Idaho Springs, CO – Minnesota resident and University of Denver graduate Peter Burwell is preparing for a new ski season at Echo Mountain in Colorado.

High above Idaho Springs, the closest ski area to the Denver metro area will operate six days per week this winter beginning in December, Burwell’s company said after closing on the purchase of the ski area last week. Echo Mountain’s mid-December opening is “pending completion of maintenance and improvement projects,” the new owners said in a statement.

The 226-acre ski area, formerly named Squaw Mountain, was purchased out of bankruptcy by Burwell Enterprises for a reported $3.78 million. Echo Mountain fell on financial hard times under the direction of Denverite Nora Pykkonen, who bought the mountain in 2012 to turn it into a private ski racing training camp. She put the mountain back on the real estate market in April 2015. After briefly reopening the ski area to the public last winter in a last-ditch effort to return it to financial solvency, Pykkonen filed for bankruptcy last February.

“We’ve received an outpouring of support and enthusiasm from local communities, Clear Creek County and a number of people across the ski and snowboard industry,” said Fred Klaas, Echo Mountain’s new general manager. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but our primary focus is the customer and we’re working diligently to offer a great experience.”