EMPEROR OF THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM
Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts in Vermont, is going all in on the Northeast Kingdom, home to both ski areas. Not only will they get roughly half of a $500 million investment of EB-5 visa funds, but Stenger himself has a business stake in every one of the projects being funded.

The overall plan envisions nothing less than the transformation of the region’s economy. It includes biotech and window-manufacturing companies, a hotel/conference center, and expansion of the regional airport. The bed base development at Burke calls for four small boutique hotels and about 1,200 beds total. At Jay, the plan is for a total of 4,500 beds; the resort has 2,500 now.

“We’re trying to improve the economy,” Stenger explains. “We’re the economic quarterback, bringing the investment capital and matching it to the businesses. It will help Jay and Burke, too. And it’s being done in a way that’s never been done before.”

Some observers have questioned the size of the investment at Jay, where the EB-5 program has already funded a $125 million hotel and waterpark. Is the market really big enough to support the size of all this?

Stenger says yes, indeed. Most Americans overlook the Canadian market, which is the source of half of Jay’s 350,000 annual visits. And Canadians are the prime market for Jay’s waterpark, which has hosted 300,000 visits in the year since it was completed.

“We care more about Toronto than New York City, and more about Montreal than anywhere,” Stenger says. At the Toronto ski show in October, he adds, “we send 12 people, have five booths, meet 70,000 people, and book $500,000 in business in four days.” On Columbus weekend, which is also the Canadian Thanksgiving, occupancy at Jay was at 97 percent.


GORE, MILLER FORM CLIMATE TEAM
Yes, Al Gore is an unlikely icon for a Warren Miller movie. But “Flow State,” Warren Miller Entertainment’s (WME) 63rd feature film, includes a segment shot at Svaldbard in northern Norway, where the film crew witnessed first-hand the effects of climate change--the lack of sea ice in the region. And that’s where Gore comes in.

The Svaldbard experience encouraged WME to partner with Gore’s Climate Reality Project in a bid to spread awareness of global climate change among skiers and riders and encourage a more sustainable lifestyle. WME wants to make sure that we can all continue to enjoy our lifestyles on and in the snow.

The Svaldbard movie segment will appear Nov. 14 in the Climate Reality Project’s “24 Hours of Reality, The Dirty Weather Report,” an online broadcast that showcases reports and cloud-sourced videos about how climate change is affecting people and businesses around the globe. In return, Gore will be promoting “Flow State” and will make a guest appearance at one of the movie’s November showings in Denver to promote the new "I Am Pro Snow" campaign, using WME athletes to highlight the impacts of climate change on winter sports.


WILD MOUNTAIN IS FIRST TO OPEN … SORT OF
Wild Mountain, Minn., was the first resort to open this fall, as it began operations on Sunday, Oct. 7, with skiing, snowboarding, alpine sliding and go-karting. It was the earliest opening ever, and the second time Wild was the first to open. Alas, warmer temperatures forced the area to shut down for several days before it could re-open for the season.

That left it to Arapahoe Basin to become the first resort to begin continuing operations. A Basin opened on Oct. 17 with an 18-inch base, with Loveland not far behind.


WILD SEASON FOR WILDFIRES
Three resorts were seriously threatened by wildfires this summer and fall. Worst hit was Ski Apache, N.M., where 60 acres of terrain inside the resort boundary burned. Three outbuildings were damaged, including one top lift terminal, along with the ropes on three lifts. All three lifts were at least 35 years old, and one was 50. So the Mescalero tribe that owns the area decided to replace all three, rather than simply repair them. The
$15 million reconstruction project leaves Apache with a new 8-passenger high-speed gondola, quad and triple chairs, and nearly 60 acres of new terrain. All the work will be completed in time for opening day or soon after.

Mission Ridge, Wash., was more fortunate. Fire reached within a half-mile of the area, but light winds and a rocky slope kept it from creeping closer. Snow King, Wyo., shut down its summer operations for a few days while a fire approached a mile or two away, but no facilities were ever directly threatened.


TAMARACK RESORT REMAINS IN LIMBO
What’s next for Tamarack Resort, now that a court has cleared Credit Suisse to foreclose on it? It’s widely expected that the bank will request a sheriff’s sale for its portion of the resort--including the lifts and on-mountain facilities, golf course, and more than 2,000 homesites. But Credit Suisse has been mum on the matter. Perhaps the bank is awaiting the court’s disposition of lawsuits regarding the mothballed base village; any potential buyer of the onhill assets would like to know the fate of the village before bidding. Four creditors are seeking to gain control of various parts of the village.

Of course, with Tamarack, predicting the course of ownership is a tough job. One previously declared suitor, for example, was Matthew Hutcheson, a pension fiduciary who has since been charged in a 31-count indictment for diverting $5 million to help finance his bid to buy Tamarack.

In the meantime, the one constant at Tamarack is this: the Tamarack Municipal Association homeowners’ group is planning to operate the resort again this season, as it has for the past two. Credit Suisse has let the group know it sees value in keeping the area operating.


MAD SUGARBUSH GLEN
After more than 50 years of rivalry, not to mention philosophical disparity, old-school Mad River Glen (MRG) and posh Sugarbush Resort are teaming to offer combined tickets to under-30 skiers. The three-area (Sugarbush, Mt. Ellen, and Mad River) ticket options include the Threesome College Pass and the Ski The Valley Plus ticket, a discounted ticket-and-perks package available to those who book ski and stay packages at local lodges, with a three-night minimum. The two areas are exploring other ways of working together, too.

In a display of the resorts’ new sense of community, the two areas held a joint press event on Columbus Day weekend. Then, MRG’s Jamie Wimble and Eric Friedman attended and spoke at the annual Sugarbush homeowners’ community day, and Sugarbush president Win Smith spoke at the MRG shareholders meeting.


NASTAR WITHOUT VAIL
In case you hadn’t noticed, Vail Resorts likes to go its own way under CEO Rob Katz. First it pulled out of Colorado Ski Country several years ago, to go its own way in marketing and government affairs. And now it’s pulled out of NASTAR, offering its own branded season-long racing program at its resorts. EpicMix Racing, as it’s called, is structured very much like NASTAR with its national pacesetter. But Vail’s pacesetter is Lindsey Vonn, and EpicMix Racing is integrated into Vail’s expansive social media world.

While this will surely cut into NASTAR’s reach--Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek were the top three NASTAR hosts in 2012--the 44-year-old program is far from dead. It still has more than 100 participating resorts. Okemo is the site of an Eastern championships, and Aspen is hosting the national NASTAR championships. And USST members Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso have signed on as ambassadors.


VONN VS. THE MEN
On the latest front in the battle of the sexes, U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn has petitioned the FIS to enter the men’s World Cup downhill at Lake Louise in November. Vonn has owned the women’s downhill event there, held on the same run as the men’s race.

The biggest obstacle to this co-ed gambit is an FIS rule that bars competitors from getting extra practice on a race course during the week prior to a scheduled competition. That rule is relevant because the men’s World Cup speed events at Lake Louise precede the women’s by a week. Vonn is not keen to forego the women’s event; she has earned nine of her 54 World Cup victories at Louise. The FIS ruling was expected in early November.


ESPN DROPS CROSS EVENTS FOR 2013
ESPN dropped Snowboarder X and Skier X from the X Games schedule for 2013. This is the first time the X course has not appeared at the winter X Games. Snowboarder X has been held since the winter X Games began in 1997. Skier X launched a year later.

ESPN suggested that both events could return in future years. For now, ESPN has opted to focus on pipe, slope, big air, and a range of snowmobile events, to reach as wide an audience as possible.