About a decade ago, with the backing of investors like Alfred Ford, a great-grandson of Henry Ford, Mr. Sims set his sights on building a ski resort like Vail or Davos. The handful of existing resorts in India were hard to reach and had few amenities, so there was little competition.

Manali has long been a tourist destination for Indians, but most of the foreigners it draws are backpackers. There are no five-star hotels, and the roads are lined with small shops that sell tea and rent out winter coats.

The resort investors found a seemingly ideal site: a hilltop studded with fir trees, accessible only by a steep, winding path. Though nobody lives on the spot year-round, villagers grow kidney beans and potatoes and graze their cows there. From three sides, there is a breathtaking view of the Kullu Valley, and the fourth side backs up to a mountain on which Mr. Sims planned to build a ski lift that would climb to 14,000 feet.

“It’s just about as spectacular as you can get,” he said after an hourlong hike to the hilltop.

Though the location is a 10-hour drive from the nearest major airport, Mr. Sims was optimistic about creating a winter wonderland. After a gondola ride up to the car-free village, visitors would find luxury hotels, a crafts bazaar, an ice rink and the ski lift.

Himachal Pradesh, then governed by the Indian National Congress party, supported the project at first, agreeing to lease Mr. Sims forest land for skiing and to exempt him from a law that restricts land ownership.

The Ski Village would create 4,000 jobs, Mr. Sims said, and bring hotels like the luxurious Six Senses Resorts and Spas to the valley. Many local residents, especially those involved in skiing, river rafting and other sports, supported the project.

But other residents were apprehensive. Some said lewd, loud Westerners would defile the area, known as “the valley of the gods” because many Hindu deities are said to reside here.