Big Bear Lake, CA (Monday, July 22, 2002) - Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc. has reached an agreement to sell Big Bear Mountain Resort to Snow Summit Ski Corp., owner of nearby Snow Summit Mountain Resort, located in Southern California's San Bernardino Mountains.

Snow Summit Ski Corp. also owns Sierra Summit Mountain Resort located northeast of Fresno, Calif.

"For several years now, Snow Summit Ski Corp. has expressed interest in merging Snow Summit and Bear Mountain," said Chris Ryman, president and chief operating officer of Booth Creek. "The combination of these two well-performing resorts within close proximity to one another simply makes sense. Together, they will be a dominant force within the Southern California snow sports market."

The sale of Bear Mountain is expected to close in mid to late September. Completion of the sale is subject to final documentation and various closing conditions. The purchase price and terms of the sale are not being disclosed at this time.

"The combination of Snow Summit and Bear Mountain will allow us to offer a much improved experience for skiers and snowboarders of all levels, age groups and interests in a way neither resort previously could do alone," said Dick Kun, president of Snow Summit. "The result will be more satisfied customers which in turn will increase overall visitation to the resort town of Big Bear."

Snow Summit and Bear Mountain are located less than two miles from one another. Irrespective of the resorts' positioning, they will be marketing jointly as a destination to Big Bear, emphasizing the choice of two mountains with interchangeable lift tickets, 24 lifts, 430 acres of runs, a variety of freestyle parks and halfpipes, as well as two state-of-the-art snowmaking systems that will ensure skier and snowboarder participation early and late seasons, and during seasons with below-average natural snowfall.

"The strategic sale of Bear Mountain will enable Booth Creek to re-deploy financial and managerial resources into its remaining three markets," said Betsy Cole, chief financial officer of Booth Creek.

Upon the close of the Bear Mountain sale, Booth Creek will consist of six resorts across the United States, including Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California; Waterville Valley, Cranmore Mountain Resort and Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; and The Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle, Washington. Booth Creek remains the fourth-largest ski resort operator in the country.