3 November 2016 — In a long awaited move, CNL Lifestyle Properties has figured out a way to unload its collection of 15 ski resorts sprinkled across the US and Canada.   These include Okemo Mountain Resort, Vermont (shown above; thanks to Okemo for the photo); sister resorts Crested Butte, Colorado and Sunapee New Hampshire; also Loon NH; Brighton, Utah; Cypress Mountain, B.C., Canada; Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts; Mountain High, Northstar-at-Tahoe, and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California; Stevens Pass and Summit-at-Snoqualmie in Washington; Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine; and for lift fans, the non-skiing Gatlinburg Sky Lift, Tennessee.  CNL is a real estate investment trust (REIT), and although it owned the properties it did not run any of them; as far as I know most were leased right back to the original owners who then operated the ski areas, business as usual.  The REIT made its money for investors from those lease payments.  Due to some complicated laws concerning REITs they were required to unload the properties within a certain timeframe.  As for the sale, it involves EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) of Kansas City, along with Och-Ziff Real Estate (“OZRE”) but can’t really follow it all, however it appears EPR will own Northstar-at-Tahoe.  Obviously I don’t fully understand all that or I’d be running the REIT instead of reporting on it.  Regardless, this is the largest single-day transfer of ski area acreage in US history…FIS World Cup off this weekend, they’ll resume next Friday in Levi, Finland with both mens and womens slalom competitions.  FIS reports that Swiss star Fabienne Suter suffered a strain trauma on the right knee during a super G training crash this week. She should be back for the speed season opener in Lake Louise later this month. Suter was 3rd in the SG standings last season…The answer to yesterday’s photo quiz can be found in the 49th state, none other than Moose Mountain on the outskirts of Fairbanks.

Photo above courtesy Okemo Mountain Resort