Mountain Capital Partners announced on Thursday that it will purchase the Lee Canyon Ski Resort, located less than an hour from downtown Las Vegas. MCP is buying the ski area from POWDR Corporation, an adventure lifestyle company, and POWDR’s local partner, the Thomas Family.
As the Southwest’s largest ski resort management company, MCP currently manages a collection of ski resorts, mountain bike parks and golf courses in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas. Less than two weeks ago, MCP closed on its first international resort, Valle Nevado of Santiago, Chile – the largest ski resort in the Americas. The addition of Lee Canyon brings MCP’s ski and bike resort portfolio to 12 properties.
Lee Canyon is located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Las Vegas. Established in 1963, Lee Canyon offers guests year-round outdoor adventure with its 445 acres of lift-served and hiking terrain, 27 trails accessed via three chairlifts, 250 acres of hike-to terrain, access to summer hiking trails and mountain biking trails. This season, Lee Canyon has received over 260 inches of snow. The resort offers ski and snowboard coaching, terrain parks and day-lodge amenities such as dining and retail, as well as a host of summer activities. In peak season, Lee Canyon employs roughly 275 people. Currently, Lee Canyon is scheduled to continue ski operations Fridays through Sundays until April 30.
In 2020, POWDR and Lee Canyon opened the Hillside Lodge featuring two new dining experiences. In 2022, Lee Canyon announced two new mountain bike trails and opened them for riding in September with five more to open this coming spring.
MCP managing partner James Coleman says the draw to Lee Canyon was a natural – and a familiar – one.
“The Southwest is home to me, my family and our team. This is where we live, where we work, and where we play, and Lee Canyon encapsulates everything we love about this region,” he said. “We’re eager to put to work the best practices we’ve learned over the last two decades while also understanding how to best continue Lee Canyon’s unique success and position it for even more growth in the future.”
“While we’ve been proud to be part of the POWDR family for the past two decades, I’m confident that Lee Canyon will be in good hands with MCP,” said Dan Hooper, general manager of Lee Canyon. “They have a record of excellent resort leadership that will continue our mission of being Vegas’s backyard escape for discovering adventure in the mountains. I am proud of the team here at Lee Canyon and look forward to welcoming the team at MCP to our family.”
MCP will retain the Lee Canyon leadership team and all support staff.
“For 60 years, Lee Canyon has delivered an important and unique diversion for Las Vegas and the surrounding communities, and we are honored that POWDR Corporation and the Thomas family are entrusting us with carrying on Lee Canyon’s legacy,” Coleman said.
Coleman also said future resort investments are being explored.
MCP’s flagship season pass product, the Power Pass, will be upgraded to include access to Lee Canyon. In 2023/2024, Power Pass guests will have unlimited access to Lee Canyon; Power Pass Select guests will get 12 restricted days to be shared between Purgatory Resort, Arizona Snowbowl and Lee Canyon; Power Pass Core guests will receive four restricted days to be shared between Purgatory, Snowbowl, Brian Head Resort, Spider Mountain Bike Park and Lee Canyon.
New for the 2023/2024 season, Lee Canyon will also introduce Power Kids – a free, no-strings-attached season pass for kids ages 12 and younger. This pass will provide future rippers unlimited ski resort and bike park access to Lee Canyon and every Power Pass resort.
For more information, visit thepowerpass.ski.
