With advance reservations estimated to be down 20% at ski Resorts the news of Okemo being sold is not a shock. One of the last family run Ski Areas in the USA (Okemo) is to be sold.

CNL Lifestyle Properties Inc., a real-estate investment trust based in Orlando, Fla., is expected to announce that it will acquire three U.S. ski resorts for $132 million. Crested Butte in Colorado and Mt Sunapee are part of the package aswell.

The family run ski area is moving closer to becoming extinct, When I started skiing 37 years ago almost all the ski areas in New England where owned and operated by families. Many local ski areas like Magic Mt, and Corinthia in Vermont where a place young families could bring the kids for a affordable vacation and teach the kids how to ski.

Even though Triple Peaks LLC of Ludlow, Vt., which currently owns and operates the ski areas CNL will buy, will continue as operator this development certainly brings up concerns that family run ski areas will become a thing of the past.

Tags: Bookings down, Colorado Ski Vacations, Crested Butte Sold, New England Resorts, Okemo Sold, Ski Areas, Ski Areas Sold, Ski Colorado, Skiing Vermont, Sunapee Sold, Vermont Skiing

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Ski Resorts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.