Two ski areas in northern Carbon County will have a new owner in time for the winter season, a deal involving an industry-leading resort operator that many expect could provide a lift to the region.
Jack Frost and Big Boulder are two of 17 ski areas that Vail Resorts Inc. will acquire from Peak Resorts Inc. under a transaction announced Monday. Vail, of Colorado, said it will acquire all of Missouri-based Peak’s stock for $11 per share, bringing the price to about $264 million.
“We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to add such a powerful network of ski areas to our company,” Vail Chairman and CEO Rob Katz said in a news release. “With this acquisition, we are also able to make a much stronger connection to guests in critical cities in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest.”
In addition to Jack Frost and Big Boulder, Peak owns three other Pennsylvania resorts: Liberty Mountain Resort in Adams County, Roundtop Mountain Resort in York County and Whitetail Resort in Franklin County. Peak acquired those three resorts last year after buying Snow Time Inc. for $76 million. Elsewhere, Peak has four resorts in Ohio; three resorts in New Hampshire; two in Missouri; and one each in Vermont, New York and Indiana.
Once the transaction closes, which is expected this fall, Vail said, it plans to retain the “vast majority” of each resort’s employees. The 201-acre Jack Frost, which has 80 skiable acres, and the 107-acre Big Boulder, which offers 65 skiable acres, are typically open for the season from mid-November to early April, according to Peak’s annual report.
When the deal is complete, Vail said it plans to invest about $15 million over the next two years in “one-time capital spending to elevate the guest experience” at the resorts it will acquire from Peak.
That would be good news for Jack Frost and Big Boulder, which haven’t received much investment in recent years, said Kathy Henderson, director of economic development for the Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corp. She sees Vail as a strong operator that could boost the two resorts’ ability to compete for customers coming out of New York and New Jersey.
Henderson said Carbon County’s other resort, Blue Mountain Resort in Lower Towamensing Township, has been strong in luring patrons from the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia and has become a year-round operation, something that has become necessary as winter weather gets increasingly unpredictable.
Vail operates 17 mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, while it also owns or manages a collection of hotels under the RockResorts brand.
“Vail Resorts has a proven track record of celebrating the unique identity of its resorts, while continually investing in the guest and employee experience,” Peak President and CEO Timothy Boyd said in the release. “For this reason, we are confident that our resorts and employees will continue to thrive within the Vail Resorts network.”
So, what does this mean for skiers and riders? It’s a little early to say, according to Adrienne Saia Isaac, spokesperson for the National Ski Areas Association, the trade organization for the country’s ski areas. “This acquisition is definitely big news in the ski industry,” Saia Isaac said. “However, with the announcement just being released, it’s simply too early to tell what impact this will have on the broader industry, and what it will mean for the skiers who frequent Peak Resorts’ ski areas.”
We know, for starters, it means more destinations on your collective pass. For skiers and riders based near those Midwestern and Eastern resorts previously owned by Peak Resorts, they’ll now be able to ski their home mountain on an Epic Pass, which starts at $699, and plan trips to world-class spots like Whistler, British Columbia; Park City, Utah; and Vail, Colorado, without having to buy daily lift tickets.
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