Vail Resorts Announces Plans To Acquire Crested Butte
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) - Vail Resorts announced on Monday that they will acquire Crested Butte and three other ski areas outside Colorado.
Consolidation has been a theme in the skiing industry in recent years, and the Broomfield-based ski company's acquisition of Triple Peaks LLC, Crested Butte Mountain Resort's owner, follows that trend. Last year a mega-deal was finalized that brought Steamboat and Aspen Ski Resorts under the same ownership umbrella. That led to the popular new Ikon Pass, which competes with Vail's Epic Pass.
Crested Butte used to be one of the resorts featured on the now-extinct multi-resort pass Rocky Mountain Super Pass but last year it appeared as one of the resorts with limited access on Vail's Epic Pass.
Vail Resorts said that once the transation is complete, the 2018-19 Epic Pass will include unlimited access to Crested Butte.
The company also said they plan to spend millions of dollars making improvements to the resort.
Crested Butte now joins Vail's other Colorado ski areas: Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek.
The three other ski areas that will also now be part of Vail's large family of resorts are:
- Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont
- Mount Sunapee Resort in New Hampshire
- Stevens Pass in Washington
Vail Resorts described Crested Butte as follows on their website:
Crested Butte Mountain Resort, located in southwest Colorado's Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests, is known for the colorful and historic town of Crested Butte, renowned mountain peaks, and legendary skiing and riding terrain. The resort was established in 1961 and has since passed through three families.
Initial reaction to the announcement was mixed. In a reddit skiing forum one person wrote "I'm glad I got to go to CB while it was still cool" while another responded with "The town needs it though. There's just not a huge population of people bringing money in. It'll lose a little of the "vibe" but anyone living / working should appreciate the extra business."