Mountain High Ski Resort goes on block.

After nine years of owning Mountain High Ski Resort in Wrightwood, private equity investor Oaktree Capital Management LLC has put the property on the block.

The 300-acre resort, a 90-minute drive from Los Angeles, has been listed with investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, which plans a select distribution of marketing books early this month.

Pricing guidelines and revenues weren't provided, but Houlihan investment banker David Voyticky said that in terms of annual visits, the resort is the top draw in Southern California, the fifth largest statewide and within the top 25 nationally.

In 2003 the resort attracted more than 550,000 skiers and snowboarders. With early snows this season, the number this year is expected to be higher, Voyticky said.

"Given the enormous (population) growth expected for Southern California, Mountain High should experience strong increasing demand in future years as well," he said. The resort draws visitors from a geographic region with 20 million people, which includes the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

Oaktree Capital Management bought Mountain High Ski Resort from Orange County businessman Terry Tognazzini, the owner since 1978. In 1996, Oaktree converted much of the resort lot snowboarders, a strategy that's led to a quadrupling of visitors in the last four years. "When Oaktree took it over it was predominantly a ski destination and today 80 percent are snowboarders," said Voyticky.

The ski industry has seen some consolidation, as resorts and companies seek to expand into new markets or scoop up existing properties.

Earlier this year, Vail Resorts Inc., owner of Colorado and California ski resorts, was put on the block for $1.23 billion, attracting several interested buyers. However, Vail canceled the sale after receiving low bids.

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Intrawest Corp., owner of ski resorts from Canada to Colorado as well as more than 30 golf courses, has begun developing slopes in China for the country's Olympics.

The Southern California ski landscape is made up mostly of family-owned operations that have traditionally run independently, according to Rick Kahl, editor of Ski Area Management, an industry trade magazine. In the past few years, though, some local ski resorts have gotten gobbled up.

Snow Summit Ski Corp. bought Bear Mountain in 2002, forming Big Bear Mountain Resorts. The president and majority stockholder, Dick Kun, is a descendent of the founder of Snow Summit resort, and the family has been the majority stockholder in the corporation since the 1950s.

In December, Mountain High Resort completed a $375,000 purchase of the 100-acre Ski Sunrise resort, a neighboring facility less than a mile away.

Kahl said much of the nationwide consolidation has occurred over the past 10 to 15 years. "It's happened in part because founders retire, and also because some people found that in order to remain competitive, they had to make large investments--like snowmaking equipment--and some of the families are just not able to make that kind of financial commitment," he said.

Big Bear Mountain Resorts already owns two mountains in the area and Sierra Summit ski resort in Fresno. The combined mountains bring in close to a million visitors per year, a number that has been steady over the past few years, said spokesman Brad Farmer.

The resort is always looking to expand "down the road," but he said its focus right now is in bringing Bear Mountain and Snow Summit together as one resort.

In Wrightwood, the town that's at the foot of Mountain High, trends like industry consolidation and changes in corporate ownership aren't even on the radar.

"The ski resorts around here don't change hands much," said Leo Van Campen, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce. "It doesn't really impact us very much, who owns it--as long people still come and rent cabins and stay in motels."

Van Campen also owns the local pub and nightclub, the Wrightwood Inn.

Nearby Running Springs is home to two more family-owned ski resorts, Snow Valley Ski Area and the cross-country ski resort Rim Nordic. Mount Baldy ski resort is owned by Mount Baldy Ski Lifts Inc., a private corporation whose stockholders include some descendants of the founding families.

Southern California does present some challenges for ski resorts, including unpredictable weather in a warm climate and dependence on snowmaking.

"Weather issues are probably a little more dramatic in Southern California," Farmer said. "We deal with more dramatic changes in weather throughout the season, and probably rely more on snowmaking than resorts in the Rockies."

Another issue is water. Snowmaking requires a consistent water supply, and resorts that rely on well water can face difficulty when droughts hit, as they have for the past five years.