OUR MOUNTAINS
Since 2000, Mountain Capital Partners has provided management services to our family of ski resorts and bike parks, including overseeing the investment of over $75 million in on-mountain improvements. Keep reading to discover some of the meaningful impacts we've made in our pursuit to Give People the Freedom to Ski.
Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort
Taos, NM
Just 20 miles southeast of Taos, New Mexico, Sipapu has been home to ski trips, year-round reunions and family-friendly, family fun since 1952. Shortly after MCP’s involvement in 2000, Sipapu doubled its skiable terrain, added four new lifts and replaced one. Creating legendary tree skiing has been a high focus for the team, in addition to evolving the snowmaking infrastructure, which has allowed Sipapu to be the first ski area open in New Mexico nearly every winter for two decades. Projects have also included expanded terrain, lodging renovations and a major remodel of Sipapu’s historic lodge - and all have contributed to Sipapu’s unique status as the fastest growing resort in the state.
Purgatory Resort
Durango, CO
Located in the rugged San Juan Mountains just north of Durango, Colorado, Purgatory is a year-round resort that offers a unique blend of steep tree skiing trails and wide-open cruisers with stunning views. MCP’s first order of business in 2015 was to return the resort to its original name, much to the delight of locals and guests alike. Since then, the improvements haven’t stopped, including the replacement of the classic Legends lift 8, a new high-speed detachable quad, adding new surface lifts on the backside and beginner areas, constructing the Inferno Mountain Coaster, building additional ski and bike trails and several snowmaking expansions.
Purgatory Snowcat Adventures
Durango, CO
Headquartered at Purgatory Resort, Purgatory Snowcat Adventures runs the largest cat skiing operation in Colorado, with 35,000 acres of backcountry terrain outside of the resort boundaries. Since MCP’s involvement starting in 2015, the operation has upgraded its snowcat cabins while adding new product offerings, including scenic snowcat tours and snowcat dinner excursions.
Arizona Snowbowl
Flagstaff, AZ
Year-round resort Arizona Snowbowl is home to the state’s only gondola, located minutes from downtown Flagstaff and two hours north of Phoenix. MCP’s work began immediately in 2016 with the installation of the new Humphreys Peak Quad, the ski area’s first new lift in three decades. Immediately thereafter, Snowbowl debuted Arizona’s first high-speed six-person lift, the Grand Canyon Express, and in 2017, MCP oversaw the installation of a new fixed grip quad chairlift and surface lift in the Hart Prairie beginner area, which features some of the best teaching terrain in the country. In 2020 Snowbowl completed its marquee lift, the Arizona Gondola, and the largest lift construction project in the nation. Throughout these years, Snowbowl has also opened a new restaurant, added a pedestrian overpass, and expanded its world-class snowmaking infrastructure.
Hesperus Ski Area
Durango, CO
Just minutes from downtown Durango, Colorado, and a short drive from Mesa Verde National Park, Hesperus is home to the Southwest’s largest night skiing operation. This is the place where everyone feels like a local and home to Marmot Hill, a snow tubing area with multiple lanes of fun at the perfect pitch. Since MCP’s involvement starting in 2016, the ski area has seen several infrastructure improvements, including the expansion and relocation of its tubing hill and the reconfiguration of its rental shop, which included a new fleet of rental gear.
Pajarito Mountain
Los Alamos, NM
Perched on the Pajarito Plateau of the Jemez Mountains just 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, Pajarito is one of the most unspoiled ski areas in the state, thanks in part to its bump runs in the winter (the Fab Four are legendary with the locals) and its rugged single track for lift-served mountain biking in the summer. Since Pajarito joined the MCP family in 2018, the Los Alamos ski area has replaced its beginner lift, upgraded its holding pond and water collection system, and managed the hazard trees that were damaged by recent fires while improving future fire mitigation and forest re-vegetation.
Nordic Valley Resort
Eden, UT
Deep in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains just north of Salt Lake City, Nordic Valley is in the middle of the largest expansion projects in resort history. In 2020, the resort added Utah’s third high-speed, six person chairlift, Nordic Valley’s first new lift in 20 years. That same year, the resort began building out 300 acres of new skiing, more than tripling its skiable acres. New trails have been added every year since. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, Nordic Valley was a training area for Olympic athletes and it's still sought-after for its renowned after school and ski school programs.
Spider Mountain Bike Park
Burnet, TX
Construction of the nation’s first and only year-round, lift-served mountain bike park was completed in 2019, and Spider Mountain was born. Located on the banks of Lake Buchanan just 60 miles northwest of Austin, Spider Mountain’s focal point is the Texas Eagle, the state’s first and only chairlift, which provides access to lakefront views and 9 gravity-fueled bike trails. The adjacent Thunderbird Lodge offers lodging and camping, beach play, and SUP and boat rentals at the resort’s private marina.
Brian Head Resort
Brian Head, UT
Year-round destination Brian Head Resort is home to The Greatest Snow on Earth®, with an annual average snowfall of nearly 360 inches. Located in the southwest corner of Utah and a short drive from Las Vegas, Brian Head is home to the state’s highest base elevation, which helped it break resort records when it posted its earliest-ever opening and became the first resort to open in Utah on November 4, 2022. Since 2020, MCP has helped lead on-mountain improvements, including additional chairs on their newest lift, Navajo Express, gladed trail expansions and enhanced snowmaking. In 2021, Brian Head acquired the nearby Brian Head Lodge to offer destination guests a full resort experience.
Willamette Pass Resort
Crescent Lake, OR
At Willamette Pass Resort, being first is second-nature: the first-ever snowmaking system in the Pacific Northwest was installed here, and Oregon's first high-speed, six-passenger detachable chairlift (also the fastest in the state) debuted at Willamette Pass. Located in the Cascade Mountains of central Oregon and 66 miles southeast of Eugene, Willamette Pass is now carving out a new story for itself - with more "firsts" to come. Since MCP’s involvement in the fall of 2022, the resort has introduced several infrastructure upgrades, including new software and point of sale integrations.
