Monday

Mostly Sunny and Breezy

High: 48 F

Low: 30 F
Tuesday

Mostly Sunny

High: 44 F

Low: 32 F
Wednesday

Clouds Inc. Late Rain

High: 50 F

Low: 27 F
Thursday

Mostly Sunny and Breezy

High: 42 F

Low: 23 F
Friday

Partly Sunny

High: 41 F

Low: 31 F
Saturday

Occasional Snow & Rain Showers

High: 45 F

Low: 28 F
Sunday

Mostly Sunny

High: 44 F

Low: 28 F

CTWeather's Ski Discussion

 

Mont Sutton is staying in the family. That's because an ownership group headed by long-time general manager Jean-Michel Boulanger has purchased the iconic snow sports resort in Quebec, the Eastern Townships tourism division said this week.The purchase price was not disclosed, but on March 8, 97 percent of the majority and minority shareholders attending a stakeholders meeting voted in favor of the move. The meeting was attended by 91 percent of those holding stock, according to the tourism division.The new owners took over from the Boulanger family on Thursday after clearing all legal hurdles. Hercule Boulanger said he was pleased the offer from Ryan's group was approved."Since we concluded the agreement with Ryan's group on January 26, we never stopped believing that this offer is the best for the future and the development of the mountain," he said."The offer meets all of our wishes for the mountain. It respects the community, the employees, the shareholders and the customers of Mont Sutton. We are happy to leave the mountain to this group."Others in the new ownership group include Pierre Chesnay and Sylvain Gervais, according to a news release."My partners and I appreciate the confidence and trust marked from the Boulanger family and from all the shareholders who have recognized the quality of our offer and accepted it," Ryan said. "We would like to thank all of those who supported us throughout the process." Sutton sits within the Eastern Townships region of southern Quebec between Montreal and Sherbrooke. It's 60 trails are designed to blend in with the natural surroundings and many of them take on a gladed concept. In all, 45 percent of the terrain is gladed. It features 204 junctions to break up the runs. Sutton employs nine lifts, four lodges, a terrain park and a family zone. The townships are about five hours from Hartford right up Interstate-91.Danie Beliveau of the Eastern Townships tourist division said the sale to Ryan's group "keeps the station in the family.""This is great news for Mont Sutton, for the town and for the Eastern Townships," she said. "Mr. Ryan has been the general manager for some time and he knows the mountain because he has run it well. He knows what the visitors want and that means Sutton will stay the way it has been - a great place for families to ski and snowboard.

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Chris Dehnel is a staff writer for the Chronicle and past-president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association. He has been writing about snow sports in various capacities since 1999.