Vail Resorts announced on Wednesday that it has purchased Kirkwood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe, Calif. for approximately $18 million and expects to close the deal within the month, adding to a list of Tahoe ski resort properties that also includes Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-At-Tahoe.
"Kirkwood is a gem: It's one of those really unique ski properties that has a lot of passion and a lot of history around it and a great locals' mountain kind of vibe that's really warm and friendly, and it's really great to have that as part of our resort family," Blaise Carrig, Co-President of Vail Resorts, told ESPN.
A season pass reciprocity agreement will allow passholders at Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood unrestricted access to all three resorts for the remainder of the season, effective Wednesday, and grant Tahoe Value Pass holders access to Kirkwood six days a week, excluding Saturdays. Kirkwood will also be added to the list of resorts on Vail Resorts' unrestricted Epic Pass product, effective immediately; that list also includes Vail Resorts' properties in Colorado: Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Breckenridge, plus privately-held Arapahoe Basin.
Kirkwood's 2,300 skiable acres will make it the smallest of the Vail Resorts mountains.
"We were drawn to what Kirkwood already is, and that's been our acquisition strategy all along: We look at a property and ask, 'How can we help improve or enhance what they already have?'" Carrig says. "But I think it's critical to maintain the very core of the resort and its personality and identity, and that's going to be our goal at Kirkwood from day one."
The ski resort, located 35 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, has elevations ranging from 7,800 to 9,800 feet and gets an average of 472 inches annually. The popular annual Kirkwood Banked Slalom event returns for its 18th year on March 11, and the 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour is scheduled to stop at Kirkwood April 4-April 8.
Kirkwood's Mountain Master Development Plan was last updated in 2003, and Carrig says no immediate capital improvement plans at Kirkwood have been announced yet.
"It is a very exciting time for the entire Kirkwood community including our employees, passholders, guests and homeowners," Kirkwood CEO David Likins said in a statement released Wednesday morning. "Vail is a world class operator with the experience and resources to make Kirkwood into a premier destination for skiers and riders. They really seem to appreciate the unique culture that makes Kirkwood special and are committed to taking the experience to the next level while embracing the mountain assets that we all love. It's an incredibly interesting opportunity for everyone."