SAM Magazine—Vermont, Wis., Feb. 26, 2025—Tyrol Basin owner Nathaniel McGree was arrested Monday night, Feb. 24, following an altercation with a 17-year-old guest.

According to a report from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the guest “admitted to arriving at Tyrol Basin but not purchasing a pass.” The ski area staff asked him to leave, and he did.

“As the teen was walking away from the property, the owner, Nathaniel T. McGree, and another staff member followed him off the property and physically assaulted him. McGree demanded that he return to the ski hill and pay $120 (twice the pass amount), and again he complied,” the report said.

The sheriff’s deputies were alerted when someone called 911 after finding “a distraught teen” walking on the road near Tyrol Basin.

McGree was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and physical abuse of a child. He was being held in Dane County Jail as of Tuesday.

McGree purchased Tyrol Basin in 2018 at 33 years old with the help of other investors and a Small Business Administration loan for young entrepreneurs. He had no previous experience operating a ski area, having worked 13 years as a diesel mechanic, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel following the 2018 acquisition.