SAM Magazine—Denver, Sept. 7, 2018—Less than three weeks after Vail Resorts closed on its acquisition of Stevens Pass in Washington, Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Crystal Mountain Resort, located about three hours south of Stevens. The acquisition would bring Alterra’s portfolio to 13 mountain resorts in North America, plus CMH heli-skiing in Canada.

“With the addition of Crystal Mountain Resort in Washington, we are able to expand our reach into the Pacific Northwest and offer our guests incredible experiences in the Cascade Mountains,” said Rusty Gregory, Alterra Mountain Company CEO. “Crystal Mountain … has been a favorite year-round destination for those in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area for years, and we are excited to include it in the Alterra Mountain Company family.”

Crystal is Washington’s largest mountain resort, with 2,600 skiable acres and 3,100 feet of vertical. It’s located less than two hours from Seattle. Unlimited access to Crystal Mountain will be included on the Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass for winter 2018-19, pending completion of the acquisition.

John Kircher purchased Crystal from Boyne Resorts in March of 2017. “It has always been my goal to ensure Crystal Mountain Resort be taken the farthest in the shortest amount of time in order to keep Crystal at the top of Northwest skiing,” said Kircher. “Alterra Mountain Company is able to offer a depth of experience and resources, as well as inclusion on the Ikon Pass. The mountain sports business has changed more in the last year than I have seen it change in my entire 40-year career, and I am excited to see what lies ahead.”

The primary reason for that recent change, of course, has been the unprecedented rate of acquisitions and partnerships that Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have engaged in since Alterra was formed in 2017. The race between the two companies has piqued the interest of consumers, left independent ski areas wondering what the future holds, and has kept industry publication editors awfully busy reporting on it all. The only certainty is: the race is not over. Which resort is next? We’ll all need to stay tuned to find out.

Alterra’s pending acquisition of Crystal will be seen by many as an answer to Vail buying Stevens Pass, but these types of transactions take a lot of time to come to fruition. That said, given Alterra’s fast experience with the process, it’s possible that the company engaged Kircher shortly after word of Vail’s agreement to acquire Stevens came out and the parties were able to reach a preliminary agreement in short order. But we can only speculate about that.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018. As always, it is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. More details will be released once the transaction has closed.