For the third time in five years, the venerable ski-bum Jackson Hole apparel brand, Cloudveil, changed hands yet again last week—this time to a private equity group based out of Connecticut. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but certainly laid a cloud of doubt about the future of the iconic Jackson Hole clothing company.

Cloudveil has always had a brand bigger than its proverbial britches. Launched in 1997 by some local ski bums (I use that term endearingly…), the company’s image and brand quickly grew to cult status within backcountry ski communities around the country. Unfortunately, sales & operations never kept up with the success of its marketing… pure rumor and speculation, but some have said that for all the years Cloudveil has been in business, they’ve never actually posted a profit.

Although this could be wildly off, all this shifty buying and selling certainly doesn’t help disprove rumor. First we had Sports Brand International buy the brand (SBI – owner of FILA sporting goods) in 2005. Three years later Cloudveil was sold to Spyder Active Sports Inc. Then, after just a year with Spyder, Cloudveil found itself back on the auction block (more rumors reported that asking prices were slashed from close to 30 million to below 15). Now Cloudveil finds themselves in the hands of an East Coast private equity group: Windsong Brands LLC, owner of Caribbean Joe, Joe’s Jeans, The Sharper Image, Design Within Reach, and more.

The wanted-then-unwanted stepchild status of Cloudveil hasn’t been easy. In addition to numerous rounds of layoffs and resignations, last year, Brian Cousins, one of Cloudveil's co-founders, left the company on personal terms. The remaining co-founder, Steve Sullivan, is said to have resigned sometime during this last deal.

I'll be the first to say that I think the company has done great things for Jackson. The brand of Jackson Hole as a destination for offbeat, ski-bumming, reality-delaying persons of all ages has been romanticized and cultivated on a new national and worldwide platform. Cloudveil has provided professional opportunities for locals who look beyond long careers as lifties and the company has pumped money back into local charities, events and film projects.

Where this leaves Cloudveil is dubious. To address the elephant in the room, will this brand remain in Jackson? Gotta be honest… not sounding super positive. The new company President, Jim Reilly says Cloudveil will continue to have a “presence” in Jackson, but to what extent is left to be determined: “Theoretically and brandwise, yes. From a business standpoint, we’ll make that call.”