Big news in Tahoe this morning: Vail Resorts, Inc. is buying Kirkwood Mountain Resort for $18 million.

That gives Vail, the industry’s largest publicly held company, ownership of three major Tahoe resorts. In addition to Kirkwood, the Vail folks run Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Tahoe and Northstar California in North Tahoe.

Kirkwood is a unique resort in the larger scheme of Tahoe skiing, located about 35 miles southwest of Heavenly in the general vicinity of South Tahoe. It’s known for getting the most snow in the region, averaging 472 inches annually, and is completely surrounded by National Forest land. It’s always been a favorite with hard-core skiers and snowboarders looking for deeper snow and smaller crowds.

It’s also an area that could use some upgrades in terms of operations and accomodations. Vail’s financial muscle will help get those improvements done.

For Vail passholders, access will be an immediate change. If you have a Vail Epic Pass, which gets you into Heavenly and Northstar and all the other Vail resorts, you’ll be able to hit Kirkwood now, too.

“Kirkwood represents skiing and riding at its purest, something we intend to retain and protect long into the future,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. “When combined with Heavenly and Northstar, we will be able to offer our guests and pass holders unparalleled value with the very best that Lake Tahoe has to offer. We are excited to be able to offer Kirkwood to our pass holders right away — it’s like opening day to a whole new season.”

Vail’s latest acquisition continues a larger consolidation trend going on in the winter sports industry. Big corporations are buying up smaller, independent resorts in an effort to bring economies of scale to bear. While many enthusiasts bemoan the demise of mom and pop resorts, it’s hard to argue with Vail’s resorts. They make money and they run a tight ship. The main complaint lies in the cost of a day pass. One can expect prices to rise at Kirkwood, as they have at Heavenly and Northstar.

Vail Resorts, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MTN,” now owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, Heavenly and Northstar in California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.