Gillett Steps Down and Takes Targhee with Him
President and COO Chris Ryman will take over the day-to-day operations of Booth Creek, but Gillett will remain on as chairman.
The $11 million Booth Creek will receive from the sale of Targhee, expected to be completed in May, will likely be put toward development at Northstar-at-Tahoe, Calif.
Mammoth to Operate Gotcha Glacier
Gotcha Glacier, an indoor snowboard and surf park being built in Anaheim, Calif., announced today that it has signed a management agreement with Mammoth Mountain to oversee all snow-related operations.
Mammoth will report to Facility Manager Ogden Entertainment and will be responsible for snowmaking, grooming, terrain park, ski and snowboard rentals and lesson operations. In addition, Mammoth will operate 2,671 square feet of retail space, including a facility-wide photography concession, a travel office and a retail store.
According to Joani Saari, media relations manager for Mammoth, under the terms of the agreement, the ski area will receive a management fee and be responsible for all staffing. Gotcha will purchase all of the necessary equipment in consultation with Mammoth.
Gotcha Glacier, slated to open in early 2002, is 300 miles from Mammoth and will provide the ski area a valuable outlet in the important Southern California market.
New Resort for B.C.
British Columbia and Golden Peaks Resort Inc., a subsidiary of the Dutch company Ballast Nedam International, signed a master development agreement that would effectively turn Whitetooth Ski Area, B.C., into a $200-million resort called Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Located three hours west of Calgary, right on the TransCanada Highway, the resort hopes to attract a big chunk of the summer tourists who drive through. For winter operations, Kicking Horse will primarily look to Calgary, Kelowna and Vancouver as each has a major airport.
The seven-year development will include an eight-person gondola, five new lifts, a mountaintop restaurant, a new base lodge, commercial and retail space, four hotels, 150 condos, 297 town-homes and 65 single-family chalets. Installation of the gondola and construction of the mountaintop restaurant, the base lodge and the first of four hotels is expected to be completed by the second half of 2000.
Grouse Mountain Resorts Ltd., a private company that owns and operates Grouse Mountain outside of Vancouver, will operate and manage the ski area at Kicking Horse.
Jimmie Spencer, president of Canada West Ski Areas Association, who attended the opening ceremony in March, commented, “It was amusing to see how many ski area operators were in the audience. I think it’s great to see some healthy competition.”
No More Free Skiing at Crested Butte
One of the most successful promotions in the ski industry, Ski Free at Crested Butte, came to an end this season. For the past nine years, the ski area offered free pre-season skiing and, in the last four years, management expanded the Ski Free promotion by adding spring dates, creating almost six weeks of free skiing depending on conditions. At its peak, the promotion brought 9,000 skiers to Crested Butte’s slopes in one day. However, recently the numbers haven’t been as high and the resort decided it was time to try something different for next season, though they haven’t decided what, yet.
Mountain High’s East Resort Opens
On February 25, Mountain High, Calif., officially opened its East Resort, a separate peak with its own base lodge offering food and beverage services, rentals and ticketing, 17 trails, four lifts and 1,600 feet of vertical. The East Resort is not linked to the existing West Resort, but a lift ticket is good at both and the area offers a free shuttle back and forth.
Correction
In the January 2000 issue we incorrectly reported the number of installations by Remonte-Pente Schippers Lift, Inc. in the Handle Tows/Wire Rope Tows category of SAM’s 1999 Lift Survey. We reported six when it was 15, making a total of 53 and not the 44 reported. We further regret this correction was not made in the March issue. The correct figures have been up on SAM’s Website since January.
Summit County Interconnect Possibility
Representatives of The Canyons, Park City and Deer Valley, Utah, have said that if the revenue-sharing details connected to an interconnect lift ticket can be worked out, linking the three resorts with ski slopes should be possible.
The three resorts got together at a Park City Leadership 2000 roundtable in March on the future of skiing and discussed the interconnect as a viable and valuable possibility. All three areas suggested the possibility of sharing costs for creating it with area businesses that would benefit.
Winter Park Expects to Miss Lease Payment
Winter Park Resort operators are saying it’s “highly unlikely” they will be able to make a scheduled $2.3 million annual payment to the Denver Parks and Recreation Department this year. According to Winter Park CEO Gary DeFrange, two low-snow years in a row have hurt the resort’s ability to make the September lease payment.
The Winter Park Recreational Association, which operates the resort, leases most of the infrastructure from Denver. Under a 1994 contract, the resort company pays the city $1 million a year plus three percent of gross revenues. But the contract, which runs until 2078, allows the resort to miss one payment every five years. Winter Park managers brought the subject up with the city council as early as February to make sure the council could adjust city budgets. The Denver Parks Department has noted the shortfall would affect city projects because the money was budgeted.
As a result, a committee was formed to act as a liaison between the resort and the city council. The committee has been charged with learning about the ski industry, Winter Park itself and its development needs, and is expected to make recommendations to the city council regarding the resort.
Indian Community to Buy Mount Frontenac
At presstime, the owners of Mount Frontenac, Minn., were finalizing details for the sale of the ski area to the Prairie Island Indian Community. The sale includes the ski area and its adjacent golf course.
The sovereign Indian tribe operates the Treasure Island Resort and Casino 14 miles from the ski area. Frontenac, which is about an hour south of Minneapolis, could conceivably be doubled in size as it sits entirely on private land and would remain a taxable property, according to the purchase agreement.
Disabled Ski Team Stays
The U.S. Disabled Ski Team will remain part of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). The USSA Board voted unanimously at its meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in March to keep the team in its fold, rejecting an earlier decision by the executive committee to cut the team loose from USSA governance as of May 1. The decision came after 21 athletes on the team filed a grievance with a USSA judicial committee that turned the grievance down yet nullified the executive committee’s earlier vote.
Equipment Sales Surge Late After Slow Start
Warm weather was blamed for poor sales numbers for snowsports equipment from August through last December with sales off 7.2 percent from the previous year. But, a surge in December in snowboard sales and jumps through January and February in all equipment categories put this year’s sales figure well above last year’s. Once it started to snow across the U.S. in January, snowsports enthusiasts went on a buying spree. According to SnowSports Industries America (SIA), February sales in specialty stores this year were up 90 percent compared to last year and sales in chain stores were up 20.4 percent. February even outperformed traditionally busy December by 4 percent, the first time that’s happened since the SIA started producing its retail audit.
“February’s sales will more than compensate for any sales shortfalls,” says Jim Spring, whose company Leisure Trends Group compiles the audit. Though final numbers were not available, Spring went on to say, “We predict that sales for the season will be up by at least $200 million, or 8.9 percent.”
Wrinkles for New Michigan Resort
The site for a sewer and water system planned for Mount Bohemia, a proposed lakeside resort in Keweenaw County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has been discovered to contain Indian artifacts. Now developers have to re-site the planned system while awaiting word on a $900,000 federal grant to build it. Other plans call for construction of a base lodge, two chair lifts and one surface lift, which were to begin this month. The ski area, which has been in various planning stages since the late 1970s, will open with about 50 acres of skiable terrain and just shy of 900 feet of vertical.
Intrawest and Vail Get New Heads
In a reshuffling of the deck, Breckenridge, Colo., announced it hired Roger McCarthy as its new COO. McCarthy moved over to Vail Resorts from Intrawest. Replacing McCarthy as senior vice president, eastern region, is Steve Rice, former head at Snowshoe.
People
The National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association elected Jan Peterson its new chairman of the board during the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Vegas Show in March. The retailer organization also elected Kenny Friedman its vice chairman and reelected Harvey Chalker its treasurer.
SIA announced that John Clifford was named president of Customers First, the SIA’s database marketing subsidiary, and named Murray Merkley and Janet Freeman to its Board of Directors. The association also appointed Ed Wray to its regional sales force representing New England while Tom Rogers, who was based in New England, will move to the Rocky Mountain Region. It also appointed David Blakeslee manager of Website services, Julee Lynch manager of market research, Heather Teger trade show manager, Sherry Gilbert assistant office manager and Julie Crawford receptionist.
Norman Blake has been appointed the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee.
The Ontario Ski Resorts Association appointed Margot Minardi its new executive director. Minardi replaces Don McIlveen.
In Maine, American Skiing Company announced it had hired William Fair, a veteran of Universal Studios and Disney, as its new president and COO to fill the vacancy created when Warren Cook left in 1998.
Walter Read was appointed mountain manager for Pat’s Peak, N.H.
In Vermont, Allen Wilson was named president of Killington Resort. . . Lynne Espey was appointed marketing director for the Stowe Area Association.
Ski Butternut, Mass., appointed Ron Crozier operations manager and Lisa Harvey assistant operations manager. The resort also appointed Chris Kennedy lift maintenance supervisor, Tom Skakel marketing assistant and Deb Haupt bookkeeper.
Ski Windham, N.Y., announced Todd Tremble will be competitions manager. Also in New York, Song Mountain Resort appointed Peter Stransky its new GM.
In New Jersey, Tim Newhart was appointed director of marketing at Mountain Creek, moving over from a similar position at Hunter Mountain.
In Utah, Blaise Carrig has been promoted to president of The Canyons and Kim Peterson was named director of communications, moving over from Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort. . .Tonja Hanson was promoted to general sales manager at Park City Mountain Resort.
Aspen Skiing Company, Colo., promoted Craig Ferraro to vice president and CFO and Steven Sand to controller. Don Schuster was promoted to VP of real estate while Becky Duckworth was promoted to GM of the Snowmass Club. . .Telluride Ski & Golf Company named John Kitts its new CFO and vice president and named three people to its executive committee and board of directors: Booth Creek Ski Holdings’ Chris Ryman and Betsy Cole, and Vail attorney Jim Wear. Ryman and Cole will continue working in their Booth Creek offices and will act as consultants for Telluride. The ski resort also promoted Elizabeth Haats to manager of lift operations.
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. promoted Chris Diamond to president and announced the retirement of the senior vice president of marketing, Rod Hanna, after 23 years with the resort.
In California, Dennis Harmon was promoted to president of Heavenly Valley Resort. Northstar-At-Tahoe named Bobby Reader director of guest services, Zeke Straw director of snowsports and Jennifer Noerdlinger becomes cross-country, telemark and snowshoe center manager.
Supplier News
The Tribune Company purchased Times Mirror Co., the parent company of The Skiing Co., which publishes, among others, Ski, Skiing, Freeze and Transworld Snowboarding. Resort Sports Network hired Bill Burke as its new president and CEO. GlobalLift appointed Eric N. Birch as CEO in addition to his duties as president. Birch will oversee the company’s holdings including Williamsport Wirerope Works, Inc. and Lowery Brothers Rigging Center. Sno.engineering Inc., is changing its name to the SE Group. In addition, the company has acquired ResortNorth Valuation, Inc., an appraisal and consulting service, allowing the SE Group to offer a broader range of financial and appraisal services.
K2 announced the return of Tim Petrick as vice president and GM for K2 skis. He leaves Booth Creek as its executive vice president for brand performance. K2 also appointed Robert Markovitch and Matt Matsunaga as vice presidents responsible for sales in Canada and along the Pacific Rim, respectively.
Andy Knittle was appointed to the top spot at Nordica, responsible for sales and marketing.
Burton Snowboards named Brent Merriam its binding category manager.
Sally Jewell was appointed COO of Recreational Equipment, Inc.
American Skiing Company has teamed up with MountainBoard Sports for summer 2000. Killington, Mount Snow and Sunday River will rent mountainboards and offer instruction. In addition, terrain parks will be built at the resorts and selected slopes will be opened for carving.
GearDirect.com, sporting goods etailer, has teamed up with Peak Lifestyles, a mountain mail order catalog, to become Peak Ltd. The new company has acquired Doc’s Ski & Sports, a sporting goods retailer. ..Barnhart/CMI, a Denver-based ad agency has acquired Reece and Company Advertising. The combined companies will concentrate on the outdoor market.
PR Newswire has a new press release distribution package called Mountain News Service, which will feature distribution to 2,500 media outlets and 800 online databases and Websites.
Reliable Racing Supply has hired Mark Landeau as timing systems product manager. Dennis Naughton & Assoc. has joined the company as sales representative for Jofa helmets in the Southeast and Bruce Sysyn will be Reliable’s Jofa sales rep in New England. Brenda Stark was promoted to purchasing agent for the wintersports catalog division.
Cross Country Ski Areas Association has introduced a line of official licensed cross-country sportswear. Proceeds will be used to help promote cross-country skiing as a lifetime sport.
Industry Calendar
More details at www.saminfo.com/events
- May 4-7: NSAA National Convention and Trade Show — Orlando, Fla.
- May 7-11: Canada West Ski Areas Association Spring Conference/Trade Show — Kelowna, B.C.
- May 9-11: California Ski Industry Association Maintenance Seminar — Mammoth, Calif.
- May 15-18: RMLA Spring Conference/Trade Show — Grand Junction, Colo.
- May 28-31: Ontario Snow Resorts Assoc. Conf. — Barrie, Ont.
- May 31-June 1: Quebec Ski Areas Assoc. Convention/Trade Show — Quebec, Canada
- June 1-2: Developing, Managing and Marketing All-Season Resorts — Newport Beach, Calif.
- June 5-12: World Mountain Forum — Paris/Chambéry, France
- June 8-10: ORCA/SGMA Outdoor Industry Lobby Days with Ski the Hill — Washington, D.C.
- August 6-9: Midwest Ski Areas Assoc. Conference/Trade Show — Shanty Creek, Mich.
- Sept. 6-7: New England Ski Industry Fall Summit/Trade Show — Attitash Bear Peak, N.H.
- Oct. 12-14: Interalpin 2000 — Innsbruck, Austria
