Investor Group Acquires Two Small Ski Areas in Angeles National Forest
A group of investors has agreed to buy the Mt. Waterman and Snowcrest ski areas in Angeles National Forest and plans to link the two to create a ski complex that could eventually become a serious competitor to ski resorts in the Big Bear area.
Mt. Waterman Acquisition Holdings Inc. filed applications this week for U.S. Forest Service permits to operate the two neighboring ski areas in the San Gabriel Mountains about 15 miles northeast of La Canada Flintridge, Ranger Terry Ellis said Friday.
Ellis said he expects the permits will be approved quickly. The two ski areas are on land owned by the National Forest Service and operated by their respective owners under Forest Service permits.
Barry Stubblefield, one of the investors buying the ski areas, said the La Canada Flintridge-based company’s acquisition of the two resorts is “a done deal” that awaits only the Forest Service approval to become final.
Stubblefield said the new owners have a five-year plan that calls for linking Waterman and Snowcrest, installing much-needed snow-making systems at both, making extensive improvements to the lodges and parking areas, and adding 16 or 17 more ski lifts.
Waterman and Snowcrest could be linked by developing about 80 to 100 acres of an area between the two called Buckhorn Springs. That would create about 300 skiable acres when combined with the existing 150 skiable acres at Mt. Waterman and the 58 acres at Snowcrest, Stubblefield said.
In terms of size, that would put the combined resort on a par with Big Bear ski areas such as 230-acre Snow Summit and 240-acre Snow Valley.
Stubblefield acknowledged that the Big Bear resorts have an established customer base and much more to offer in terms of facilities.
“There’s no way we can compete with Big Bear right now. They do a great job of marketing and they run a great ski area. It’s going to take us quite a number of years to catch up to that, but we believe the fact that we’re so close [to Los Angeles] is going to help us,” Stubblefield said.
He added the area would have the potential to be expanded even beyond 300 acres because there is much more acreage that could be developed for skiing, depending on Forest Service approvals.
Visitors to Mt. Waterman and Snowcrest will be able to ski both areas on one ticket as soon as the new owners take over, according to Stubblefield. He said the new operators will provide a shuttle between the two.
Mt. Waterman, established in the early 1940s, is one of the region’s oldest ski resorts, with a vertical drop of more than 1,000 feet from its 8,030-foot summit. Snowcrest, formerly known as Kratka Ridge, drops about 850 feet from its 7,650-foot summit. The two are about three miles apart.
Stubblefield said the new owners will focus initially on building business at Mt. Waterman and Snowcrest, both of which have struggled in recent years.
Mt. Waterman was open only five days last season and hasn’t been open this year because of the lack of snow, owner Lynn Newcomb said. Newcomb estimated the best season ever at Mt. Waterman tallied about 90 days of skiing, but he figures snow-making equipment would guarantee 120 days a year.
Mt. Waterman has been owned and operated for more than 50 years by Newcomb, 79, a ski industry pioneer who installed one of Southern California’s first ski lifts there in the early 1940s. Newcomb is a descendant of Newcombs who first homesteaded the area near Mt. Waterman in 1891. He still owns a portion of the original homestead as well as the rustic Newcomb Ranch Inn, a popular stop for travelers in the Angeles National Forest.
Newcomb confirmed that he has sold Mt. Waterman, although he added that, technically, the deal awaits a transfer of funds to be completed. Neither Newcomb nor Stubblefield disclosed the Waterman price.
Snowcrest owner John Steely could not be reached for comment.
Stubblefield said it’s too late to construct permanent snow-making systems for this season, but the new owners plan to have the systems up and running at both places by next season.
Meanwhile, the new operators plan to use a temporary system this year at Snowcrest to create a “snow play area” where customers can rent inner-tubes to slide down the hillside. The snow play area will be called Snowcrest while the ski run and snow-boarding portion will be called Kratka, Stubblefield said.
Stubblefield is a director of due diligence for Southern California Edison Co., meaning he evaluates companies that Edison is thinking of buying or selling. He declined to name the other investors, citing confidentiality agreements.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Mt. Waterman Ski Resort
8,000 feet elev.
150 acres
3 lifts
1,200-foot vertical drop
