Vail Resorts Acquires Crested Butte, Okemo, Mt. Sunapee and Stevens Pass

Epic Pass holders can now indulge in a whole lot of this. Nathan Bilow photo.

This morning, Vail Resorts officially announced a deal that involves the purchase of four new skis areas: Colorado’s Crested Butte, Vermont’s Okemo, New Hampshire’s Sunapee Resort, and Washington’s Stevens Pass. This will allow all epic pass holders access to these new mountains, and Vail Resorts plans to invest $35 million in total capital across all four mountains in the next two years. With Crested Butte now included, the company owns five major resorts in Colorado.

The acquisition of Crested Butte, Okemo, and Sunapee comes from the purchase of Triple Peaks, LLC, the former parent company of the three mountains for $82 million, as well as an additional $155 million to pay off their existing leases.

Steven’s Pass was acquired in a separate deal with Ski Resort Holdings, LLC for the purchase price of $67 million.

Adding to their list of East Coast resorts, Vermont's Okemo is now on the list. Erik Hoffman photo.

What does that mean for skiers? Well, a hell of a lot of skiing if you buy an Epic Pass. Full details on what each pass will get you are found here.

“We know our guests and employees will benefit from Vail Resorts’ outstanding track record of resort and community investment, environmental stewardship, and employee development,” said Tim Mueller, president of Triple Peaks, LLC. “We care deeply about the legacy of these resorts, and have absolute confidence in Vail Resorts to celebrate what makes them so special, while also providing long-term stability for the communities.”

The deals are officially expected to close this summer. Operations will continue as normal for the remainder of this season, as will future winter seasonal hiring. Once the deals are finalized, Vail Resorts says they will retain the vast majority of current employees and work with local leadership to determine the best way to manage each mountain going forward.