Big Sky History

Big Sky is currently booming, but it has undergone numerous changes since its inception in 1973. With the emergence of The Yellowstone Club, Moonlight Basin, and Spanish Peaks sparking controversy, financial instability, and headaches before eventually emerging to be safe investment opportunities.

Beginning with CrossHarbor Capital Partners purchase of the Yellowstone Club in 2009, the area is stabilized, is organized, and is growing again.

In 2013 Boyne Resorts (owners of Big Sky) and CrossHarbor Capital Partners (owners of the Yellowstone Club) joined forces to purchase the previously bankrupt Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin properties, creating one massive resort

Unifying Big Sky Resort with Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin will promote economic stability and growth across the region, ensure sustainable success, and solidify Big Sky as a premier ski destination and global brand.

Big Sky History Timeline

Big Sky Resort Opens. NBC News anchorman Chet Huntley, a Montana native, opens Big Sky Resort in December, 1973 with a main base area at an elevation of 7,510 ft (2,289 m) above sea level on the eastern face of Lone Mountain, 11,166 ft (3,403 m) served by a gondola and three chairlifts.

Boyne Resorts Acquires Big Sky Resort. After its third season, Boyne Resorts purchased the resort in 1976, following Huntley’s death from cancer in March 1974 and the decision of owner Chrysler Corporation to divest its real estate development assets.

Yellowstone Club Begins. Beginning in 1992 Tim Blixseth initiates a series of land transactions that result in the creation of the Yellowstone Club.

In the fall of 1995, Big Sky gained prominence with the installation of the Lone Peak Tram, built to take expert skiers to the summit of Lone Mountain at 11,166 ft (3,403 m) to copious extreme treeless terrain. The Shedhorn double chair was also part of this expansion, installed in 1995 on the lower south face of Lone Mountain. The tram substantially increased Big Sky’s vertical drop to 4,180 ft (1,274 m).

Moonlight Basin Begins. In 1992, Lee Poole bought the land on the north side of Lone Peak adjacent to Big Sky Resort from Blixseth and developed Moonlight Basin with business partners Joe Vujovich and Keith Brown.

Yellowstone Club Files For Bankruptcy Protection
On November 10, 2008, in the midst of the economic downturn, the Yellowstone Club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to secure new financing. The Yellowstone Club owes an estimated $343 million to creditors.

Moonlight Basin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 7,800-acre Montana resort was struggling with massive debt and a stagnant real estate market.

CrossHarbor Capital Acquires Yellowstone Club
In June 2009, as part of the bankruptcy resolution, the Yellowstone Club was sold for $115 million to a private equity firm, CrossHarbor Capital Partners, a firm led by a Yellowstone Club member, Sam Byrne.

Spanish Peaks Holdings II filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy citing a troubled real estate market and substantial operating losses. Spanish Peaks officials estimate the company has from $10 million to $50 million in assets and $100 million to $500 million in liabilities.

Big Sky, Mont., July 25, 21013—CrossHarbor Capital, which owns the Yellowstone Club, and Boyne Resorts, which owns Big Sky Resort, have jointly purchased The Club at Spanish Peaks, a 5,700-acre upscale residential development near Big Sky, for $26.1 million. The private community filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011.

CrossHarbor Partners LLC, principal owner of the Yellowstone Club, and Boyne Resorts, Big Sky’s parent company, finalized their purchase to acquire the assets of Moonlight Basin from a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Oct. 1, 2013