Powder Mountain Resort

History :

The resort had humble beginnings as the winter range for Frederick James Cobabe's sheep herd. Frederick, who was orphaned at age 15, moved around from family to family until he went to work for Charley Scmaltz. He tended camp for Charley's herders taking his pay in sheep until he built a herd of his own.

Frederick established a summer range in the Grand Targhee area. A prohibition on grazing was enacted when the land was incorporated into the national forest system. Between 1902 and 1948, Fred accumulated land for a summer range around Eden, Utah. Old timers say that this property was severely overgrazed by previous owners and hardly a blade of grass could be found. The watershed was so poor that Wolf Creek dried up each fall. Fred's soil conservation practices greatly improved the vegetation and Powder Mountain now is known as one of the best watersheds in the Wasatch Mountains.