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Industry Reports :: March 2012

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MOONLIGHT GETS NEW OWNERS
After filing for bankruptcy two years ago, the assets of Moonlight Basin, Mont., were sold to the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Lehman, in one form or another, began lending to Moonlight in 2007, but Moonlight defaulted on the loans and had to file for bankruptcy. In the meantime, Lehman itself collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

According to Moonlight’s bankruptcy filing, the ski resort owed $95.2 million on a Lehman Commercial Paper loan and another $103.8 million to the Lehman Brothers Holdings company.

Under the new ownership, the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Moonlight’s secured creditors, were paid in full, and a substantial amount was paid to unsecured creditors. Lehman plans on continuing to fund ongoing operations.


SEVERAL SKI AREA SALES COMPLETED
In late 2011 and early 2012, several ski area sales were finalized across the continent. First up, Peak Resorts Inc. purchased Jack Frost Mountain and Big Boulder Ski Area, Pa., from Blue Ridge Real Estate Company. Peak Resorts has leased and managed the ski resorts since 2005. The contract has a purchase price of $9 million for the two resorts.

Next, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) completed its purchase of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, B.C., buying the area from Ballast Nedam, the initial owner and developer. RCR is one of the largest private ski resort owner/operators in North America.

After months of negotiation, Schmitz Brothers, LLC purchased Little Switzerland Ski Area, Wisc., from Wayne Erickson. Schmitz Brothers consists of veteran resort owner/manager Rick Schmitz and two siblings. They plan to invest heavily and open for the 2012-13 ski season. The hill, founded in 1941, has been closed since 2007. Rick Schmitz currently owns and operates Nordic Mountain Ski Area, Wisc., and Blackjack Resort in Upper Michigan.

The operators for the past two years of Swain Resort, N.Y., have announced the purchase of the area, completing a lease-to-own agreement that was reached in August 2009 with the owners of Swain Recreation Center, LLC. The purchase was made by Denton Hill Family and Ski Resort Inc.


ARIZONA SNOWBOWL PREVAILS...AGAIN
Arizona Snowbowl and the U.S. Forest Service gained another court victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District affirmed a district court decision upholding the Forest Service’s 2005 Record of Decision regarding snowmaking at the Snowbowl, rejecting a suit brought by the Save the Peaks Coalition. The decision allows Snowbowl to continue with its snowmaking installation.
The snowmaking system is phase 1 of the ski area’s upgrade plan, which also includes new lifts, trails, and upgrades to facilities.


MAGIC MOUNTAIN NOW SKIER OWNED
Two years ago, Magic Mountain, Vt., embarked on a mission to become a cooperatively owned ski area. In early 2012, this mission was accomplished. The area sold shares at $3,000 each to its loyal customers, with a goal of 300 shareholders. The $900,000 raised will go primarily toward snowmaking— something the resort could have used this season with its mid-January opening date.

When the last share sold, ownership transferred from a private family to a partnership that includes shareholders and Magic president Jim Sullivan.


P.A. SKI AREA LODGE DESTROYED BY FIRE
On February 12, 2012, a massive fire burned Mystic Mountain ski lodge at Nemacolin Woods, Pa. All employees made it out safely, but the lodge burned to the ground. The area set up a temporary tent for guest services to finish out the season, and plans to rebuild. Neigboring ski area, Seven Springs, came to the rescue with enough rental equipment to get the area through President’s Day weekend and beyond.


PEOPLE
The Midwest Ski Areas Association elected new directors and officers. Dan ­Grider of Great Bear, S.D., is the new chairman; Brent Nelson of Shanty Creek, Mich., is vice chair; Rob Walz of Cascade, Wisc., is treasurer; Ed Meyer of Ski Snowstar, Ill., is secretary; Scott Gray, Gregory and Appel Insurance, is the new supplier member.

In Colorado, Colorado Ski Country USA hired Estrella Woods as senior international and domestic marketing manager. . .Steamboat named James Snyder the new VP of resort services. . .At Echo Mountain, Andie Johnson was promoted to marketing manager. Rand LeMarinel heads up new media and Tracy Stribling has become creative coordinator.


Supplier News
Best Lockers was acquired by Safemark Systems, a manufacturer of guest room safes. The merger will provide Best Lockers with the infrastructure, manufacturing capability and financial backing to develop new markets and new storage solutions, as well as expand internationally. In the merger, Craig Fredrickson was appointed national sales manager.

Torrent Engineering and Equipment added Dan Duncan as sales engineer. Duncan will focus on sales and marketing efforts.

Emerson Bearing has recently established a dedicated recreation division, which will focus primarily on ski area maintenance.

Leitwind announced that it will erect its first wind turbine in the U.S. in Bayonne, N.J. The LTW77 Leitwind turbine will have a nominal power of 1.5 MW and a tower height of 262 feet. The blades will measure 252 feet.

TransWorld Snowboarding promoted Nick Hamilton to content director.

Johnson Controls added Tony Ziehmke as the company’s new Midwest snow systems specialist.

The Rossignol Group hired Tom Lebsack as its snowboard division manager for the U.S. market.

Mountain News Corporation, publisher of OnTheSnow.com (which is owned by Vail Resorts), acquired Skiinfo.com,­ a European snow sports website. The combined entity will operate in 14 languages and 20 countries.