Idaho Springs, CO – Colorado’s Echo Mountain ski area is going to auction.
Reopened in 2006 in the site of the former Squaw Pass ski area, Echo Mountain’s location, just 35 miles west of downtown Denver, offers north-facing mountain terrain that varies from 9,000 to 11,000 feet in elevation, although the current developed vertical drop is limited to 660 feet. Marketed as Denver’s closest and most affordable family oriented ski and snowboard area, the resort offers summer facilities for weddings, mountain biking, hiking, picnics, as well as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter to complement the alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Echo Mountain’s current owner, Bethesda, Md. hotelier Jerry Petitt, chose Racebrook and its auction affiliate, Sheldon Good & Company to sell Echo Mountain via a sealed bid auction to enable them to focus on their other business ventures while ensuring a guaranteed date of sale, allowing the new owner time to prepare for the next winter season, officials with the auction company indicate. Petitt maintains a second home in Aspen. He bought the property at auction for $700,000.
“To have a ski resort situated on 100% private land is unheard of in the ski industry, so Echo Mountain provides an extremely rare opportunity for a local or international buyer to purchase the property and continue its evolution into a unique winter and year-round sports destination,” said John Cuticelli, CEO of Racebrook. “A savvy buyer will be able to enjoy the benefits and opportunities of owning and branding their own mountain resort while leveraging the property’s solid history.”
Unlike land leased from the U.S. Forest Service, private ownership allows unrestricted year-round usage as well as advertising onsite and unique brand exposure. And Echo Mountain bucked the industry trend in the state last year when skier visits at Colorado Ski Country USA resorts, of which Echo Mountain is a member, dropped 11.4 percent year over year. Instead, Echo Mountain’s business in 2011-12 set a record for the resort at 32,000 skier visits.
Echo Mountain’s website gives no hint about the upcoming auction as it promotes summer activities and continues to sell season passes for next season. Petitt’s family will continue to run the resort next winter if the highest bidder fails to meet the auction’s reserve price.
Echo Mountain debuted as a terrain park-only ski area, but quickly evolved into a small family-centric resort. Resort highlights include more than $8 million in improvements since 2006 with two multi-purpose buildings, which incorporate administrative offices, cafeteria, retail and rental shop, close-in parking and average snowfall of 220 inches with 300 days of sun annually. The property’s vertical drop could be expanded to more than 1,500 feet, but presently it has 16 named trails, three lifts including a 2,000-foot fixed grip triple chair, a magic carpet surface lift for the learning center and a handle tow for the events area. There’s also on-site a tested helipad and state-of-the art snowmaking powered by four wells and a reservoir. Less than one-third of the 226 acres have been developed and the resort is surrounded by U.S. Forest Service managed property, making its operations expandable through trades or leases. Echo’s current operation was master planned in 2005 by SE Group/Snow Engineering
Echo has food, liquor and retail licenses and is one of the few Colorado ski/boarding areas with permitted slope lighting for night skiing and a built-in music system throughout the mountain. Echo currently hosts night race training for Vail, Winter Park and Loveland ski teams.
Bids are due by 4 p.m. MDT, August 2, 2012. Potential buyers who seek additional information on the auction and and opportunity to view the property by appointment may call (800) 374-4881 or visit www.EchoMtnAuction.com.