Today, just two days after the Aspen Skiing Co./ KSL Capital partnership announced their purchase of Intrawest they have gone on to purchase Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain for an as yet undisclosed fee. Rusty Gregory, the longtime manager and chief executive of Mammoth Resorts, in a statement called the move “the next logical chapter in the story of Mammoth. This new platform, built around a collective passion for the mountains and our commitment to the people who visit, work and live there, is exactly what the ski resort business needs,” Gregory said.

With Alpine Meadows and Squaw already part of the growing partnership the move gives them huge acreage in The Golden State. And the new but rapidly growing resort collective will surely be a concern for Vail, whose owner, Rob Katz, has made no secret of his desire to add Mammoth to the Vail portfolio. It's now undeniable that a new resort behemoth has joined the party and with holdings across North America, it seems almost inevitable that a rival to the Epic Pass is in the making. The new Aspen/KSL partnership currently consists a skiable area around two thirds that of Vail and is seemingly growing daily.

“If you look at what customers are saying these days, one they want a seamless e-commerce and technology experience when it comes time to spending time with us,” said Aspen Skiing chief executive Mike Kaplan earlier this week after announcing the plan to buy Intrawest. “We think there’s an opportunity to collaborate with technology and we think there’s an opportunity to collaborate with the strength of our employee bases and on the marketing end. We will be looking at all these things. But it’s too early to see what form that actually takes.”

More on this as the story develops.

Source: Denver Post