After more than 50 years running Taos Ski Valley, the Blake family announced that the ski area has been purchased by Louis Bacon, billionaire hedge-fund manager and a Taos-area landholder.
“We know many of you have visited Taos Ski Valley for years and a change like this was unexpected,” said a statement from the Blake family released this afternoon. “Mr. Bacon and his team understand the culture of the ski area and know what makes Taos unique. It was for those reason, and because he has shown a long-term commitment to investing in Taos that we approached him about this purchase.”
SEE ALSO: Q&A with Adriana Blake, Taos Ski Valley’s administrative manager, on the purchase
Ernie Blake founded the ski area in 1955. His children and grandchildren have been running Taos Ski Valley after his death in 1989 at the age of 75. Bacon’s deal buys out all the Blake shareholders.
Bacon has made a name for himself as a conservation for putting hundreds of acres of pristine sourthern Colorado wilderness into perpetual conservation easements, prohibiting development. From 2010 to 2011, Bacon fameous fought utility company plans to run solar transmission lines across his 171,400-acre Trinchera Blanca ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.