Wyoming, Usa · Indy
White Pine
25 runs, 370 acres near Pinedale. 80% beginner/intermediate terrain, no expert runs. Indy Pass access.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
7 Dec 2025
Closes
30 Mar 2026
Days open
113
Annual snow
17ft
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
White Pine's summit reaches 9,500 feet, dropping 1,101 vertical feet to a base at 8,399 feet across 25 runs spread over 370 acres near Pinedale, Wyoming. Terrain splits evenly at 40 per cent beginner and 40 per cent intermediate, with 20 per cent advanced and no expert-rated runs. Average annual snowfall reaches roughly 200 inches. The resort operates on the Indy Pass, and was acquired by billionaire Joe Ricketts in 2024.
The even beginner-intermediate split makes White Pine a progression-focused mountain rather than a steep, advanced-terrain destination. Three lifts serve 25 runs across the 1,101-foot vertical drop, a moderate scale for the Wind River Range. The resort sits on Fortification Mountain, the site chosen in 1939 by Olympic ski coach Alf Engen as the best location for a ski hill near Pinedale. No expert-rated terrain sets White Pine apart from steeper Wyoming resorts like Jackson Hole and Snow King.
White Pine has closed and reopened multiple times across its history, a pattern unusual even among small Wyoming ski areas. The resort operated from 1940 until 1985, reopened in 1999 as only the second US ski area ever to reopen after a full closure, then closed again for the 2011-12 season. A fire destroyed the resort's lodge in 2019, five years after new owners had reopened it in 2014. Joe Ricketts purchased the resort in 2024, its most recent change of ownership.
Indy Pass holders get access to White Pine alongside dozens of other independent resorts across North America. Adult full-day tickets range from 55 to 75 US dollars depending on the day and season, with a season pass priced at 499 dollars. The resort suits Pinedale-area locals and Wind River Range visitors seeking straightforward, affordable progression terrain over a destination resort experience. Its history of repeated closure and revival reflects the challenges facing small, independently operated Wyoming ski areas generally.
1,099ft
Vertical
25
Runs
370 acres
Skiable
17ft
Annual snow
Indy
Pass
The Terrain
25 runs across 370 acres skiable
White Pine spreads 25 runs across 370 acres skiable of terrain. It leans beginner at 40%, with 10 beginner runs to find your feet and 5 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
25
runs
25 runs across 4 grades
Beginner10 runs · 40%
Intermediate10 runs · 40%
Advanced5 runs · 20%
Expert0 runs · 0%
Time it right
When to visit White Pine
The 2025-26 season at White Pine ran from 7 December 2025 to 30 March 2026, a roughly sixteen-week window. The resort's 8,399-foot base supports a reasonably long season for its Wind River Range location. Season dates shift year to year based on snowpack and the operator's scheduling, a particularly relevant factor given the resort's history of closures. The late March close is typical for a mountain at this elevation without extensive snowmaking.
Average annual snowfall of roughly 200 inches is moderate relative to the heavier totals seen at Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole further north in the Tetons. The Wind River Range's position gives White Pine a different weather pattern than the Teton-area resorts, generally drier given its more interior location. Specific snowmaking coverage is not confirmed in available resort information. Base depth and season length have historically been vulnerable to the operational and ownership instability that has closed the resort multiple times.
January and February typically offer the most reliable conditions once early-season snowpack has built up on Fortification Mountain. The resort's beginner and intermediate-leaning terrain, with no expert runs, makes conditions less weather-dependent than at steeper resorts nearby. Late-season visits in March can be more variable given the moderate snowfall and Wind River Range's interior location. Given the resort's history, checking current operating status before a visit is more important here than at more established resorts.
White Pine's operating calendar has been shaped as much by ownership stability as by weather, given closures in 1985-99 and 2011-12, and disruption following the 2019 lodge fire. Under Joe Ricketts' 2024 ownership, the resort has continued standard-season operation without documented special events programming. The Pinedale area's Wind River Range setting offers additional winter recreation beyond the ski area itself. As with several of Wyoming's smaller resorts, the calendar centres on reliable basic operation rather than festival programming.
Season 2025 - 2026
7 Dec 2025
Opens
30 Mar 2026
Closes
113
Days open
17 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to White Pine, and where to stay
White Pine sits on Fortification Mountain in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Pinedale, Wyoming, on the edge of the Wind River Range. Base elevation is 8,399 feet, with the summit reaching 9,500 feet across a 1,101-foot vertical drop. The site was selected in 1939 by Olympic ski coach Alf Engen as the best location for a ski hill serving Pinedale. The surrounding Wind River Range is known for its granite peaks and extensive wilderness area.
Pinedale, Wyoming, is the nearest town, home to the original Pinedale Commercial Club that first proposed a local ski area in 1930. The town serves as the area's main service centre, with lodging, dining and outfitters supporting Wind River Range recreation beyond skiing. The Wind River Range itself is one of Wyoming's most significant wilderness areas, drawing hikers and climbers in summer alongside winter skiers. Pinedale's character leans toward outdoor recreation and ranching rather than ski tourism specifically.
Local roads from Pinedale provide direct access to White Pine, without the extensive highway infrastructure serving Wyoming's larger resorts. The drive from Pinedale is short given the resort's position on the edge of town's surrounding forest. Winter driving conditions can include snowpack typical of a Wind River Range access route. No public transport service reaches the resort, making a car necessary for access, consistent with most small Wyoming ski areas.
The nearest airport with limited commercial service is in the Pinedale-Big Piney area, though specific scheduled service is not confirmed in available resort information. Jackson Hole Airport, roughly 75 miles north, offers a fuller range of scheduled flights and is the more practical option for most visitors. Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport to the south offers another regional alternative. Most visitors reach White Pine by rental car from Jackson Hole or a regional Wyoming airport.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near White Pine, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair
Arosa's Hörnli sector is getting its biggest overhaul in decades. The 1986 gondola and 1994 chairlift linking toward Lenzerheide are both being replaced, with capacity up, tower count down and a new base station lower on the hill. At roughly CHF 67 million, it is the largest single investment Arosa Bergbahnen has ever made - and the target opening has already slipped a year, to December 2028. Here is what is changing, and why the timeline moved.
20 Aug 2026
Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter
Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.
19 Aug 2026
Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow
Finland's Levi and Ruka open for the 2026-27 season on October 2, more than seven weeks before most of Europe sees a lift turn. Neither resort is waiting on autumn snowfall - both are skiing on snow buried since last spring, insulated through the Finnish summer and dug back out for opening day. It is not a shortcut. It is a decades-old system now spreading from the Arctic Circle to Idaho, Utah, Vermont and Colorado. Here is how snow farming actually works, and why it is catching on.
19 Aug 2026
Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season
Nassfeld is putting €13 million into a new 6-seater chairlift, the Tressdorfer Almbahn, connecting Sonnleitn with the Tressdorfer Alm from December 2026. It replaces three ageing drag lifts and will run through summer too, from June 2027, moving up to 2,500 people an hour on the roughly three-minute ride. It's the latest step in Carinthia's largest ski resort building out a genuine year-round offering, following last year's Gartnerkofelbahn gondola.
17 Aug 2026
Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope
Italy's Stelvio Glacier has pulled the plug on summer skiing from August 15. It was the last lift-served ski option left standing in continental Europe, and now there's none. Operator SIFAS pointed to persistent heat, storms, and a snowpack that simply wasn't refreezing overnight anymore. The cable car keeps running. Whether skiing comes back later this summer depends on the weather turning - and right now, nobody's promising anything.
15 Aug 2026
Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area
Firefighters saved every base building at Maverick Mountain, Montana, but the resort's sole chairlift didn't survive the Sand Creek Fire. Owners Erik and Kristi Borge say the lift is "most likely" out for the 2026/27 season after flames tore through the mountain on August 8. The wildfire has since grown past 27,700 acres with zero percent containment. It's a gutting result for the tiny, one-lift operation near Dillon - though the lodge, groomers and equipment all made it through untouched.
15 Aug 2026
Fairmont Niseko: New Luxury Resort Revives Stalled La Plume Site for Early 2028 Opening
Fairmont is bringing its second Japanese property to Niseko, and this one's got history. The 165-room resort will rise on the site of the stalled La Plume project, which collapsed into bankruptcy in 2025 before J-Will Partners bought the site for redevelopment. Set between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri, it's slated for an early 2028 opening - putting it in play for the 2027/28 season. Expect two restaurants, a spa, onsen bathing, and a kids' club, a short drive from Niseko Village and Hirafu.
12 Aug 2026
Saas-Fee Closes Its Glacier to Summer Skiing as Heat Wave Drags On
Saas-Fee is closing its glacier to summer skiing from Monday, August 10 - the second major Swiss resort to shut in under two weeks after Zermatt suspended operations on August 1. Persistent heat and warm nights that won't let the glacier refreeze are behind the call, per Saastal Bergbahnen. That leaves Italy's Stelvio as the only glacier ski area open in the Alps. Reopening could come as early as August 17, though nothing's confirmed - and racing teams are already looking south instead.
8 Aug 2026
Trail map & terrain
Terrain split
25
runs
Beginner40%
Intermediate40%
Advanced20%
Expert0%
370 acres skiable150 hectares
Resort Stats
Elevation
Base8,399ft
Summit9,498ft
Annual snowfall
17ft
Season
2025 - 2026
7 Dec 2025 - 30 Mar 2026
Trail coverage
25 runs
370 acres (150 ha)
About White Pine's trail map
Explore White Pine's full trail map with 25 runs across the mountain, colour-coded by difficulty and shown alongside the terrain split. Use it to plan a day that matches your ability, find lift-served pockets of your favourite grade, and see how the resort links together. Download the piste map (PDF) ↗
More White Pine intelligence: snow report, lift system, webcams, resort overview.