Mount Snow's parent company gets the snowguns

Posted Tuesday, October 29, 2019 7:00 pm

BURLINGTON — A subsidiary of Mount Snow's new parent company is set to have some more snowmaking equipment.

During an auction Tuesday morning at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont, Vail Holdings LLC submitted the winning bid for 41 snowguns and related equipment coming from what had been a members-only ski resort known as the Hermitage Club at Haystack Mountain. The group offered $353,750.

Judge Colleen A. Brown said in an order that if Vail Holdings fails to meet the agreement set out in court, the equipment will be sold to Alterra Mountain Company U.S. Inc.

Alterra owns ski resorts in America and Canada including Stratton Mountain Resort, which is about 20 miles away from Mount Snow in West Dover. Pennsylvania-based Seven Springs Mountain Resort Inc. also had been part of the auction.

Last week, Alterra offered $310,000 for the equipment and Seven Springs offered $315,000. The process had been initiated by Vail Holdings, which was referred to as the "stalking horse" bidder in court documents.

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Brown said counsel for Lakeland Bank attended the auction and consented to the sale. The Hermitage failed to make payments on a loan the bank provided to buy the equipment.

Under an agreement, Lakeland Bank will provide $20,000 to go toward paying claims associated with the bankruptcy case. The bank also will pay Berkshire Bank $10,000 for any lien dispute between the two banks "relating to the accessories and related equipment, and for the assistance of the Receiver, through property management, for the showing of the collateral for sale ..."

Berkshire Bank foreclosed Hermitage properties last year. A receiver appointed by the state civil court to preserve those properties has been helping through the bankruptcy process in which Hermitage assets are anticipated to be sold.

A spokesman at Mount Snow had been reached Tuesday afternoon but did not comment by press time.

Reach staff writer Chris Mays at cmays@reformer.com, at @CMaysBR on Twitter and 802-254-2311, ext. 273.