McHenry, MD – After last month announcing a possible sale of Maryland’s only ski area to cover troubled real estate investments, the owners of Wisp Ski Resort on Sunday confirmed that they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while their financial matters get sorted out.

DC Development LLC, the ski area’s owners, have been unsuccessful in renegotiating a $28.5 million loan with BB&T bank, of Winston-Salem, N.C., that was taken out to develop residential sites and an 18-hole golf course near the ski area at Deep Creek Lake before the real estate market tanked in 2008. The company filed their action on Saturday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Greenbelt, Md., and say that selling the ski area, which remains profitable, remains as only a last resort if they are unable to find additional investors and refinance their debt.

Wisp is scheduled to open for the 2011-12 winter season on November 25 despite the bankruptcy filing.