East Burke, VT – Bill Stenger and Ariel Queros, co-owners of northern Vermont’s Jay Peak Resort, today announced that a new corporation formed by the pair earlier this week purchased nearby Burke Mountain ski area.

QBurke Mountain Resorts, LLC acquired Burke on Tuesday for an undisclosed price. Both Stenger and Jay Peak spokesman Steve Wright, however, have indicated that Burke was acquired without taking on any debt.

Located about 50 miles away from Jay Peak in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, Burke has potential for synergies with Jay for the northern Vermont skier and rider.

“We’re still working out (all) the details, but are already thinking of ways to amplify your winter experience to include Burke,” Jay officials indicated in an email sent to regular customers this morning.

Located just south of the Quebec border, Jay is popular with Montreal area residents and is known for the most natural snowfall on average each winter of any U.S. ski area east of the Rockies. The mountain resort was acquired by Queros and Stenger, Jay’s longtime general manager, from Quebec’s Mont Saint-Sauveur International in 2008, and they have since embarked upon an ambitious base area re-development that includes a massive indoor water park and new slopeside hotels.

Burke, meanwhile, is an underutilized 2,000 vertical-foot mountain with slopeside residential development plans in the works. Home to the prestigious Burke Mountain Academy ski racing program, it has been through a string of recent owners including Florida’s Ginn Resorts, its most recent owner that faced economic and legal hardship following the recent real estate market collapse.

“Burke Mountain embodies what is best about Vermont skiing, a quality mountain experience, a group of employees that love the sport and a community that is full of authentic Vermont character,” Stenger said. “Jay Peak and Burke Mountain have much in common and I look forward to seeing the resorts continue to prosper and grow. We expect some exciting promotional cooperation between the resorts this coming winter as we review the plans for Burke Mountain’s future.”

Burke’s new owners are in the process of scheduling community and employee meetings to publicly discuss their plans for the resort. Burke fans should first look for improved snowmaking to offset uncooperative weather such as that witnessed in the Northeast this past winter.