Eden, UT – Confirming a deal rumored for months, The Summit Series announced today that the entrepreneurial conference group has agreed to purchase Utah’s Powder Mountain, which in terms of total acreage is the largest ski resort in the U.S. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in early 2013, were not disclosed, although published reports put the price tag at $40 million.

On the southern side of Powder Mountain, Summit will establish a sustainably designed residential community, called Summit Eden, which will become home base for the organization, the community, and its leadership and cultural events.

In 2008, Summit founder and CEO Elliott Bisnow, then 23, convened 19 young entrepreneurs for a three-day event in Park City, Utah designed to help the business leaders create pathways to achieve their personal, professional, and altruistic goals.

“Our vision is to create an epicenter of innovation around a residential community on the southern side of Powder Mountain,” said Bisnow, 27. “The Ogden Valley has enormous natural gifts and Powder Mountain is iconic and capable of summoning the imagination of the most innovative people in business, non-profits, academia and the arts.”

Summit officials promise that the deal will mean little change at the ski area located high above the town of Eden in Utah’s Ogden Valley, a stark contrast to plans by the Daniels Group, an earlier developer, to transform the resort into a high-end luxury paradise featuring thousands of homes, golf courses and even a mountaintop air strip. The resort will remain open to the public, with the exception of a new members-only mountaintop lodge and event center currently under construction, and Summit officials say that they plan to preserve the character of the mountain.

“Instead of overpowering nature, we’re looking at how we can preserve an environment of open spaces, uncompromising vistas, and year-round adventure. Our goal is to create a place that has a positive impact not just on the residents of Summit Eden and the Ogden Valley, but the state of Utah, and the world,” said Bisnow.