Industry News
The Southwest’s largest resort management company expands its regional presence
Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) today announced that it will purchase Lee Canyon ski resort, located just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, from POWDR Corporation, the leading adventure lifestyle company, and POWDR’s local partner, the Thomas Family.
As the Southwest’s largest ski resort management company, MCP currently manages a collection of ski resorts, mountain bike parks, and golf courses in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas. Less than two weeks ago, MCP closed on its first international resort, Valle Nevado of Santiago, Chile – the largest ski resort in the Americas. The addition of Lee Canyon brings MCP’s ski and bike resort portfolio to 12.
Lee Canyon is located less than an hour from downtown Las Vegas in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Established in 1963, Lee Canyon offers guests year-round outdoor adventure with its 445 acres of lift-served and hiking terrain, 27 trails accessed via three chairlifts, 250 acres of hike-to terrain, access to summer hiking trails, and mountain biking trails. This season, Lee Canyon has received over 260” of snow. The resort offers ski and snowboard coaching, terrain parks, and day-lodge amenities such as dining and retail, as well as a host of summer activities. In peak season, Lee Canyon employs roughly 275 people. Currently, Lee Canyon is scheduled to continue ski operations Fridays through Sundays until April 30.
In 2020, POWDR and Lee Canyon opened the Hillside Lodge featuring two new dining experiences, and in 2022, Lee Canyon announced two new mountain bike trails that were opened for riding last September, with five more to open this coming spring.
MCP managing partner James Coleman says the draw to Lee Canyon was a natural – and a familiar – one.
“The Southwest is home to me, my family, and our team. This is where we live, where we work, and where we play, and Lee Canyon encapsulates everything we love about this region. We’re eager to put to work the best practices we’ve learned over the last two decades while also understanding how to best continue Lee Canyon’s unique success and position it for even more growth in the future.”
– James Coleman
Dan Hooper, general manager of Lee Canyon, added, “While we’ve been proud to be part of the POWDR family for the past two decades, I’m confident that Lee Canyon will be in good hands with MCP. They have a record of excellent resort leadership that will continue our mission of being Vegas’s backyard escape for discovering adventure in the mountains. I am proud of the team here at Lee Canyon and look forward to welcoming the team at MCP to our family.”
MCP has a long history of successfully working with resort owners, leaders, and teams, and consistent with past acquisitions, MCP will continue to retain the Lee Canyon leadership team and all support staff.
“For 60 years, Lee Canyon has delivered an important and unique diversion for Las Vegas and the surrounding communities, and we are honored that POWDR Corporation and the Thomas family are entrusting us with carrying on Lee Canyon’s legacy.”
– James Coleman
Coleman added that future resort investments are being explored and will be announced later.
Mountain Capital Partners’ flagship season pass product, the Power Pass, will be upgraded to include access to Lee Canyon. 2023/2024 Power Pass guests will enjoy unlimited access to Lee Canyon; 2023/2024 Power Pass Select (also known as the 12-Day Power Pass) guests will get a total of 12 restricted days to be shared between Purgatory Resort, Arizona Snowbowl, and Lee Canyon; 2023/2024 Power Pass Core (also known as the 4 Day Power Pass) guests will enjoy a total of 4 restricted days to be shared between Purgatory, Snowbowl, Brian Head Resort, Spider Mountain Bike Park and Lee Canyon.
New for the 2023/2024 season, Lee Canyon will also introduce Power Kids – a FREE, no-strings-attached season pass for kids ages 12 and younger. This pass will provide future rippers unlimited ski resort and bike park access to Lee Canyon and every Power Pass resort. For more information, visit thepowerpass.ski.
About Mountain Capital Partners
Headquartered in Durango, Colo., with offices in Phoenix, Ariz., Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) owns and manages 12 ski resorts and bike parks: Purgatory Resort (CO), Arizona Snowbowl (AZ), Brian Head Resort (UT), Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort (NM), Nordic Valley Ski Resort (UT), Pajarito Mountain (NM), Hesperus Ski Area (CO), Willamette Pass Resort (OR), Valle Nevado (Chile), Lee Canyon (NV), Spider Mountain Bike Park (TX) and Colorado’s largest snowcat skiing operation, Purgatory Snowcat Adventures. In spring 2023, MCP announced its purchase of Silver Creek Golf Course (AZ), which includes the oversight of neighboring Bison Golf Club (AZ). In total, the ski and resorts feature nearly 8,000 acres of terrain, almost 500 trails, 71 lifts, 21 terrain parks, and over 35,000 acres of backcountry snowcat skiing. Since 2015, MCP has invested more than $75 million in its resorts, including new chairlifts, snowmaking, and other capital improvements.
About POWDR Corporation
POWDR is an adventure lifestyle company that inspires everyone with cool experiences in awesome places. POWDR’s awesome places include Copper Mountain and Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado; Killington and Pico Mountain in Vermont; Boreal Mountain Resort and Soda Springs in the Lake Tahoe region of California; Mt. Bachelor in Oregon; Snowbird in Utah; and SilverStar Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada. POWDR also empowers and inspires the next generation of action sports enthusiasts through summer camps, mountain experiences, and mountain centers under the Woodward brand that incorporate dynamic programming and innovative environments: Woodward Park City, Woodward PA, Woodward Copper in Colorado, Woodward Tahoe, Woodward West in Stallion Springs, CA. POWDR fuels a balanced life full of adventure through a collection of experiences from the mountains to the valleys. Sun Country Tours in Oregon is POWDR’s river rafting outfitter, and Powderbird, based out of Snowbird in Utah, is POWDR’s heli-adventure operator. POWDR is headquartered in Park City, Utah. For more information, please visit www.POWDR.com.
About the Thomas Family
Growing up in Las Vegas, Tom Thomas learned to ski at Lee Canyon. These were defining experiences that led to a lifelong passion for the outdoors. Like Tom, his children also created lasting bonds with family and friends while skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Those memorable experiences have resulted in the Thomas family dedicating itself to protecting our environment.
Nearly 20 years ago, purchasing the resort wasn’t a typical investment for the Thomas family—but ensuring the future of an important community asset was essential to Tom and his family. Las Vegas was growing quickly, and he had a vision for what Lee Canyon could mean to the Las Vegas community. In 2003, Tom found an ideal partner in POWDR, a family-owned company with a strong conviction for protecting the environment and contributing to the resort community.
