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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Montana mom-pop ski area for sale: $3.5 million

WINTERSPORTS -- If you're tired of complaining about management of your favorite ski resort, here's your chance to buy your own resort in Montana. Blacktail Mountain overlooking Flathead Lake is listed for sale at $3.5 million.

The mom-pop resort is on Flathhead National Forest Lake  in the Salish Mountains west of Lakeside, Montana.

The ownership partners began operating Blacktail in 1998, after securing the only special-use permit for a ski area on Forest Service land in 20 years, the Daily Interlake reports. "The land itself is owned by the federal government, while the business owns the improvements, including the lodge, maintenance shop and other buildings, a terrain park, two double-chair lifts, a triple lift and a rope tow."

"It has turned a profit in most years, and is coming off a banner season in which Northwest Montana boasted some of the best snow in the country," the paper reported.

Before transferring the permit, the Forest Service would require the purchaser to prove having the expertise to run a successful operation.  That may leave some complainers out of the running, but who knows.

Blacktail Mountain's winter season averages about 40,000 skier days a year, according to the Flathead Forest, compared with about 300,000 at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Contact: Karen Gill at LandStar Properties in Kalispell, Montana, (307) 690-1552;  Karen@landstar-mt.com



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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