The Wall Street Journal - 20.09.2019

M10| Friday, September 20, 2019 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Woke-Back

Mountain

said Mr. Sorrell, 74. The 4,500-

square-foot, five-bedroom, six-

bathroom house has a black metal

exterior, a sleek, Italian kitchen

and a living room with a sunken

seating area circling a glass fire-

place—no stone hearth in sight.

Ms. Falcone-Sorrell, 46, who

lives in London and New York, says

she bought into the project in part

to “empower” the four 30-some-

things—Elliott Bisnow, Brett Leve,

Jeff Rosenthal and Jeremy

Schwartz—who, with two venture

capitalists, launched Summit Pow-

der Mountain.

The four men, along with Ryan

Begelman, are more notably and,

so far, more profitably, the cre-

ators of the Summit Series, an 11-

year old, invitation-only event se-

ries for entrepreneurs and

creative types that marries a New

Age-style idealism with ample op-

portunities for mingling with the

global elite. (Principles include

“be present,” “show love,” and “go

on a learning safari.” Past speak-

ers include Jeff Bezos, Jane Fonda

and Bill Clinton.) The series has

attracted 30,000 attendees, 7,000

of which are regulars. Ms. Fal-

cone-Sorrell, who has attended

Summit Series events, says she

wanted to be part of the resort

because the young men “seemed

to be quite brave and courageous

and to take risks.”

Summit Powder Mountain is

definitely a risk—particularly for

a group of entrepreneurs with no

experience managing ski resorts.

But their decision to create a

community where cultural cachet

is as big an attraction as fresh

powder could be the key to suc-

cess in a business that is buffeted

by some powerful, cold winds.

The ski industry is undergoing

unprecedented consolidation and

challenge, exacerbated by a drop

in skier visits, to 59.3 million in

the 2018-2019 season from 60.5

million in 2010-2011, according to

National Ski Areas Association. In

the coming decades, the ski sea-

son is expected to be shorter, with

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration figures predicting

fewer days below freezing. The in-

creasing costs of lift tickets and

lodging and an American popula-

tion that is getting less white and

older are also contributing to the

decline in attendance, according

to a Macquarie Group analysis.

Water-rights battles are putting

the squeeze on resort develop-

ment in the parched, high-moun-

tain terrain of the Western U.S.,

which may be forced to rely in-

creasingly on expensive snow-

Continued from page M1

making infrastructure, due to cli-

mate shifts. Summit Powder

Mountain itself has already tan-

gled with local water-rights hold-

ers concerned about its tapping of

the area’s water supply for the

2,300 residences and 1,500 hotel

rooms that it is approved to con-

struct, as well as retail and event

spaces—although it has no cur-

rent plans to install snow-making.

It has worked with local water-

rights holders to address concerns

about its water usage.

Unlike many ski resorts, how-

ever, Summit Powder Mountain

had a built-in fan base before it

started selling lots. About 80% of

buyers so far are Summit Series

members, said Gary Derck, Sum-

mit Powder Mountain’s chief exec-

utive.

Officials say the development is

an intentional community—the

embodiment of the Summit Series

ethos of kindness, authenticity, re-

lationship-building and environ-

mental stewardship. “The folks

that are here aren’t just here to

have a second home in the moun-

tains,” Mr. Derck said. “They’re

also here to connect their family

to other like-minded families and

basically constantly better them-

selves and the world and their

own particular initiatives.”

Early Summit Powder Mountain

investors include billionaire Rich-

ard Branson and Ken Howery, co-

founder of PayPal. Netflix Chief Ex-

ecutive and Co-founder Reed

Hastings is constructing a tube-

shaped, cedar house on the moun-

tain. Bryan Meehan, the chief exec-

utive of Blue Bottle Coffee, is

squeezing four bedrooms into an

1,800-square-foot house made of

sustainable materials available at

Home Depot. “It’s just to challenge,

I suppose, what a ski home should

look like,” said Mr. Meehan, 51,

who is based in Oakland, Calif.

The Binghams’ home is a testa-

ment to just how devoted these

early investors and Summit Series

regulars are to the idea. The place

is filled with nods to Summit:

There are art pieces by former

conference speakers, photographs

of past events. Short quotations

from visitors are cut into the

metal treads of the main stair-

case: “Choose joy,” “Once, all this

was a dream.”

The question is whether Sum-

mit Powder Mountain will con-

tinue to attract buyers once the

pool of wealthy acolytes is tapped

out. Though many ski resorts host

TED Talk-style events, Summit

Powder Mountain may be the first

to build a business around it, said

MANSION | MOUNTAIN & SKI HOMES ISSUE

LINDSAY SALAZAR FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (5); DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY (INTERIOR)

HORIZON CABINS

$1.3 million-$2.9 million

4,500 sq. ft.

Allowed above-ground home size

Barbara Kuhr and John Plunkett, above, the founding designers of Wired

Magazine, are building a 2,700-square-foot home on a ¾-acre lot.

Cristiana

Falcone-Sorrell

and Martin

Sorrell built

this 4,500-

square-foot,

five-bedroom,

six-bathroom

home partially

to support the

Summit Series

founders.

Horizon cabins, above and below left, are offered as empty lots with pre-

designed building plans. The Skylodge, a pair of yurts with seating in the

round, below, is used for speaking events.

Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and chief executive, is constructing

this tube-shaped, cedar house, above.

SHAW NIELSEN (MAP)