close to $250,000 — if there was good snow.

"If you don't get that Christmas break with all those kids, you really have no shot [making a profit]," he said.

Piazza pointed out that insurance combined with yearly maintenance and inspections can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars before they even open the gate for skiing.

"We've invested more than $2 million into the project," he said.

Looking at proposals coming in — mostly to turn the facility into a private club — Piazza wanted the sale to go to a business that is community-minded and planning to be open to the public. Hargrave said HMH Capital has a long history of working with communities to make attractions mutually beneficial, as well as the funding to give the mountain the make-over it deserves.

The company is looking at investing $10 million in the first phase of transforming it from a winter recreation area to primarily a summer attraction. Hargrave was insistent the company wants to be community-minded, hoping to increase not only their own bottom line, but bringing in more people to the East Entrances's gateway city.

"This is Sleeping Giant. It is Cody's mountain. We're not buying the mountain. HMH Capital is not buying the mountain. We're buying the assets from Nick and we are assuming an operating lease. We are not buying the mountain. It is Cody's," he said emphatically.

Phase One of HMH Capital's proposal could take five years, Hargrave said. They plan to have several inviting attractions, including a summer tubing hill, three-story climbing structure, a hiking and biking area, playgrounds and several other activities that use the natural beauty of the landscape as a main attraction. They are also considering a disc golf course, which has been a want for the Cody area for several years.

The first phase would also see the lodge get a complete restoration with new amenities, including a brand new patio with outdoor dining.

The presentation offered exciting possibilities for some in attendance, yet there were groans from the crowd, many of whom volunteered their time to keep snow sports available at the former community owned and operated ski lodge and members of families who "lived" on the mountain during ski season, raising their children and creating lifelong winter memories.

There were also some in attendance who wondered how there has been such a huge change at the U.S. Forest Service, once enforcing rules so nobody using the zip line wandered into the woods to now encouraging foot traffic and the possibility of seeing 1,000 visitors on busy summer days.

"What has changed administratively that now all these activities can be allowed in the summer?" former ski patrol volunteer and zip line employee Lindsay Wion asked. "I worked at the zip line when it first opened as a nonprofit, and we were severely limited by grizzly bear activity. We weren't even allowed to let people like wander around outside the lodge, let alone hike. So what has changed?"

When the zip-line was proposed, compromises were required to account for extra foot traffic in grizzly territory back in 2013. The 2007 “Final Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the Yellowstone Area” generally prohibited Shoshone managers from allowing any net increases in “developed sites” inside prime grizzly bear habitat. That meant a new project must have been offset by decreasing development somewhere else.

Although the zip line was built in an area already developed, Shoshone managers noted the attraction would considerably increase human activity in the summer — a time when the hill sees substantial grizzly bear activity. Their assessment stated the operations would change the way bears use the area.

When Shoshone officials initially reviewed the proposal in 2013, they said the zip line’s impacts could be offset by shutting down the relatively infrequently used Blackwater Picnic Area several miles away. An outhouse, a paved turnaround, four picnic tables and three benches would be removed, while a parking area, walking path and dock that provides fishing access to the man-made and stocked Blackwater Pond would remain.

They were also forced to delay the opening of Three Mile Campground’s 21 sites by about a month, pushing the opening from Memorial Day to July 1. The site has since returned to the mid-May to mid-September open dates. The zip line also delayed the opening of four sites in the “very popular” Newton Creek Campground by a month-and-a-half: from roughly May 15 until July 1. The current season dates are mid-May through Sept. 28.

There is a good possibility grizzly bears will be delisted prior to the new park opening in 2027. Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has postponed making a decision on delisting until December, but with former Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Brian Nesvik, who was a strong proponent on delisting grizzly bears, now heading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, those who hope for the species to be managed by state agencies are feeling fairly confident in removing the species from protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Hargrave is aware of previous issues at the property, but said he can only plan for the future based on conversations with Forest Service officials. Those officials have been searching for new vendors on forest grounds in the past few years and have in the recent past asked for ideas on the forest to increase use.

Many at the meeting were there to protest the relaxing of rules protecting prime grizzly habitat. Others were there to ensure their current use of the mountain, including cross country skiing.

"I see a lot of faces in here that care about Sleeping Giant. We think that's great. You guys have a lot of memories with Sleeping Giant. You've had a lot of adventures with your kids and your grandchildren. We want to keep that going. We don't want to change that. That's not what we're here to do," Hargrave said.

One person in the audience asked Hargrave if the company intends on changing the name of the attraction.

"We're looking at different options right now. So, I can't tell you what we're gonna name it right now. We're talking to a branding team," Hargrave answered.

In an interview with the Tribune after the presentation, Hargrave said he was happy the meeting was productive and that even the numerous people who weren't happy with the plan were very respectful — one even offering to buy him a beer after telling him he disagreed with part of the plan.

One point that was easy to forget through the night: It's not necessarily a foregone conclusion the plan will be approved, said Wapiti District Ranger for the Shoshone National Forest Casey McQuiston.

"We have to follow a process, and it's still relatively early on in the process, so nothing has been decided yet," he said.