APRIL 13TH 2023
LAS VEGAS (APRIL 13, 2023) Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), the largest ski resort management company in the Southwest, today announced that it will purchase Lee Canyon, Southern Nevada’s premier outdoor recreation destination, from POWDR Corporation and POWDR’s local partner, the Thomas Family.
As the 12th resort in MCP’s portfolio, Lee Canyon’s sister properties now include nearby Brian Head Resort in southern Utah and Snowbowl in Flagstaff, Ariz. This year, Lee Canyon will introduce Power Kid, a free, no-strings-attached season pass for children ages 12 and younger. This pass offers kids unlimited ski and bike park access at Lee Canyon and every Power Pass resort. Lee Canyon’s season pass products will offer reciprocal days at other MCP resorts.
MCP manages a collection of ski resorts, mountain bike parks, and golf courses in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. Internationally, MCP manages Valle Nevado of Santiago, Chile, the largest ski resort in the Americas.
“For 60 years, Lee Canyon has delivered an important and unique diversion for Las Vegas and the surrounding communities. We are honored that POWDR Corporation and the Thomas family are entrusting us with carrying on Lee Canyon’s legacy,” said MCP Managing Partner James Coleman.
Coleman added that future resort investments are being explored and will be announced later.
MCP will retain the Lee Canyon leadership team and all support staff, consistent with past acquisitions. MCP has a long history of successfully working with resort owners, leaders, and teams; in peak season, Lee Canyon employs roughly 275 people.
“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,” said Lee Canyon General Manager Dan Hooper. “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.”
Mountain Capital Partners’ flagship season pass product, the Power Pass, will be upgraded to include access to Lee Canyon. 2023/24 Power Pass guests will enjoy unlimited access to Lee Canyon; 2023/24 Power Pass Select (also known as the 12 Day Power Pass) guests will get 12 restricted days to be shared between Purgatory Resort, Arizona Snowbowl, and Lee Canyon. 2023/24 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. For more information, visit www.thepowerpass.ski.
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,” he said. “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.”
This season, Lee Canyon has received over 260″ of snow, a record for the resort. Lee Canyon plans to continue ski operations Friday through Sunday until April 30.
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 at its resorts, including new chairlifts, snowmaking and other capital improvements. For more information, visit mcp.ski.
About POWDR Corporation
POWDR is an adventure lifestyle company that inspires every human being 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 the protection of 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, also a family-owned company with a strong conviction for protecting the environment and contributing to the resort community.
