Vail Resorts buys Kirkwood

23rd February 2012

Last modified on September 2nd, 2021

It now own three resorts in California. It has bought Kirkwood for $18m to sit along side Heavenly and North Star in the Tahoe area. PlanetSKI will be there next week and will be assessing the development.

Vail Resorts is the leading ski resort owner in North America with Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenride and Keystone in its stable. With three resorts further west it is continuing to expand.

It also has a number of subsidiary companies involved in real estate, hotel management and snowsports web sites.

Vail Resorts is purchasing the ski resort of Kirkwood as well as the undeveloped sites at the center of the base area which are earmarked for residential and commercial development.

Season pass holders in the Kirwood will now have access to the ski areas of Heavenly and Northstar and vice versa.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kirkwood into our family as our seventh world-class mountain resort. Kirkwood offers some of the most extraordinary ski terrain found anywhere in North America with high alpine trails and the most annual average snowfall in Lake Tahoe. Kirkwood represents skiing and riding at its purest, something we intend to retain and protect long into the future,” said the chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, Rob Katz.

“When combined with Heavenly and Northstar, we will be able to offer our guests and pass holders unparalleled value with the very best that Lake Tahoe has to offer. We are excited to be able to offer Kirkwood to our pass holders right away – it’s like opening day to a whole new season.”

It hasn’t though been a great season in the Lake Tahoe area with poor snowfall and many runs remained closed due to a lack of snow cover. That has now changed and snow has fallen.

PlanetSKI will be in the resorts next week and will be reporting on the development.