Grand Summit Resort Properties Sells Out All Remaining Inventory in
                         Record-Setting, One-Day Auction

   The Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums Nets Almost $23 Million In
                                 Contract Sales

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. - March 27, 2006 - In a six-and-one-half-hour auction
on March 18, Grand Summit Resort Properties, Inc. (GSRP), a subsidiary of
American Skiing Company, set a Colorado real estate sales record by selling or
placing under contract its total remaining inventory of 239 fractional and 30
whole units at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums.

"We are ecstatic at the market's response to our offer to sell the remaining
Steamboat Grand inventory," said Betsy Wallace, chief financial officer for ASC.
"Buyer interest exceeded our expectations, illustrating not only the quality of
the product, but also the stature of the Steamboat Grand and Steamboat itself as
one of the premier destination resorts in North America."

"The auctioned inventory at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums
brought Grand Summit Resort Properties nearly $23 million in sales in one day,"
Wallace added. "This validates the quality of the property and the feverish
interest in skiing and luxury mountain real estate properties. The auction set a
new Colorado record for the most real estate sold at auction in a one-day
event."

The successful auction of all the remaining units at the Steamboat Grand Resort
Hotel & Condominiums represents the last of the current developer inventory of
GSRP.

"GSRP and American Skiing Company are very pleased with the outcome of the
auction; the successful sale of the remaining inventory allows us to look ahead
to new development opportunities across the company," Wallace said.

The auction drew more than 500 total bidders at the site, via the Internet and
by phone. Approximately one third of the purchasers bid via the Internet through
service provided by Proxibid.com, seven percent via phone and absentee bids and
the remainder were on-site. For sale were 239 fractional units and 30 whole
units. All of the units were offered at "absolute auction," meaning they were
sold to the highest bidder regardless of price.

"I'd like to extend a Steamboat welcome to the new owners of the units at the
Steamboat Grand," said Andy Wirth, vice president of sales and marketing for
ASC's western resorts. "As evidenced by a tremendous winter season with over 400
inches of snow so far, I am confident our new members of the Steamboat community
will enjoy their Steamboat Grand units and the Yampa Valley area for years to
come," added Wirth.


About Steamboat and The Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums

The Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums, located just steps from the
gondola at Steamboat Ski Resort, is a 327-room, full service luxury hotel and
condominium property. The Steamboat Grand was awarded the prestigious Four
Diamond designation by AAA and is Steamboat's only Four Diamond resort. The
Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Condominiums offers a heated outdoor pool, hot
tubs, a full service health club and spa, room service, valet service, on-site
childcare, more than 17,000 square feet of complete conference facilities, and
two on-property dining options including the award winning Cabin restaurant.

Steamboat is located within the Park Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, with
2,965 acres of terrain offering a diversity of trails for all levels of skiers
and riders. With the genuine western heritage of the area and exceptional
friendliness of its residents, Steamboat is a perennial top-ranked family
friendly mountain resort. Steamboat is accessible by nonstop air service from
eight major U.S. cities in addition to connecting service from more than a
hundred other domestic and international cities.


About Grand Summit Resort Properties

Grand Summit Resort Properties, Inc. is a division of American Skiing Company
(OTCBB: AESK). GSRP is the developer of American Skiing Company's Grand Summit
Hotels, a fractional ownership slopeside-lodging product that provides guests
the benefit of real estate ownership at seven premier resorts in the western and
northeastern United States. GSRP has successfully sold-out its fractional
ownership inventory at every American Skiing Company resort.


About American Skiing Company

Headquartered in Park City, Utah, American Skiing Company is one of the largest
operators of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its
resorts include Killington, Pico and Mount Snow in Vermont; Sunday River and
Sugarloaf/USA in Maine; Attitash in New Hampshire; Steamboat in Colorado; and
The Canyons in Utah. More information is available on the Company's web site,
www.peaks.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the Exchange Act). These forward-looking statements are not
based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations
concerning future results and events. Similarly, statements that describe our
objectives, plans or goals are or may be forward-looking statements. We have
tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements by using words such as
"anticipate", "assume", "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", and words and
terms of similar substance in connection with any discussion of operating or
financial performance. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks
and uncertainties. In addition to factors discussed above, other factors that
could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially
from those projected include, but are not limited to, the failure of
contractually committed buyers to close on the units that they purchased at the
auction, any limitations on the ability of Grand Summit Resort Properties to
resell such units at equivalent or higher prices following the auction event;
and other factors listed from time to time in our documents we have filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution the reader that this list is
not exhaustive. We operate in a changing business environment and new risks
arise from time to time. The forward-looking statements included in this press
release are made only as of the date of this document and under Section 27A of
the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, we do not have or
undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to
reflect subsequent events or circumstances.