Industry News
In today’s ski industry, it is common to see ski resorts change ownership and merge with large ski conglomerates like Alterra Mountain Company and Vail Resorts. What is less common is for ski areas to merge and become one large, interconnected resort. This has occurred several times over the last 30 years, and here are the five most significant ones.
Mittersill Ski Area, New Hampshire
Mittersill Ski Area, was a ski resort that operated off the west peak of Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire, from 1945 until 1984. Due to multiple bad snow years as well as its National Forest Permit expiring, the resort closed in 1984. The resort then sat unmaintained until 2009 when Cannon Mountain took over operations of the area from the state of New Hampshire.
In 2011, Cannon installed a double chair to service the Mittersill area, bringing back lift-served skiing to the peak for the first time since 1984. Additionally, in 2016, a T-bar was added to the Mittersill area, servicing the race training hill, isolating racers from the rest of the resort crowd. Today, the two resort areas are interconnected and combine for 285 acres of skiable terrain, making Cannon the fourth largest ski resort in New Hampshire.
Alpine Meadows, California
Alpine Meadows was a resort in the Lake Tahoe area that opened in 1961 and operated off Ward Peak. The resort later expanded to Scott Peak, and by 1965, the resort boasted 2,400 skiable acres.
Alpine Meadows operated independently until 2011 when it was merged with Squaw Valley under Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC. The resort then proceeded to change its name in 2021 due to derogatory connotations of the word Squaw to indigenous women. The name was ultimately changed to Palisades Tahoe, which it still operates under to this day.
Palisades Tahoe completed the merger in 2022 with the addition of the base-to-base gondola, officially connecting the two resorts. Today, Palisades Tahoe is the largest ski area in the Tahoe region, offering 6,000 skiable acres.
Canyons Ski Resort, Utah
The Canyons originally opened in 1968 under the name Park City West and was located just north of Park City Resort. In 1975, the resort was renamed ParkWest, renamed again in 1995 to Wolf Mountain, and then finally rebranded to the Canyons in 1997.
In 2014, Vail Resorts purchased The Canyons and merged it with Park City Mountain Resort, creating the largest lift-serviced ski resort in the United States with a combined 7,300 skiable acres. The merger was officially completed in 2015 with the installation of the QuickSilver Gondola, connecting both ski areas.
Mayflower, Utah
Originally, Mayflower Mountain Resort was intended to be developed as an independent resort. This marked the first time since 1981 that a new destination ski resort would open in the United States. The resort was set to open for the 2021-22 season but was delayed due to COVID-19. Then, in 2023, a deal was struck between Alterra Mountain Resort, owner of the Adjacent Deer Valley Resort, and the developer of the Mayflower Resort, Extell Development Company. The deal would entail that Extell would continue to develop luxury homes, hotels, and a commercial downtown while Alterra would develop the on-mountain terrain and infrastructure as part of an extended Deer Valley Resort.
Work is already underway on the Mayflower expansion, and the first phase will be completed for the 2025-26 season. The master plan includes 3,700 acres of new terrain serviced by 16 new lifts expanding Deer Valley from 2,342 acres to 5,736 acres, making Deer Valley one of the largest ski areas in North America.
Blackcomb, British Columbia
Blackcomb, British Columbia, was opened in 1980 and sat across the valley from neighbouring resort Whistler. Blackcomb was then acquired by the real estate company Interwest in 1986, which continued to develop the base area and infrastructure. In 1997, Whistler was purchased by Interwest, and the two resorts merged, becoming the largest ski resort in North America. Combined, the resort boasted the biggest lift served skiable footprint along with offering the tallest vertical drop in North America, until Revelstoke opened in 2007 taking the vertical crown. The merger was officially complete when the peak to peak gondola was opened in 2008 connecting both summits.
In 2010, Whistler Blackcomb hosted the Winter Olympics, finally fulfilling Franz Wilhelmsen’s vision over 40 years after losing the Olympic bid in 1968. Today, Whistler Blackcomb is still the largest lift-served ski area in North America, with 8,171 skiable acres, and is considered by most to be the ski capital of North America.
True ski resort mergers are rare, but when they happen, they reshape the landscape—literally and economically. These five examples show how vision, investment, and terrain can come together to redefine the skier experience on a massive scale. And with projects like Mayflower on the horizon, more change is coming.
