Central California ski resort China Peak has been purchased by Invision Capital, which now owns three California resorts.
China Peak had been owned and operated by Tim Cohee for the past 12½ years. It is located roughly 69 miles southeast of Fresno. The resort features 1,679 feet of vertical with a base elevation of 7,030 and measures 8,700 feet at its summit. It offers six chairlifts, a T-bar and three moving carpets for the beginner skiers and snowboarders.
Cohee will continue to operate China Peak “for the foreseeable future.” The new ownership group said no changes are expected to be made in China Peak’s resort management staff.
Financial details of the sale of China Peak were not immediately known. The change of ownership took place during the first week of December. Invision Capital also owns Mountain High in Southern California and Dodge Ridge in the northern part of the state.
“China Peak represents an appealing market in Central California that gives us a strong hold on a broad geographic market from Southern California all the way to the South Bay,” said Karl Kapuscinski, who is part of the new Invision Capital ownership group and is a longtime veteran of the ski industry. “It made good sense for us to add China Peak and start to build an even larger audience than any of the three resorts can do on their own.”
The three ski resorts – Mountain High, Dodge Ridge, China Peak – will become partners in a season pass plan.
“We will definitely offer a pass and do some fun things between these resorts,” Kapuscinski said. “We’re debating whether we want to launch something this year, or whether we want to come out fresh in the spring.”
If something does launch, Cohee will still be making sure they are implemented at China Peak. He will remain a key figure at the popular Central California ski resort.
“I’m still running China Peak for another five years, maybe more,” said Cohee, who makes his permanent home in Minden, Nev. “The whole reason we sold was we were coming off two highly profitable years with no debt, and the offer we received was solid. We sold China Peak with no debt and in excellent financial shape.”
Among those also expected to remain at China Peak are two of Cohee’s sons, Troy and Tristan, who handle several departments, including the food and beverage operation.
“I’ve known Karl a long time and have a great deal of respect for what he’s done at Mountain High and his plans for Dodge Ridge,” Cohee said. “As a ski marketer at heart for over four decades, the opportunities we see between these three resorts in terms of new products and branding are very exciting.”
New ownership also plans to announce a number of new season pass and lift ticket products for China Peak’s 2023-2024 winter campaign. The resort is installing a second quad chair during the summer of 2023.
“China Peak is a terrific mountain that is comparable to all but the mega resorts in Lake Tahoe in terms of size and elevations,” Kapuscinski said. Tim’s done a great job, dramatically increasing its appeal to the greater Central California market, from the Valley to the coast. China Peak really completes our strategic goal of providing a multi-resort pass to most of California by next season.”
With the purchase, Invision becomes the third entity to own three or more ski areas in California. It joins Vail Resorts (Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar), and Alterra Mountain Company (Mammoth, June, Palisades Tahoe, Big Bear, and Snow Summit).
Kapuscinski said that the purchase of China Peak was a direct reaction to the footprint-creep of the Epic and Ikon Passes, whose build-up of high-profile resorts – particularly around Lake Tahoe – has rapidly changed the state’s ski season pass market.
“Skiers are now trained to look for multi-mountain products, so it’s really tough as a standalone operator right now,” Kapuscinski said. “We see a huge advantage in having all three of these under the same umbrella versus fighting alone.”
COHEE’S TAHOE CONNECTION: Involved with the ski industry since 1979, Cohee was the owner and general manager of China Peak, which he purchased in May 2010.
He was one of only a handful of independent resort owner/operators in the nation, and has been a highly respected ski industry executive for over three decades, including senior management roles at Heavenly, Kirkwood, Sunday River, Big Bear, and Snow Summit.
In 1985, Cohee was recruited by Bill Killebrew, general partner of Heavenly, to become its first Vice President of Marketing. After three years at Heavenly, Cohee was recruited by S-K-I, LTD. CEO Pres Smith to assume the role of Vice President and Director of Marketing of Big Bear Lake.
In 1993, Cohee became Kirkwood’s new CEO and General Manager. A year later, he guided the struggling resort out of financial trouble by forming a partnership with the Telluride Ski Company of Colorado.
Cohee orchestrated a dramatic turnaround at Kirkwood, ultimately resulting in record skier attendance and profitability, highlighted by its first 400,000-visit season. As President of its real estate development and brokerage, Cohee was responsible for over $300 million in new and existing sales.
