Tech Entrepreneur Builds Private Snowboarding Ranch in Utah

Richard Oldham spent six years transforming a Utah property into a personal snowboarding destination with significant vertical drop.

Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Landscaping

Screen-print poster illustration of a snowy mountain ridge in Utah, featuring a winding path through pine trees. — Former tech executive Richard Oldham has completed a six-year project to develop a private snowboarding ranch on his property in Utah. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Between 2020 and 2026, former tech industry professional Richard Oldham developed a private snowboarding ranch on his property in the Utah mountains. The site provides a unique recreational space for his family inspired by his childhood experiences.

Why it matters

Oldham created this private terrain to replicate the snowboarding freedom he enjoyed during his youth. The project serves as a personal sanctuary designed for mountain recreation and family time.

The property features 1,100 feet of vertical drop and was developed over a period of six years. Richard Oldham manages the ranch while maintaining an Instagram audience of over 38,000 followers.

The players

Richard Oldham

He is a former tech industry worker of 15 years who co-developed the software platform Grove Menus.

The details

Oldham and his crew cleared vegetation and navigated rocky terrain to carve out routes, including an area known as Mellow Ridge. He also constructed access roads and various terrain features such as jumps and gaps to facilitate snowboarding.

Development of the property spanned six years from 2020 to 2026.

Culture Shift

This development reflects the broader trend of homeowners investing in custom recreational infrastructure to bypass crowded public venues. It marks a shift where private properties are increasingly tailored to host high-performance athletic activities usually reserved for commercial resorts.

Readers interested in landscape modification can look to this project as an example of large-scale terrain alteration. It highlights the intensive physical labor and planning required to transform raw mountain property into functional athletic ground.

The takeaway

Creating private outdoor recreation areas requires significant multi-year commitments to clearing terrain and engineering features. Owners should carefully assess local topography and vegetation before attempting to establish their own mountain trails.