FAIRFIELD — Diane and Matt McFerran purchased Soldier Mountain in 2015, they moved up to the mountain on December 1st and two week later they opened for their first season.
“It has been an adventure and I have come to love being in the ski industry," said Diane McFerran.
But the costs have been adding up, not only the day to day operations, but the McFerrans have made several improvements to the mountain and they have more amenities that they have secured permits for, but they are running out of funds.
"Lift assisted mountain biking , a year round yurt system, a shop and it needs snow making," said McFerran. "We realized we don't have the financial resources to make that happen, we are selling because it needs an owner with deeper pockets."
The McFerrans purchased Soldier Mountain for $150,000 back in 2015, they have invested around $600,000 into the mountain and now look to sell it for $800,000.
The McFerrans would also like to stick around and help a new owner with the transition, something they didn't have when they took over in 2015.
We also learned that the employees who work at Soldier Mountain aren't look forward to the day that the McFerrans sell this mom and pop ski area that is open Thursday through Sunday.
"Yeah Matt and Diane are a great couple and they've been an excellent fit for the mountain," said Dale Eldregde the ski patrol director who grew up skiing at Soldier Mountain in the 70's.
Soldier Mountain has two lifts, a lodge with a restaurant, bar and rental shop, nearly 1,500 vertical feet of skiing on 1,150 acres, a magic carpet and multiple snow machines that will take riders to 2,000 more acres of cat skiing.
Soldier Mountain is located about two hours east of Boise and the road leading up to the resort is a good road that doesn't feature the twists and turns that come with most roads that provides access to ski resorts.
