Vail Resorts has announced that it is buying Crested Butte Mountain Resort and two other resorts from the Mueller family, making The Butte its fifth Colorado ski resort along with Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.

Vail will be paying the Muellers $82 million to acquire Triple Peaks LLC, which owns Crested Butte, Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont and Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire, while also providing Triple Peaks $155 million to pay off leases owed to another resort company, Ski Resort Holdings. In a separate deal, Vail will pay $67 million to acquire the Stevens Pass ski area in Washington state.

VR’s Epic Pass will be good at Crested Butte and its other new acquisitions next season. Vail Resorts chief executive Rob Katz said adding value to the Epic Pass was a key reason driving the new acquisitions.

“I think with Crested Butte, we feel like it is one of the most unique resorts within Colorado — the history, the original town and the mining component of it, kind of western feel, and the terrain,” Katz said in an interview. “I think the terrain at Crested Butte is some of most challenging in the state, and I think there is a kind of authenticity to the town and how the town and the mountain interact. From what we’ve heard from a lot of our (Epic Pass holders), this is something that would really interest them.

“We’re pretty excited. We feel like, and obviously this is true for all of the resorts, each one really occupies a particular spot which fills a niche for us.”

VR also announced that it would invest $35 million over the next two years to improve its new holdings.

“We know our guests and employees will benefit from Vail Resorts’ outstanding track record of resort and community investment, environmental stewardship, and employee development,” Tim Mueller said in a news release. “We care deeply about the legacy of these resorts, and have absolute confidence in Vail Resorts to celebrate what makes them so special, while also providing long-term stability for the communities.”

After the sale was announced, the Muellers wrote an open letter to the people of Crested Butte. Here is a part of that letter:

“While some of you may think we have only considered ourselves in this decision, this could not be farther from the truth. We have entered into this transaction with the best intentions for the ski area, our fellow employees, and the valley. If we did not think this was going to bring more opportunity for the resort in the years to come, we would not have made this decision. Our goal has never been to make Crested Butte the biggest, but to make it the best and we feel Vail Resorts is poised to do just that.

“With that said, it is obvious that Vail Resorts will do some things differently than us. We hope you will be open to their approach and give them the opportunity to prove their good intentions.”