Bode Miller, Andy Wirth kill plans for ski academy at Granby Ranch

Noah David Wetzel/Courtesy photo
Less than a year after Olympian Bode Miller announced he was going to open the first-ever Bode Miller Ski Academy at Granby Ranch Resort in Grand County, he and business partner Andy Wirth reported Sunday, Oct. 9, that they have terminated the deal.
Wirth and Miller made a splash when they unveiled plans for the academy in December 2021. They said they saw the values of a ski academy prioritizing academics and athletic development, including for those who may not be able to afford it, according to a Sky-Hi news story announcing the academy.
The school would have been a boon for promising ski racers of all economic backgrounds, as it would always have, according to Wirth, “scholarships in the neighborhood of 25% of the student body.”
The academy would have focused on four disciplines, including Alpine, Nordic, freestyle and adaptive skiing. Along with a plan to work with the National Sports Center for the Disabled, Wirth said he had already brought on friends Roy Tuscany, an adaptive skier and founder of the High Fives Foundation, and Alana Nichols, a decorated winter and summer Paralympian, as strategic consultants for the adaptive side of the ski school. The Granby Ranch academy was anticipated as the first of several the pair planned to build going forward.
While the Granby Ranch location is off, despite “tremendous support and warm reception from the Grand County community,” said Wirth in the release, other locations are likely still in the works.
“We recently notified the ownership of Granby Ranch of our decision, which is disappointing on many levels,” added Miller. “Over the past few years, we have been contacted by multiple mountain communities and resorts interested in the Academy concept, but really saw Granby Ranch as a great location for our first academy. We have already shifted our focus to these other locations.”
“The great news is that based on the conversations in which we’ve been engaged for the past six months, it’s safe to say that the prospect of opening up a Bode Miller Ski Academy at other locations is most certainly not a question of if, but more a question of when and where,” added Wirth.
Granby Ranch did not respond to a request for comment.

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