SAM Magazine—Denver, Feb. 16, 2016—Nora Pykkonen, who purchased Echo Mountain Resort in 2012 with plans to develop a private ski racing training facility, has filed for bankruptcy, citing $1.45 million in debt to the resort's top 20 creditors, consisting mainly of $100,000 to $200,000 loans. The mountain continues to operate.

Pykkonen initially converted the 226-acre ski area into a private, membership-only training ground for school-age ski racers. Novembers were busy, but business tailed off in December and January, eventually forcing her to drop membership fees and offer lower annual fees. In 2014, the mountain opened to the public for walk-up ski racing. In 2015, Pykkonen went further, and opened the ski area to the general public once again.

Now, Echo Mountain attracts mostly beginners, whom Pykkonen plans to capitalize on. Most of her new guests, she said, show up in street clothes. She rents them entire kits—gloves, helmets, jackets, and pants—plus equipment.

Despite filing for Chapter 11 protection, the mountain is open six days a week, and draws an eclectic mix of newcomers and racers. "We are definitely in the black with a very healthy bottom line," Pykkonen said.

Teams from Vail and Winter Park rent racing lanes for weeknight training under the lights. Pykkonen is courting investors with a plan to expand Echo's beginner terrain so that it can handle more than double the 90 first-time skiers the hill can accommodate now, and she wants to host inner-city kids who have never skied. She's also hoping to develop a nordic track at the resort.

Still, she owes the one secured creditor who helped finance her purchase in 2012. She will have to present the bankruptcy court with a new business plan that could erase debt from unsecured creditors.

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