Purgatory Colorado Utah Brian Head Arizona Arizona Snowbowl

Mountain Capital Partners Invests $15M+ in Ski Resort Upgrades

Michael Fulton25 Apr 2025

TL;DR

Mountain Capital Partners announces over $15 million in improvements across its ski resorts following a record-breaking 2024/2025 season, with upgrades planned for Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl, Brian Head, and other properties.

Level Up Your Ski Day — Download SnowStash on the App Store

Mountain Capital Partners Boosts Ski Resort Investments

Mountain Capital Partners (MCP) has announced plans to invest more than $15 million in improvements across its ski resorts. This decision follows a record-setting 2024/2025 winter season, where several MCP properties extended their operations into May. The investment aims to enhance the skiing experience and increase accessibility for visitors.

James Coleman, managing partner of MCP, stated that the company has reinvested over $125 million into its resorts since 2015. MCP, now the third-largest ski resort company in the U.S. by resort count, manages 17 properties across North and South America, generating more than $500 million in economic impacts for its resort communities.

Mountain Capital Partners Announces $15M+ in Improvements Following Record-Setting Winter - body image 1

Purgatory, approaching its 60th anniversary, will receive a $6.4 million investment. This includes a new Gelande area triple chairlift and the addition of up to five new frontside trails, expanding expert and advanced terrain. Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff opened on November 8, 2024, its earliest opening on record, and is extending its season into May. Brian Head Resort in Utah is concluding its longest season in 60 years, with 178 skiable days.

Lee Canyon continues its development with the expansion of West Bowl, introducing new novice and intermediate terrain for the 2025/2026 season. Pajarito Mountain Ski Area in New Mexico had its earliest opening in decades on November 9, 2024. Sandia Peak Ski Area, under MCP management since 2024, has successfully reopened for two consecutive seasons.

Willamette Pass, MCP's Pacific Northwest resort, achieved its earliest opening since 2001 and is extending operations through May 11, marking its longest season in history. In Chile, Valle Nevado and La Parva ski resorts are undergoing $4 million in improvements ahead of the Southern Hemisphere season.

MCP's ski resorts are set to benefit from these significant upgrades. Purgatory's new chairlift and trails will offer more options for advanced skiers. Arizona Snowbowl's extended season showcases the impact of enhanced snowmaking and grooming. Brian Head's improvements, including expanded snowmaking and an RFID ticket system, aim to improve operational reliability. These investments across MCP's properties demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the skiing experience and attracting more visitors to these diverse ski destinations.

About the author

Michael Fulton

Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

50+ resorts visited15 years skiing

Keep reading

More from the SnowStash desk

View all news →

Ski-E-O! Is the Ski Resort Tycoon Game We Didn't Know We Needed

I'm not a gamer. I'm a skier and snowboarder who happens to have a laptop. So when a ski resort management game called Ski-E-O! landed on Steam, I wasn't expecting to lose an afternoon to it - but here we are. Real mountain terrain, a full weather system, storms that roll in and wreck your snow base, avalanche danger, and enough depth to make RollerCoaster Tycoon feel simple by comparison. Early access lands in November. Here's what a few hours in the free demo actually looks like.

23 Aug 2026

Sugar Bowl, California, Rebuilds Its Historic Village Gondola

The rumours are true: Sugar Bowl is tearing out its Emerald gondola, in place since 1983, and replacing it with a new 8-person Doppelmayr system - nearly doubling uphill capacity to 1,800 people an hour. It's the fourth generation of a gondola line that dates back to 1953, when Sugar Bowl became the first resort on the West Coast to run one at all, and it's just one piece of a $100 million overhaul touching lodges, parking and snowmaking. Here's what's changing, and what's staying the same.

23 Aug 2026

Two Confirmed Dead as Search Continues After Swiss Alps Fire

The death toll from Thursday night's fire at Restaurant Beverin in Thusis, Switzerland, has begun to firm up. One Swiss outlet, citing Graubünden Cantonal Police, reports that two of the five people initially reported missing have now been confirmed dead, leaving three unaccounted for. The building's collapsed stairwell and structural instability have slowed recovery efforts throughout. Here's what's changed since the fire broke out, and what's still unconfirmed.

22 Aug 2026

Selwyn Snow Resort Closes Early as Rain Ends Its 2026 Season

Selwyn Snow Resort has called an early end to its 2026 season, a day after Victoria's Mount Baw Baw did the same. Rain on Thursday stripped what was left of the snowpack, and the cold nights needed to rebuild it through snowmaking never arrived. It's a rough result for a resort that only just found its footing again after being burned to the ground in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires and a multi-year rebuild. Here's how the season fell apart, and where Selwyn's been since the fire.

22 Aug 2026

Mt Baw Baw Becomes First Australian Resort to Close for 2026

Mt Baw Baw is calling time on its 2026 season this Sunday at 5pm, becoming the first Australian resort to close for the year after warm spells and rain wore through its snowpack. Lifts stop, but the resort stays open, entry fees get waived, and there's one last Bollywood Weekend before the lights go out. Fifty-seven days after opening, here's how the season ended and what it means for the rest of Australia's struggling snowpack.

21 Aug 2026

Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair

Arosa's Hörnli sector is getting its biggest overhaul in decades. The 1986 gondola and 1994 chairlift linking toward Lenzerheide are both being replaced, with capacity up, tower count down and a new base station lower on the hill. At roughly CHF 67 million, it is the largest single investment Arosa Bergbahnen has ever made - and the target opening has already slipped a year, to December 2028. Here is what is changing, and why the timeline moved.

20 Aug 2026

Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter

Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.

19 Aug 2026

Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow

Finland's Levi and Ruka open for the 2026-27 season on October 2, more than seven weeks before most of Europe sees a lift turn. Neither resort is waiting on autumn snowfall - both are skiing on snow buried since last spring, insulated through the Finnish summer and dug back out for opening day. It is not a shortcut. It is a decades-old system now spreading from the Arctic Circle to Idaho, Utah, Vermont and Colorado. Here is how snow farming actually works, and why it is catching on.

19 Aug 2026