SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Mar. 1, 2007-American Skiing Company founder Leslie B. Otten has resigned from the company's board of directors, effective as of late February.

"I leave the board with mixed feelings," Otten said in a prepared statement. "It's been a pleasure to serve and help guide the company and I wish everyone well. I truly enjoyed my tenure with the board, but now it's time to look at other options."

In an interview with SAM, conducted just moments before he headed to Vail for several days, Otten said he has "no comment" on what his "other options" might be or whether his resignation is a prelude to buying any of the remaining ASC resorts (The Canyons, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf), as some speculation in Maine has suggested. He did, however, state that he did not have any designs on Ragged Mountain, N.H., which was scheduled for sale at auction today. And as for the business on his plate upon his return from Vail? "No comment," he said.

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