Resorts for Sale: Spout Springs, Marshall Mountain

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29 June 2015

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Athena, Ore., June 29, 2015—The listings of ski areas for sale recently grew by two, as Spout Springs, Ore., went on the market for $1.25 million and Marshall Mountain, located seven miles northeast of Missoula, Mont., is also for sale for $2.95 million.

John Murray has owned Spout Springs since 1999, and said he wants to sell his 1,400-acre area and retire. The area has 800 vertical feet with a base elevation of about 5,000 feet. The business runs on a lease with the Umatilla National Forest, and includes two double chairlifts, a lodge and restaurant, rental shop, and ski patrol building. Murray said he has received some interest in the resort, but no offers.

“All the chairlifts will be certified over the summer, and the equipment remains in excellent working condition,” Murray said. As part of the offer, Murray said he would be available to train the new owner on operating the resort.

Marshall Mountain has been closed for more than a decade. The ski area began operation in 1941 and continued until 2003, when the property was seized by the Internal Revenue Service due to financial difficulties.

The sale property includes the lower 156 acres of the area, including the ski school, rental building, and the main lodge. The ski area's operators leased the top 480 acres of the mountain, including the ski runs and ski lifts, from Plum Creek Timber Co. That portion of the mountain was divested and acquired by Five Valleys Land Trust last year. The organization has said it is open to working with a new buyer and arranging similar lease options for non-motorized use of the land, including a ski area. The property comes with water rights and snowmaking infrastructure.

“This mountain has been such a focal point and such a part of the community for so long, a lot of people learned to ski at Marshall Mountain, and there's a large mountain biking community there, we would love to see it stay in the community's hands," said Jeremy Williams of Windermere Real Estate, the listing broker.