In 1969, a 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) tract of land known as The Big Survey, located in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and home to a wide variety of forestry, timberland, and wildlife, was purchased by a group of investors.

By 1975, the resort had a large ski area, consisting of eight slopes and three chairlifts, which opened with much fanfare and Virginia Governor Mills E. Godwin in attendance.

[4] Following the acquisition, Justice began several construction projects valued at a total of $12 million, including restaurant upgrades, a multimillion-dollar water tank and new snow guns to facilitate the resort's 100% snowmaking coverage, as well as improvements to existing recreational facilities.

[6] Most of the resort and surrounding mountaintop attractions range from 2,500 to 4,000 feet in elevation and therefore average considerably cooler than the nearby Valley or Piedmont cities such as Staunton, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg.

Temperatures on average fall about 4 °F for every thousand feet of elevation making Wintergreen's summit typically 10-15 degrees colder than the valley towns.