In 1942, 34-year-old former Olympic ski racer Elizabeth Davenport "Betty" Woolsey skied down from Teton Pass, saw a patch of untouched powder below, and decided she wanted to own it. She had no idea the land she started buying at that point, ultimately 270 acres at the base of the Tetons, would remain undeveloped more than 80 years later in an area where open land has since become one of America's most sought-after commodities. As per a thorough historical account published in Backcountry Magazine, Betty Woolsey relocated from the East Coast and found the plot while skiing down from the pass, eventually building what was to become the Trail Creek Ranch. It seems like a quiet origin story, but what happened next is the interesting part.
A ski racer who refused to slow down
