SAM Magazine-Cody, Wyo., July 31, 2009-Sleeping Giant Ski Area, which plans to reopen by Thanksgiving after several years in mothballs, has hired Hamilton Bryan as executive director. Bryan's duties will include overall management of Sleeping Giant as well as fundraising, marketing and strategic planning.

Bryan was owner-operator of the UXU Dude Ranch for 10 years, during which time the ranch was featured in Architectural Digest Magazine, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and Travel & Leisure. Bryan has also worked for the Yellowstone Club, running its Monster Lake project in Cody.

Terrain Park Project

Sleeping Giant is owned by the non-profit Yellowstone Recreations Foundation, which has been renovating the area for the past two years. One of the highlights is the terrain park, designed by Joe Pope, a veteran designer whose credits include Big Sky Mountain and others. The park has 14 different features including quarter pipes, rails, boxes, and jumps. It uses virtually no man-made materials, relying almost exclusively on materials found on the hill-except for the nails.

A triple chairlift is now being installed on the west side of the ski area, where trees have been cleared to create new skiable terrain. The new lift, which will operate in addition to the existing double chair on the east side of the ski area, will access more than 900 vertical feet of skiing, double the previous height of the ski area. Skiable terrain will increase from about 45 acres to 180 acres. And, for the first time, Sleeping Giant will have snowmaking.

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