Chris King, middle, with ISAA President John Collins and Pebble Creek General Manager Mary Reichman. (Photo courtesy of Pebble Creek Ski Area)

By Idaho State Journal Staff

INKOM — An employee at Pebble Creek Ski Area was recently presented with a prestigious award from the Intermountain Ski Areas Association.

Chris King, a Pocatello resident who has worked at the Inkom resort for almost 20 years, was given the Golden Wrench Award at ISAA’s annual meeting held last week in McCall.

King was recognized for his outstanding contributions to operations, maintenance, safety and equipment used in the snow industry. He is one of the youngest people to ever receive the award.

As Pebble Creek’s mountain manager, King oversees all aspects of lift operations, grooming, terrain parks and snowmaking. He also assists in the rental shop, food service, IT, event management and ticket and season pass sales, when needed.

King started working as a lift operator at Pebble Creek in 1997. At the time, he was just 18. But according to resort officials, his work ethic made him shine above the rest.

He was quickly promoted, learning new skills as a snowcat mechanic and lift mechanic. This track took him to the position of lift operations manager and then finally to his current position of mountain manager.

According to the Inkom ski resort’s general manager Mary Reichman, an award like this reflects positively for smaller-sized resorts like Pebble Creek.

“It’s really rewarding for our resort to be recognized by our peers,” she said.

In 2007, Reichman won the ISAA’s Outstanding Contribution Award.

The Intermountain Ski Areas Association is a trade organization that represents its membership, which is made up of ski areas in Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Much of King’s training was through the organization.