Bear Mountain/ Snow Summit Purchase

Just wanted to get you all a quick update on the recent acquisition of Bear Mountain and Snow Summit.  The article below will give you all of the specifics!

With a large company behind our two local resorts, who know what improvements we will see!  In addition, there are a multitude of public projects in the works.  Big Bear continues to be a great Southern California resort destination and a wonderful place to consider buying an investment or second home!

Call me today to check in and say hello.  I want to make sure you are getting all of the great properties I have been sending you and find out when you plan to visit Big Bear next.  I look forward to continuing to help you in your cabin search!

Two popular ski resorts in the San Bernardino Mountains have a new owner. Bear Mountain and Snow Summit were swooped up as part of a four-resort deal announced Wednesday that also included Eastern Sierra’s Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain. No price was announced. But the purchase by the newly formed joint venture of Aspen Skiing Co. and Denver-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners gives it more than 6,000 acres of Southern California ski terrain across four resorts that host more than 2 million visits a year. “We already had an aggressive capital improvement plan (for the two San Bernardino resorts),” Rusty Gregory, chairman and CEO of Mammoth Resorts, said in a telephone interview. As the newly formed organization is fine-tuned, that investment plan could accelerate, he said. What that future holds for the two resorts is not known, but local businesses will be watching to see what changes come to the mountains. Big Bear Lake area entrepreneur David Stone, who owns restaurants, entertainment and lodging businesses, said the acquisition “will be a positive thing that will create a good value for skiers.”“I assume that they will want to enhance operations and take us to the next level,” Stone said. In September 2014, Mammoth Resorts acquired Bear Mountain and Snow Summit for $38 million.  On Monday, the new alliance of Aspen and KSL said they were buying Interwest for $1.5 billion, which has ski resort properties in Colorado, Vermont and Quebec.  Aspen Skiing’s operations include the Colorado ski resorts of Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk.  “Climate change is a fact of life,” Gregory said.  The company being formed “has a large geographic footprint spread throughout the country and Canada.”  “Instead of individual resorts fending for themselves, we are part of a larger group” that is largely insulated from dry conditions in one region, he said. In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement, other local ski resort operators say they will remain focused on their strategy for the coming ski season. “There will always be a place for independent ski areas,” said Kevin Somes, vice president and general manager of Snow Valley Mountain Resort in Running Springs.  For the coming season, Snow Valley is working to install a multimillion-dollar, high-speed ski lift that will replace double chairs with six chairs, so that groups can ride up together.  The ascent will be at 1,000 feet per minute, up from the current 400- to 450-feet-a-minute rate of the existing system. Somes said the emerging Aspen and KSL company will likely use the huge Southern California market as a feeder for weeklong ski vacations at the Colorado ski areas, and perhaps resorts in other states as well. At Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood, the acquisition will not result in day-to-day changes in operations for the next ski season, said spokesman John McColly.  “We have so much good stuff coming in our backyard” with capital improvements, McColly said. This year’s snowfall means Mountain High’s snow-making for next season can be more aggressive than it has been for several years, he added.  Nevertheless, Mountain High will be paying attention to see what changes the new ownership might make, he said In a statement, Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, said: “We had greater plans for Mammoth but the great recession and then some less favorable weather, interfered with our strategic aspirations. ... We know Aspen and KSL have the experience, commitment and balance sheet to help make our vision a reality.”  The equity partner, KSL, “is full of executives who are excited and committed to the ski and snowboarding industry,” Gregory said. “We have dreamed of doing this for years.” The deal came together now because improved ski conditions in most areas coincided with the right environment in the financial markets, he said. The Denver Post contributed to this report. Article By Jim Steinberg, The Sun Rachael Smith Broker Associate Re/max 909-744-2190 rachael@mountainunique.com Gary Doss & Associates Located at....575 Pine Knot Unit A Between Teddy Bear & Peppercorn Restaurants