New Antelope Butte GM sees a bright future

Peter Johnson brings decades of ski-industry experience – and a community-first approach – to Big Horn County’s ski area

The season’s first snow was falling at the Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area during Peter Johnson’s interview with the Greybull Standard, offering a fitting welcome for the mountain’s new general manager. With about an inch reported on the summit, Johnson said the team is ready to open once conditions allow.

“Historically it’s been the third week of December,” Johnson said, “but we’ll open as soon as we have enough snow, we’re ready to turn everything on right now. I’m excited to be here.” 

While the new GM won’t be changing much, he has decided to axe operations on Wednesdays. AB will be open Thursday through Sundays, all holidays and during Christmas vacation. 

Regulars can expect business as usual; Johnson is keeping free skiing for the youth and live music in the lodge on weekends. 

Johnson comes from northeastern Oregon, where he led the Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association. At ALORA he oversaw not only a ski area, but also a campground and golf course along with a bike and ski shop. Johnson and his crew essentially transformed a ski area from operating four months out of the year into a sustainable year-round operation providing affordable outdoor recreation to the community. 

And it’s something Johnson sees as a possibility here in Big Horn County. “To me it’s just being open to what opportunities present themselves along the way and actively looking for them and seeing what happens. Because that is something that I can see  happening very easily, it’s just having to be creative and keeping your eyes open and willing to pivot as needed.”

His career in skiing began as a teenage volunteer patroller, followed by professional ski patrol work at Mount Bachelor and years installing ski lifts for Doppelmayr. That work took him across the West and gave him hands-on experience with lift installation, welding, heavy equipment and surveying.

Johnson began Nordic skiing at the age of three and then moved onto downhill. “Skiing is so much fun. It’s something that’s unique and different, you can go wherever you want at the speed that you want.”

What drew him to Antelope Butte, he said, was its potential and its close ties to the surrounding communities. “I love, absolutely love, the area,” said Johnson. “I’ve been through here several times. This is a bigger picture than just Wyoming. It’s the opportunity here and the potential that I see with this ski area.”

Support from both sides of the mountain is part of what makes Antelope Butte special, he said, describing it as “truly a community hill.” 

Johnson plans to build on that community spirit while strengthening day-to-day operations. He praised the staff already in place and said his focus is on adding structure and clear ownership to team roles, helping the mountain run smoothly and giving guests a strong experience.

Youth skiing is another priority. At ALORA, Johnson helped develop a low-cost school program that grew from about 200 children to 600. At Antelope Butte, he said, he hopes to maintain existing opportunities for young skiers and explore ways to expand programming and make school visits easier to arrange.

Johnson is still deciding where he wants to live, but he knows it’s not at the ski lodge, as past GMs have done. He’s temporarily living in Dayton and will soon be joined by his longtime partner Sara Haynes and their dog Charlie, a German and Australian Sheppard mix. While not at the ski area, Johnson enjoys fishing, biking and reading. 

The AB crew recently passed their annual pre-season inspection with their engineer; a Forest Service inspection remains pending. Ski patrol met last Saturday for their annual refresher.

For now, Johnson is looking forward to his first season at the Butte and the people who make the mountain what it is. Asked what keeps him in the ski industry, he said, “The amount of different walks of life that all have the same common bond for a day. They show up, do the same thing, and then go separate ways after. It’s the mountain bringing them together.”