Vernon, NJ – Canadian ski resort operator Intrawest’s divestiture of its properties as it struggles to pay off creditors continues this week with the sale of New Jersey’s Mountain Creek ski area to the operators of neighboring Crystal Springs Resort.nAs of Wednesday night, Mountain Creek now belongs to the owners of Crystal Springs, a sprawling residential and golf complex in Vernon. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Combined, the new property now covers 15,000 acres spanning five miles of a valley in far northwestern New Jersey, approximately 50 miles from the New York City metro area.

When the real estate market stagnated, Intrawest ran into trouble repaying a $1.7 billion loan used to finance its purchase by New York-based Fortress Investment Group in 2006. Already within the past year, Intrawest has sold its interests in its Copper Mountain, Colo. and Panorama, British Columbia, Canada ski resorts, as well as Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and the Village at Squaw Valley, Calif., to pay down debt.

Mountain Creek’s new owners have big plans for New Jersey’s largest ski resort, including a tropical rainforest-themed indoor water park, internationally-branded chain hotels and a new retail village. Crystal Springs’ resort complex already includes seven golf courses, two hotels, and residential developments throughout the Sussex County valley.

“This newly formed mega-resort is unparalleled given the breadth, uniqueness and quality of its combined offerings to residents, day visitors and overnight guests,” said Crystal Springs President Andrew Mulvihill. “From this platform, we have major expansion plans to create a first-class tourist destination on par with New England and the Carolinas, but with convenient proximity to the New York Metro area.”

Crystal Springs developer Eugene Mulvihill ran Mountain Creek in the 1980s when it was known as Great Gorge. Great Gorge was eventually joined with Vernon Valley, another ski area on the same ridgeline, before the combined resort was purchased out of bankruptcy by Intrawest in 1998. Since then, Intrawest has installed five new lifts and improved snowmaking, and developed one of the East Coast’s largest terrain parks.

Fortress’ lenders threatened foreclosure proceedings in February after the hedge fund missed a $524 million debt payment in December. In April, Intrawest announced a refinancing of its corporate debt, now scheduled to mature in 2014. Terms of the new loan were not disclosed.

In addition to its flagship ski resort, Whisttler Blackcomb in British Columbia, canada, following this week’s sale of Mountain Creek, Intrawest now owns and/or operates the ski and snowboard resorts of: Steamboat and Winter Park, Colo.; Stratton, Vt.; Snowshoe, W.V.; Blue Mountain, Ontario, Canada; and Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Its holdings also include Whistler Heli-Skiing and Canadian Mountain Holidays, both of which operate in British Columbia, Canada, as well as numerous hotel properties.