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Boyne and Powdr join ski teams

Just following Vail Resorts acquisition of Park City Mountain – making Vail Resorts an 11 mountain monopoly across Colorado, Utah and California, there's a new ski team on the block. Boyne Resorts and Powdr Corp have joined ski forces to create a 19 ski resort "strategic brand partnership". There is no ownership change here, but it is a flex of marketing muscle of these two big players on the ski scene.

As for what this will mean for skiers and riders remains to be seen. Will there be a mountain merger pass good at all 19 ski resorts owned by Powdr Corp and Boyne? That would be a cool competitor to Vail's Epic pass valid at 11 resorts. Too soon to say about Boyne and Powdr's ski pass plans. For now, the Boyne/Powdr (yes, that's how it is spelled – not Powder the magazine) announcement is about television marketing and branding opportunities.

Powdr and Boyne combine to include 19 ski resorts. The Powdr-Boyne ski resort portfolio includes Copper Mountain in Colorado, Big Sky Montana, Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, Brighton Utah, and Gorgoza Park, The Summit at Snoqualmie, Crystal Mountain, Cypress Mountain in Washington, Mt Bachelor in Oregon, Boreal and Soda Springs, plus East Coast resorts Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Loon Mountain, Killington, and Pico in Vermont; and Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain in the Midwest.

These Powdr and Boyne resorts plan to extend their media and marketing reach with events, news and shows on Powdr's "World of Adventure" broadcast TV series that showcases mountain and adventure sports. The Powdr series airs on NBC, NBCSN, and Outside Television. Powdr purchased the adventure TV series last December as part of their Powdr Enterprises. This is good news after Powdr lost their lawsuit against Vail Resorts in the hotly debated Park City Mountain lease to Talisker. Vail purchased Park City for big money ($182 million), earmarked for other ski resort improvements I am sure.

The two ski companies Boyne and Powdr report 7 million visits annually, and together they host 200 events at their various resorts. Expect to see more of these events like Parrot Head and Dumont Cup at Sunday River, Reggaefest at Sugarloaf, Killington's Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, and maybe the Dummy Downhill and Ice bar at Big Bky, Vertfest and Battle for Bachelor in Oregon, televised, branded and promoted by both Boyne and Powdr through this new channel.

Boyne's 10 ski resorts include Big Sky Montana, Brighton Utah, The Summit at Snoqualmie, Crystal Mountain, Cypress Mountain in Washington, Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands in Michigan, and East Coast resorts Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon Mountain.

Powdr Corp owns 8, Mt Bachelor in Oregon, Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort in Nevada, Boreal and Soda Springs in California, Copper Mountain in Colorado, Gorgoza Park in Utah near Park City, plus Killington and Pico in Vermont.

Vail Resorts has 11 ski resorts in their portfolio. Interesting times in the ski biz with these consolidations and powerful marketing budgets to lure skiers and riders to their mountain groups. The good news is the skiers win with a good deal on Epic Passes or the New England pass that allows Boyne customer to go out west for a vacation of free skiing when they purchase lodging at Big Sky for example.

Stay tuned, keep the edges sharp and I'll see you on the slopes!