The ski industry has been undergoing a significant trend towards consolidation for quite some time. Maintaining trails, lifts, and equipment is a capital-intensive endeavor, not to mention expanding these facilities. Skiers often appreciate the investments made by large companies and value company-wide passes that grant access to multiple resorts.
Here, we present an overview of the companies that own the most ski resorts.
Top Ski Resort Operators
24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the companies that own the most ski resorts by reviewing a list of companies and the resorts they operate from the National Ski Area Association.
1. Vail Resorts
Vail owns more than twice as many resorts as the No. 2 ranked Alterra Mountain Company, which operates 14 resorts. The company was founded by veterans of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in the early 1960s. It’s now publicly traded.
2. Alterra Mountain Company
Alterra Mountain Company operates 14 resorts, positioning it as the second-largest operator in the ski industry.
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3. Powdr Corp.
At No. 3, Powdr Corp.
Other Notable Operators
A couple of companies on our list that might be regarded as outliers. The State of New York, for example, owns three resorts. The state’s private ski operators indeed sometimes complain about taxpayer-subsidized competition. Another unusual company in the industry is Sinclair Oil Corporation, which owns two resorts. Both the oil company and the resorts were part of a conglomerate built by billionaire investor Robert Holding.
Here is a summary of the top operators mentioned:
| Rank | Company | Number of Resorts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vail Resorts | *More than twice Alterra Mountain Company |
| 2 | Alterra Mountain Company | 14 |
| 3 | Powdr Corp. | N/A |
Mountain Capital Partners (MCP)
While our company's roots are in the Southwest, our entrepreneurial spirit has taken us to the Pacific Northwest and the Southern Hemisphere, too. Today, MCP manages more than a dozen ski areas, bike parks and golf courses in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Oregon and Chile.
MCP is made up of authentic skiers with a deep commitment to Give People the Freedom to Ski. And when we say "skiing first," we mean it: since 2015, we've managed the investment of over $111 million in significant mountain improvements, including new lifts, new trails, improved snowmaking and more.
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Like first tracks on a powder day, MCP's winning formula is one that our resorts, our guests and our partners love. Our resorts consistently post year-over-year growth that outpaces industry averages, all while making meaningful reinvestments that keep guests coming back for more.
How Corporate Consolidation is Killing Ski Towns
Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), the largest ski resort collective in the Southwest United States and operator of Valle Nevado and La Parva in Chile, announced on July 2, 2025, its intent to become the controlling shareholder of Andacor S.A.
American Skiing Company
American Skiing Company was one of the largest operators of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its resorts included Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine, The Canyons in Utah, Killington, Mount Snow, Haystack, Heavenly and Steamboat.
In 1980, Les Otten, the son of a German immigrant, purchased the Sunday River resort for $840,000 from the Sherburne Corporation. Sunday River included one double chair and a couple of surface lifts at the time. In 1994, Otten formed LBO Resort Enterprises Corp and purchased Attitash in New Hampshire. In 1996, Otten purchased Mount Cranmore in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire. By 1997, the company expanded west, buying Wolf Mountain in Park City, Utah. It quickly was transformed into The Canyons, now the largest resort in Utah.
In 1997, the company, now known as American Skiing Company went public on the New York Stock Exchange and purchased Heavenly, California and Steamboat, Colorado from Kamori International. All American Skiing Company resorts have a Grand Summit Hotel, a condominium-hotel in which investors were to buy a quarter of a year ownership of the hotel room units.
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By the time the new millennium rolled around, Les Otten had left the company amidst a huge debt crises; their earnings had not kept pace with their growth. William (BJ) Fair took over as CEO.
In January 2007, rumors surfaced that ASC might be in the process of selling Killington and Pico to Powdr Corporation, and Attitash and Mount Snow to Peak Resorts.