LA’s beleaguered hometown ski hill is searching for a new proprietor.
Two years after plans emerged to rework historic Mount Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains into a personal members-only membership, the iconic website is back on the market — and actively in search of a new purchaser.
After years of battling a slew of difficulties largely centered around the whims of Mother Nature, Angeles Mountain Partners LLC announced in late 2024 that they had purchased the mountain, which opened in 1939, and were going to overhaul the fashionable getaway vacation spot, which sits on federally-controlled land, promising “more powder, less people.”
Mount Waterman ski resort is wanting for a new purchaser after a earlier deal to buy the resort fell through. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The company even marketed membership into the elite “Waterman 100” — which would grant you “a lifetime of exclusive access to this iconic mountain.”
The only downside was that Mountain Partners never closed escrow on the property, itemizing agent Marc Ramirez revealed to SFGATE.
“They went ahead and were a little gung-ho and did a marketing plan before it closed escrow,” Ramirez informed the outlet.
“Good old Mount Waterman is listed for sale again,” he said.
Just 60 miles from Los Angeles in Pearblossom, Mount Waterman emerged as a ski vacation spot at the tail finish of the Great Depression. The resort was owned by the same household from 1939 until the 90s.
Mountain Partners LLC started selling their takeover of the resort before escrow even closed. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
After closing for the majority of the 2000s, it briefly reopened in 2008 after being bought by Rick Metcalf — only to close again the following yr.
Metcalf died in a roadside accident in 2025, close to Adelanto, when he was reportedly hit by a passing car on Highway 395, according to officers at the time.
That tragic death, the wildfires that same yr and struggles dealing with the U.S. Forest Service all contributed to Waterman’s languishing on the market, Ramirez said.
Back on the market at $3.275 million, the deal comes with a 20-year allow to operate a resort on the property, as effectively as gear and several buildings. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The website was initially listed for $2.275 million in 2024. After the deal with Mountain Partners fell through, the property was relisted for $3.275 million last month — but there’s a catch.
That price tag is primarily for a 20 yr allow from the U.S. Forest Service to operate a resort there, not for the land itself.
The deal also comes with 3 chair lifts, two cell properties, three snowcats, 5 snowmobiles, a ticket sales space, and a warming hut with a full kitchen, bar and a lounge with a wooden burning fire.
Mountain Partners had lofty plans for the resort, including the promise that Waterman100 members would be ferried to the mountain on helicopters, and that they could access the mountain completely on days with prime circumstances.
According to Ramirez, workers modifications at the Forest Service stalled the permit-transferring service in the deal with Mountain Partners.
“People we’d started working with were no longer there,” Ramirez informed SFGATE.
“I’m trying to find the right individual or group who will utilize it most effectively and have it open to the public as much as possible, and not someone who will go ahead and make it a private resort,” he said.
Download The California Post App, observe us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home supply: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
Source hyperlink
