The era of the ultimate pass is upon us. Photo: Alterra Mountain Company
KSL, the conglomerate that owns a number of high-end resorts across the U.S. including Deer Valley in Park City, Mammoth and Squaw Valley in California and Winter Park and Steamboat in Colorado, has changed its name with a rebranding. The conglomerate is now calling itself Alterra Mountain Company.
“Alterra Mountain Company is made up of unique mountain destinations, each with a personality and spirit that has delighted visitors for generations,” said David Perry, the company’s president in a pre-written statement to the media. “Our vision at Alterra Mountain Company is to protect and enhance what makes each destination special, inviting guests back to their favorite mountain, and enticing them to visit new destinations on their bucket list.”
It’s been a huge year of buying and selling in the ski resort business. KSL Capital Partners, owner of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, merged with the family of Henry Crown, or the Aspen Skiing Co. last year. The conglomerate then bought Intrawest: Mammoth Resorts and Utah’s Deer Valley.
The move was made, seemingly, to directly compete with the monolith that is Vail Resorts, which pushes the Epic Pass that includes three Tahoe Resorts, Whistler, Park City, Stowe and Australia’s Perisher among other world-class resorts. That now makes for just two corporate entities that own between 20-25 destination resorts around the world.
The era of the conglomerate pass is now. Time will tell what that means for the common skier and snowboarder.
