DENVER Larry Lichliter, a longtime ski resort executive who helped build Vail Resorts into a major hospitality company, has died after a long illness. He was 68.
Lichliter joined the company then known as Vail Associates in 1976 as director of finance for the Beaver Creek resort before ascending to executive vice president of the company’s mountain operations.
In 1992, Lichliter joined Mike Shannon, then-president of Vail Associates, to create resort operator KSL Recreation. Lichliter led the company’s purchase and expansion of La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California, and served as an advisory board director for Denver’s KSL Capital Partners.
“Larry is an icon in the ski industry,” Shannon tells OnTheSnow.com. “He was a close business partner of mine for 25 years and was one of the finest men I have ever known. His contributions to the ski and golf industries were extraordinary.”
Lichliter is survived by Martha Brown; his son and daughter-in-law, Wade and Shannon Lichliter; a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters; and his ex-wife, Sandra. The family requests that charitable gifts and tributes be made in his name to Partners for Access to the Woods (P.A.W.), P.O. Box 348, Granby, CO, 80446. A memorial service is planned for March 5 at La Quinta Resort & Club.