Ski resort for super rich files for bankruptcy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exclusive ski and golf community Yellowstone Club, in Montana, has filed for bankruptcy protection, a sign that the financial crisis roiling the real estate and leisure industries is not limited to the low end of the market.

The club, in the pristine mountain area around Big Sky, Montana, not far from Yellowstone National Park, is part resort and part residential community for the super-rich.

It advertises housing lots on the sides of its ski slopes and golf course at prices ranging from $2 million to more than $6 million.

In a filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Montana on Monday, Yellowstone Mountain Club LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million.

The filing was signed by owner and developer Edra Blixseth, who started the business in 2000 along with former husband Tim Blixseth.

The company, which plans to carry on doing business, asked for an expedited hearing so it can secure financing.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Ted Kerr)