Ownership of Ski Resorts Is Shifting, But Are Corporations Still Needed To Survive?

These days, resort ownership giants like Vail and Alterra have assumed the role of skiing’s ‘bad guy.’

As a result, there’s been an uptick in enthusiasm for resort ownership by, well, basically anyone but those two companies. But as much as we love to romanticize ‘the good old days,’ ski areas are expensive to run, maintain, and improve. Alterra and Vail have the money to update expensive infrastructure that improves the skier experience. As climate change casts a shadow of uncertainty over the future of skiing, this ‘skier experience’ feels more essential than ever.

So, are we relegated to begrudgingly purchasing a conglomerate pass and enduring the lift lines if we want to enjoy a modern and cohesive resort skiing experience? After all, the beauty of nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ is that it’s a time we’re no longer in.

Along with Eldora, POWDR Corp. listed several mountains for sale last fall, including Killington Mountain Resort, Vermont and Mt. Bachelor, Oregon.

In September of 2024, news sources reported that Killington had been purchased by a local group of investors, putting a heartwarming grassroots spin on the news. This ‘group of local passholders’ is actually an ownership group called Killington Independence Group and is composed of Phill Gross, Michael Ferri, and fourteen other investors, including POWDR Corp and residential development company, Great Gulf.

Both Gross and Ferri are firmly amongst the 1% thanks to Gross’ work as the co-founder of an investment firm and Ferri’s family business, the Valvoline Instant Oil Franchise.

Whereas billionaires like Powder Mountain, Utah owner and Netflix founder Reed Hastings swoop in to radically change resorts for profit, Gross and Ferri purchased Killington not because they want to create a Yellowstone Club-adjacent private experience, but because they love to ski, and chose to invest in a bright future for their home mountain.

Southern Vermont’s Burke Mountain underwent a similar ownership transformation this year. Following a massive financial scandal with the mountain’s previous owner, the mountain was rescued from its nine-year court-appointed receivership by a group called Bear Den Partners LLC.

Unlike Killington, however, whose new owners rose to the occasion as angel investors at their home mountain, but kept the mountain’s president on to run it, Bear Den Partners came in guns blazing ready to purchase, invest in, and run the heck out of the mountain.

The combination of the Graham Family, who own the Graham Group portfolio of investment firms, and the Schaefer family, who have been involved with the ownership or operation of New England ski areas since 1976, mean that Burke’s new owners don’t just have the finances to purchase and run the mountain, they have the experiences and insights of decades in the ski industry.

While the media branding of these ‘local’ purchases is heartwarming and true in that both the new owners of Killington and Burke are die-hard local skiers with a lot of love for the mountains, it's also misleading.

In fact, so misleading that a group of Bend, Oregon locals with nowhere near the capital of either groups, nor the experience, tried to buy Mt. Bachelor as well. A saga that began as an uplifting community effort ended in a winter of speculation, rumors of scams, and ultimately, POWDR Corp. deciding to retain ownership of Mt. Bachelor.

The whole thing was a bit disheartening to say the least, and begs the uncomfortable question— does skiing need billionaires and mega-corps to survive?

The town of Nederland’s purchase of Eldora Mountain Resort would say no, as would the presence of non-profit mountains like Bogus Basin, Idaho.

Regardless, bias tells us ‘true’ skiers can only be beer-drinking, duct-tape patch-wielding bums, but the sport could learn, and even benefit from those it loves to reject. After all, they might be the ones saving your home mountain.

It's quite interesting that while our current political climate feels regressive in many ways, some ski areas are going back to the independent ownership model of the 'good ol' days'.

Maybe skiing has tapped into something politics hasn't (shocker), but it's a trend we'll certainly be keeping an eye on and hopefully learning from for the future.