COKEVILLE – The small ranching community of Cokeville, approximately 25 miles from Montpelier, has a population of 500 people, plus or minus a few.
The town is known for raising cattle, being the home of artist Minerva Teichert and the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in 1986. But what the town is not widely known for is its ski hill.
The Pine Creek Ski Area is seven miles east of Cokeville, it is co-owned by Lincoln County and Paul Etcheverry. It is a cooperative project that includes the Wyoming Division of Tourism, Bureau of Land Management.
Etcheverry has been operating the ski hill for almost 50 years. It was built by Cokeville cowboys to give them something to do during the long cold winters.
The ski area is a cooperative project that includes the Wyoming Division of Tourism, Bureau of Land Management, and Lincoln County.
The Pine Creek Ski Area lodge was once the Cokeville train station. It was brought up to the ski hill and is used for a lodge.
Etcheverry’s daughter-in-law, Alicia Etcheverry, has been working in the business for nine years. She lives in Montpelier and makes the drive to the mountain to work. Her husband Mason grew up working on the mountain during the winter and it is still part of his life. She said the one thing that brings people to the hill is the short lift lines.
“We have skiers come from Evanston, Rocks Springs, Green River, Woodruff, Randolph and as far away as Park City,” she said. “We have a lot of skiers from the Wasatch Front come to use our four-person ski lift and our magic carpet for beginning skiers.”
Back in the early days the townspeople hauled the Cokeville train station up the hill in one piece to use for a lodge. It has been added onto over the years but it’s still there.
There was a cement structure used for a hydroelectric plant. When the town went away from hydro-electricity the building became obsolete, so they transformed it into the place where the ski patrol hangs out.
“Pine Creek ski area has a vertical rise of 1425’ with 640 skiable acres,” Etcheverry said. “We have people on the mountain every weekend skiing our up to 40 runs.”
Pine Creek Ski Area brings in people from the Wasatch front that enjoy short lift lines.
At one time they had a towrope that was powered by an old Chevy engine. The towrope was replaced with a one seat chair lift. In 2002 they added a 47-quad chair lift they acquired from a Park City-area resort. That new lift significantly increased the load capacity.
“We are open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays that fall on a Monday,” she said. “We set up so people or organizations can rent the whole place. The closest overnight accommodations are seven miles away.”
Typically, Pine Creek opens mid-Decembers until the end of March. This year it will close on March 30.
“Traffic at the one lift ski hill was sporadic until COVID hit,” Etcheverry said. “Then things started to pick up and they have continued since then.”
When the ski area closes, they spend their time mowing the ski runs. They have a special mower used for taking out the saplings and other obstructions.
“We are contracted by other ski resorts to mow their saplings and brush,” she said. “Mowing the saplings gives the ski hill a smoother base for the ski season.”
They have other ski hill clients they mow for during the summer including Nordic Valley, Jackson Hole, Snow King and Grand Targhee, even up to McCall.