American Skiing Company
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The American Skiing Company was one of the largest operators of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its resorts include Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine and The Canyons in Utah.
In 1980, Les Otten, the son of a German immigrant, purchased the Sunday River resort for $840,000 from the Sherburne Corporation. Sunday River included one double chair and a couple of surface lifts at the time. Sunday River slowly grew to become New England's second most popular resort in the 1990s.
In 1994, American Skiing Company purchased Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire. In 1995, Sugarbush, Vermont was added to the portfolio of ASC resorts.
In 1996, Otten purchased Mount Cranmore in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire. Later that year, American Skiing Company sought to purchase SKI Resorts, owners of Killington and Mt. Snow, Vermont, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, and controlling interest in Sugarloaf, Maine. Because of monopoly concerns, the company was only allowed to purchase Killington, Mount Snow, and Sugarloaf.
By 1997, the company expanded west, buying Wolf Mountain in Park City, Utah. It quickly was transformed into The Canyons, now the largest resort in Utah. In 1998, the company, now known as American Skiing Company went public on the New York Stock Exchange and purchased Heavenly, Nevada and Steamboat, Colorado from Kamori International.
By the time the new millennium rolled around, Les Otten had left the company amidst a huge debt crises; their earnings had not kept pace with their growth. As the huge debts have racked up, ASC has been forced to sell Heavenly to Vail Resorts, Steamboat to Intrawest, and Sugarbush to a group of investors.
In January 2007, rumors surfaced that ASC might be in the process of selling Killington and Pico to Powdr Corp, and Attitash and Mount Snow to Peak Resorts. It is now confirmed in a letter to the All For One pass holders that Mount Snow and Attitash have been sold to Peak Resorts and that Killington and Pico have been sold to SP Land Company, LLC who will join with Powdr Corp. in a new venture to operate the two mountains.
