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Will The Canyons ski resort open for the upcoming ski season?
Spokesman Tim Vetter on Monday said yes.
"There is absolutely no question that we will open."
But Kenny Griswold, principal of Wolf Mountain, the company that leases terrain to American Skiing Co. to operate The Canyons, said an opening this winter "is unclear."
The answer could lie within a blizzard of legal filings that has snowed under any immediate resolution to the conundrum - who will own and operate the ski resort?
A lawsuit, filed last week by Vail Resorts Inc., alleges a cloak-and-dagger plot involving hundreds of millions of dollars, and leaves the ownership issue to be resolved by the courts.
On Monday, Wolf Mountain filed suit in U.S. District Court for Utah against Talisker Corp., which had agreed earlier this month to buy The Canyons from American Skiing Co. for $100 million.
According to a 1996 lease agreement, Wolf Mountain must sign off on any such transfer of operations, the suit states.
The suit alleges that Park City businessman Mark Robbins, through his limited liability corporation, Peninsula Advisors, disclosed confidential information about Wolf Mountain to Talisker, the Canadian-based development resort firm, in an effort to cut Wolf Mountain out of its position.
"If the allegations are correct, Talisker and Peninsula were attempting to cheat [Wolf Mountain] out of its share," Griswold said of receipts from the operation, as well as profits from real estate development.
"American Skiing either knowingly or unwittingly participated in the scheme."
Representatives from Talisker, Peninsula and The Canyons denied the allegations.
Last year, Peninsula Advisors made a deal with Wolf Mountain to form a new company. It would be the lease holder and developer of the land at The Canyons. That $115 million agreement would have given 80 percent ownership to Robbins' company.
But Griswold said the money didn't materialize and the deal is dead.
Monday's suit follows an action filed last week by Vail Resorts. The Colorado-based company sued both Talisker and Peninsula, alleging the entities conspired to cut Vail Resorts out of a potential deal with Wolf Mountain to operate The Canyons ski area. The suit also names American Skiing.
"This case involves a blatant conspiracy by Peninsula and Talisker to thwart Vail's ability to obtain extremely valuable and unique rights to own, develop and operate The Canyons ski resort and surrounding real estate in Park City, Utah," reads the action filed July 27 in state District Court for Denver.
Vail Resorts has offered to buy The Canyons from American Skiing for $110 million.
According to Vail's lawsuit, after Peninsula Advisors entered into the agreement with Wolf Mountain, it got an exclusive but temporary right to buy American Skiing. Peninsula then approached Vail to operate The Canyons.
"But almost immediately . . . Peninsula breached that agreement by negotiating an alternative transaction, for itself, with Talisker Corp. to obtain Wolf Mountain land," the suit states.
Peninsula and Talisker "secretly conspired to steal the opportunity to purchase The Canyons and the Wolf Mountain land from Vail."
Peninsula spokesman Josh Ewing said Monday that Vail's suit is without merit.
"We're confident the claims asserted against Peninsula won't hold water in court."
Talisker echoed those remarks in a statement released Monday.
"Talisker looks forward to proceeding with its purchase and working together with the employees of The Canyons ski resort."
The Canyons will keep its agreement with Talisker, said Vetter, The Canyons vice president for community affairs.
"Our position right now is that we have entered into a binding agreement with Talisker. We intend to honor that agreement," he said. "We're still trying to study the allegations [in the Vail lawsuit] and understand what happened. Then we'll be able to comment further."
American Skiing once owned and operated eight ski areas. But in the face of mounting financial challenges, it began unloading them in recent months. The Canyons was its last remaining resort.
Timeline
* Wolf Mountain files notice of lease default against American Skiing Co. in March 2006.
* American Skiing Co., in June 2006, sues Wolf Mountain to stop takeover.
* A year later, on July 23, Peninsula Advisors LLC sues Wolf Mountain for breach of contract.
* The next day, Wolf Mountain countersues Peninsula for fraud.
* Within a week, Vail Resorts Inc. sues Peninsula, Talisker Corp. and American Skiing.
* On Monday, Wolf Mountain sues Talisker and its CEO, Jack Bistricer.