Mt. Bachelor ski area up for sale

Published 11:00 am Thursday, August 22, 2024

The corporation that owns Mt. Bachelor ski area has decided to put it and two other properties up for sale, the company confirmed Thursday.

Officials at Powdr Corp., the Utah-based corporation that has owned Mt. Bachelor since 2001, said it could take six months or longer for a sale to go through.

“The upcoming ski season and Bachelor’s employees will not be impacted,” said Stacey Hutchinson, Powdr Corp. vice president of communications and government affairs. “We aim to balance our ski business with new ventures in the national parks sector and Woodward(brand).”

In the next few weeks Mt. Bachelor, Eldora ski resort in Colorado and SilverStar in British Columbia will be listed with JP Morgan Chase. The company has already sold Killington Resort and Pico Mountain in Vermont, the largest mountain resort in New England, to a group of local passholders, the Associated Press reported. It is retaining its ownership in Copper Mountain in Colorado and Snowbird resort in Utah, as well as the Woodward brand, which includes camps and ski mountain centers and two national park concession contracts.

Purchase boosts Mt. Bachelor summer activities

Purchase boosts Mt. Bachelor summer activities

Purchase boosts Mt. Bachelor summer activities

When Powdr Corp. merged with Mt. Bachelor ski area in 2001 it outbid the Pape Co. of Eugene, according to The Bulletin’s reporting in 2001. It wasn’t until years later, in 2016, that Powdr purchased Sun Country Tours, also based in Bend and for sale. With that acquisition, the ski area was able to expand summer activities that were approved by the U.S. Forest Service.

Mt. Bachelor ski area has 4,300 acres of lift-accessible terrain, making it the seventh largest ski area in North America, according to the company website. It’s popular because of its light, dry snow and long season. Generally the season begins right after Thanksgiving and runs through spring. Each year it gets about 400 inches of snow.

“With news of Powdr Corp’s intention to sell Mt. Bachelor and Sun Country Tours, we can only comment on the fact that both entities remain vital to our community as places to visit and because of the many wonderful people they employ,” said Nate Wyeth, Visit Bend’s vice president of marketing and communications. “The folks who work at Mt. Bachelor and Sun Country Tours represent the fabric of Central Oregon, and we look forward to supporting them.”

It’s unknown what the impact of a sale will do for winter tourism, said Daniel Elder, general manager of the Campfire Hotel in Bend and a member of the Visit Bend board of directors. Last year the Campfire leased out a block of rooms for Mt. Bachelor temporary employees.

“Mt. Bachelor has been a top Northwest mountain destination for several years and will continue to be for years to come,” Elder said. “Our relationship with Mt. Bachelor has been fantastic, and we were really excited about our partnership with them last year, and we’ve been in consistent communication with them about this year and future endeavors.

“As of this morning, nothing has changed there.”