Intrawest buys Steamboat
Backed by its new owner, Fortress Investment Group, Intrawest is purchasing the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation from American Skiing Company (ASC) for $265 million. The eighth most-visited resort in the U.S. in 2006, Steamboat will become the eleventh member of the Intrawest empire if the deal closes, as expected, by the end of the 2006-07 season. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust approval and consent of the United States Forest Service.

Included in the sale are the resort and all resort-owned operations, including all of Steamboat’s resort-owned real estate assets (developed and developable), the commercial core of the Steamboat Grand Hotel & Condominiums and the company's interest in the Walton Pond Apartments complex.


HAYSTACK PUT ON ICE
The Haystack Mountain Club, an exclusive private ski area, golf and equestrian resort being built on the bones of the old Haystack ski area, suspended operations and laid off all but a few employees.

While Haystack had sold a number of memberships, overall interest was below expectations, which could have something to do with the miserable snow conditions in the East.

The future of the project is as yet undetermined, but sources claim that the owners will put the resort up for sale. The company is also returning the memberships collected to date.


Brighton Sold
Utah’s Brighton ski area has been purchased from Boyne USA by Orlando, Florida-based CNL Income Properties. The purchase includes the 850-acre ski and snowboard resort with its 66 marked runs and seven chairlifts, two restaurants, 20-room lodge, ski rental operation and retail space at the ski area’s base.

Under the terms of the sale, CNL has leased Brighton back to Boyne under two long-term, triple-net leases with initial terms of 20 years and four five-year renewal leases. The minimum annual rent to be paid by Boyne is approximately $3.2 million in the first year and increases annually to approximately $3.9 million.

CNL maintains similar purchase/lease back arrangements with Boyne for the Gatlinburg Sky Lift (Tenn.) and Cypress Mountain (B.C.) ski area operations. It likewise entered into similar arrangements in December with Booth Creek Ski Holdings for its Northstar Resort and Sierra Resort (Calif.), Loon Mountain (N.H.), and The Summit-at-Snoqualmie (Wash.) ski resorts.


Revelstoke on the rise
Revelstoke Mountain Resort, B.C., located on Mt. MacKenzie and in the process of being developed by Canada’s Simpson Property Group, will soon feature a C$22 million gondola and high speed quad chairlift built by Leitner Poma Canada Inc. The signature lifts are scheduled for summer 2007 installation, in time to open for the 2007-08 season.

The lifts will service more than 4,700 vertical feet initially, extending to 6,000 vertical feet in subsequent years. The lifts are just a first step in a build-out plan for a four-season mountain resort.


PSIA/AASI and NSP Split
The American Snowsports Education Association (ASEA, doing business as PSIA and AASI) and the National Ski Patrol (NSP) are ending their 17-year agreement for joint management, and will each have their own separate, dedicated management teams by July 1.

Mark Dorsey, currently executive director for both ASEA and NSP, will continue with ASEA and serve as its executive director. NSP will begin a search for a new executive director immediately. The two associations’ boards of directors will work together over the next five months to come to an agreement on which services and personnel will continue to be shared.


Ski, Skiing and Tws sold to swedish group
Bonnier Magazine Group and its U.S. partner, World Publications, are buying the 18 magazines Time Inc. put up for sale last September. The group includes Ski, Skiing, TransWorld Snowboarding, and the rest of the TransWorld stable. Estimated sale price is $220 million to $230 million.


People
Scott Reeves will join Stowe, Vt., as VP of mountain operations.

The Mount Washington Resorts at Bretton Woods, N.H., hired Craig Clemmer as the new director of marketing.

Jiminy Peak, Mass., announced the addition of Eric Nixon as the new front office manager at the resort’s Country Inn and Sherrie Bradway was promoted to director of the snowsports school.

Hank Delecato was promoted to president of Wissahickon Ski Area, Pa.

Snowshoe, W.V., named Bob Elwood as director of association management and Lawrence Walup as the new F&B director.

Crystal Mountain, Mich., has a new PR manager in Brian Lawson.

Cascade Mountain Resort named Brent Sarnwick as its new marketing and events assistant.

Doug Lovell was appointed director of mountain operations at Keystone, Colo. . .Over at Aspen, John Rigney was promoted to VP sales and events, Connie Hamlin was promoted to director of sales and Auden Schendler moves up to executive director, community and environmental responsibility.

Schweitzer appointed Devin Marks as the new lodging director and Dave Kulis as marketing and sales director.

Mammoth Mountain named Noah Manduke as senior VP.

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort hired Steve Paccagnan as the new GM and president.

Rod Kessler has joined the Revelstoke team in B.C. as the resort becomes a reality.


Supplier News
World Cup Supply announced that Brad Williams has joined the company as president and CEO. Williams has also joined Donna Richardson and Penny Sirjane as a part owner of the company.

OnTheSnow, a consumer website published by Mountain News Corp., exceeded a milestone as its certified third party audit recorded 1.1 million unique visits during January 2007. Last year the site hosted 840,000 visits during the same month.

Walter Elander, former principal at the SE Group, joined Horizons Engineering in Littleton, N.H., as a project manager. In addition to regional projects with Horizons, Elander is providing planning and strategic development services to mountain resorts. He can be reached at welander@horizonsengineering.com.

RSN announced the closing of the sale of the company and a new CEO, Mark Burchill. The company also announced that it had signed with Mercedes-Benz to be the exclusive sponsor of a new lifestyle show called “Destination Real Estate.”