Hours of Operation
9:00am-6:00pm (Open Daily)
Admission: Free
2026 Will & Jean Pickett Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame on August 20th, 2026: Click here for Ticket Information
Even on the busiest day, you may only find one skier per two acres of terrain at Powder Mountain. During the first half of the 20th century, Powder Mountain was the winter range for Frederick James Cobabe’s sheep. Now it is one of the largest ski ares in the United States. Located just east of Eden, Utah, Powder Mountain is a not-so-well-kept secret among locals and visitors alike.
At a time when only 7% of the nation’s ski areas permitted snowboarding, Powder Mountain threw open the gates and became one of Utah’s first snowboard-friendly ski resorts. By the end of the decade, Powder Mountain was hosting some of the state’s earliest snowboard pipe and slalom contests.
The massive mountain property was originally accumulated by an orphaned sheepherder named Frederick James Cobabe. Starting in 1902 and continuing through the 1940s, he methodically acquired massive tracts of land across the hills surrounding Eden, Utah, to secure grazing range for his livestock. His disciplined acquisition of these interconnected mountain parcels created the continuous geographic footprint that made a massive ski area possible. Fred Cobabe implemented rigorous, forward-thinking soil conservation practices that greatly improved the local mountain vegetation. His careful land management prevented severe erosion and systematically restored the health of the high-alpine meadows. Because of these historic agricultural efforts, the mountain is widely recognized today as one of the best, most pristine watersheds in the entire Wasatch Range.
Frederick’s son, Alvin Cobabe, officially purchased the family livestock company and its accompanying land holdings in early 1948. Just a few months after finalizing this major property transaction, Fred was tragically killed in an automobile accident. The sudden loss forced young Alvin to assume full, independent stewardship over the massive family estate and its future direction.
The idea to develop the ranch into a winter ski resort was first sparked during a casual summer horseback riding excursion. While exploring the high, snow-retaining Lightning Ridge with a group of close friends and local business owners, his companions pointed out the land’s perfect natural contours for alpine trails. This conversation planted the seed that inspired Dr. Cobabe to seriously pivot from livestock herding to winter recreation.
Alvin successfully fulfilled a lifelong personal ambition by graduating from medical school and becoming a practicing obstetrician. At the age of 45, his graduation made him the oldest person to ever earn a degree from the University of Utah Medical School at the time. He successfully balanced his demanding new medical career with the ongoing management of his extensive ranch lands.
Dr. Cobabe took his first physical step toward winter engineering by building a primitive, functional rope tow completely from scratch. He assembled the basic lift mechanisms on a snow-covered hill within the property boundary to test the public’s appetite for local ski recreation. This early do-it-yourself project proved highly successful and convinced him that a full-scale resort operation was entirely viable.
