Devil’s Elbow sold, may reopen next year

Not opening for this season after owners listed it for sale

BETHANY — Devil’s Elbow ski resort near Bethany has been sold, said the realtor who handled the listing, and although it’s too late in the season for the buyer to operate it as a ski resort this winter they are considering it for the following season.

“They (the buyers) are seriously looking at the feasibility of it,” said Dave Marsh of ReMax.

Marsh said a confidentiality agreement prevents him from naming the buyers, who purchased the resort over the weekend.

Nor would Marsh say whether the resort sold for its asking price of $2.9 million.

But he said the buyers want to examine the idea of operating Devil’s Elbow as a ski resort again, following a hiatus this winter.

“No promises – but their intention is to look at the feasibility,” Marsh said, adding that there are no plans for a closeout sale of rental equipment (there might’ve been, had the resort been sold for other purposes).

Devil’s Elbow, a family-run resort, has been in operation for 54 years. Members were told in September that the ski hill had shut down.

The ski hill has been for sale for the last few years without a buyer, according to an email sent out to resort members in early September.

Marsh said Tuesday that although the sale is “bittersweet” for the family, they have been “amazing” as they waited for a deal to come together.

“They were very patient – and I think we have the right deal here,” Marsh said.

John Holmberg, co-owner and general manager of Devil’s Elbow, sent notice of the resort’s closure via email to members in September.

He wrote that the resort had been for sale for awhile — but also that he’d coped with “a serious health issue” for most of last winter.

“After much consideration, we have made the extremely difficult decision to close down skiing operations,” states the email.

It is signed by Holmberg and his wife Sandra, who took over the resort from his late father Velfrid (who founded the resort in 1963).