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Alterra Mountain Company Expands Reach in Utah

Logo of the Alterra Mountain Company
Alterra Mountain Company

The news of the sale of Solitude Mountain Resort to the new owner of Deer Valley Resort was announced at Wednesday’s Ski Utah meeting just minutes after the news was released. KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher has more on the consolidation of the ski industry and why – in some cases – it’s a good thing for the state of Utah.

Wednesday morning, the president and COO of Deer Valley Resort Bob Wheaton was in the monthly Ski Utah board of directors meeting when he was alerted that the news of the sale of Solitude was a go.  Minutes later he made the announcement to his peers. He says the news received a round of applause…

As we reported, Alterra Mountain Company, a partnership that now includes 13 year-round destination resorts, has purchased Solitude Mountain Resort. This is the same company that purchased Deer Valley Resort last August.

Now that he has seen how Alterra operates, Wheaton thinks the acquisition of Solitude is a good thing for the state. The expertise and resources availabe at Alterra he said are incredible. Their focus is in the right place, he said.  It's all about skiers, the ski industry, and the staff at each resort. Each resort's personality he said is one of the cornerstones of Alterra. A resort's personality he said  is precious, and valuable and should  be preserved and enhanced. And the benefit package for the staff he added is incredible and one of the reasons he's so enthused about Alterra's acqisition of Solitude. The staff he said is going to benefit tremendously.

Utah ski resorts have seen their share of consolidation - first with Powdr Corps, then the American Skiing Company, followed by Vail Resorts, and now Alterra. When asked if that’s the future of the ski industry, Wheaton said not necessarily. There are certainly opportunities in the ski industry, he said. But how far it goes, he said, no one knows. At least so far, Wheaton thinks the consolidation has been beneficial for the industry as well as for skiers and snowboarders who enjoy the mountains.

As for Wheaton’s future with Alterra, he was vague, only saying that his options are open.  The options with Alterra he said were and still are extremely bright. He said he couldn't be more enthused about being involved with Alterra and hopes to continue there.          

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