Early Season Numbers Bright
Starting on the East coast, two Nor’easters in December helped areas like Jay Peak open 100 percent of their terrain before the holidays. At Jay, 139 inches of snow had fallen as of mid-December. At Whiteface, N.Y., 85 inches had fallen as of December 15, crushing a five-year average of 39.2 inches. The Nor’easters helped areas recover from a warm spell just before Thanksgiving.
In the Midwest, natural snowfall and cold temperatures in Minnesota, central Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula paved the way for a gangbuster start to the season. Elsewhere, most areas opened in mid-December, which is typical, and were on track for a good start.
Moving west, Utah was bragging about 11 feet of snowfall in the Wasatch mountains during November and, as of December 15, areas were reporting a five-foot base. Some murmurings had area operators hopeful for 3.5 million visits for the season, which would be a new record.
Colorado areas were reporting average numbers. Good early season snow allowed many areas to open before Thanksgiving, but a dry spell softened conditions until mid-December when Mother Nature graciously dumped some white stuff before the holidays.
In New Mexico, early season base depths were moderate due to low early-season snowfall but, as of mid December, storms were hitting the area helping to ensure a white Christmas.
Out in California, records were being broken both north and south. SoCal’s Mountain High logged more than 73,000 visits in November alone—a new record for the area. Mammoth Mountain celebrated its 50th opening this year on November 6. And the snow continued to fall with a total of 117 inches by mid-December, which helped the area post numbers that were 29 percent over last year. Paid visits were up a whopping 28 percent.
In the Tahoe area, early snow was good and after a warm spell, new storms were pounding the region setting up for a good Christmas.
The Pacific Northwest, which needed a good start after last year’s awful season, reported OK numbers. Bogus Basin opened on November 28 but quickly closed again on November 30. The area was able to reopen on December 14, thanks to natural snowfall. Mt. Bachelor was happy to report 64 inches in November and 56 inches for the first half of December, putting them on track for good numbers.
In Canada, Kimberly, Sunshine, Lake Louise, Fernie and Kicking Horse were reporting the best early season conditions in years. Whistler’s early season numbers, however, were down.
Eastern Canada was reporting good early season snow and good temps for snowmaking.
Muellers to Buy Crested Butte
Tim and Diane Mueller, owners of Triple Peaks, LLC, have signed a Letter of Intent for the purchase of Crested Butte Resort and all of its assets from the Callaway and Walton families, the longtime owners of the resort.
The deal was expected to close by the end of 2003 or in early 2004.
Triple Peaks, which also owns Okemo in Vermont and runs Mt. Sunapee, N.H., plans “to place guest service and the overall quality of the recreational experience as a top priority,” said Tim Mueller. Crested Butte’s visits peaked in the 1990s at more than 550,000, but totaled just 342,000 last year.
Laurel Mountain Buyer Dies
Laurel Mountain Ski Resort, a 900-vertical-foot area 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, had finally found a buyer in HomeSpan Financial Group of Petersburg, Va., but a few weeks after the announcement and before the final deal went through, the president of HomeSpan, John Jones, died of an aneurism. In the meantime, area owner George Mowl canceled plans to open the resort before Christmas.
At presstime, both parties felt confident the deal would still go through in time to open in January. The terms of for the purchase were not disclosed, but Mowl had been seeking $7.5 million for the resort, which includes both the area and a nearby residential development.
Locke Steps Aside
Oilman Murray Edwards took over majority control from Charlie Locke at the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies this fall. Edwards’ involvement in the resort group began in the summer of 2001 with an infusion of capital. Locke will step aside as chairman and take on an advisory roles as vice chairman. The privately-held company will not say what percentage Edwards now controls.
Powdr Buys Las Vegas Area
Powdr Corporation, parent company for Alpine Meadows, Soda Springs and Boreal in California, Mt. Bachelor, Ore., and Park City, Utah, purchased the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort on November 14. Just 11 days later, the area opened making it the first pre-Thanksgiving opening in four years. The resort is just 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas and boasts a base elevation of 8,500 feet.
One of Powdr’s first priorities is to upgrade the snowmaking system to ensure good conditions on its 1,000 feet of vertical.
Mission Ridge Sold
After years of trying, Harbor Properties finally sold its Mission Ridge ski area to a local Washington businessman, Larry Scrivanich. Harbor first put the property up for sale in 2000, just two years after it had bought the area. The company decided too much money would have been siphoned away from its other resorts (Stevens Pass and Schweitzer Mountain) for needed improvements at Mission Ridge. After placing the area on the auction block with a $1.95 million minimum bid, Harbor saw two deals fall through in 2000 and 2001. Harbor Properties then decided to hold on to the resort in 2001 and not actively look for a buyer—until now.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
New Investors in Telluride
Chuck and Chad Horning of Newport Beach, California, have become joint-venture partners in Telluride Ski and Golf Company with Hideo “Joe” Morita, who has been majority owner of the area since 1999. The Hornings bested bids by Aspen Skiing Co. and former Vail president Andy Daly.
Morita had announced last spring that he was seeking a buyer or partner. He had become sole owner in 2001 after buying out longtime Telluride partners Ron Allred and Jim Wells and investing $14 million to expand the resort.
The Hornings own Newport Federal Financial, a real estate investment company that has invested more than $100 million in a recent string of deals in southern California. Their Telluride stake, though, is a personal investment.
Lawsuit Settled
Alpine Mountain has settled a civil suit for $4 million, stemming from a fatal accident at the area last year in which a snow groomer backed over an 11-year-old boy on a snowboard. The groomer operator was apparently unable to see the boy sitting on the snow, unbuckling his binding at the bottom of a run.
Alpine and its insurance company, K&K, agreed to settle the suit, brought by the rider’s family, at a pre-trial conference on October 20. The family’s suit alleged that Alpine Mountain “failed to follow proper procedures when operating a snow-grooming machine.”
Silverton Doubles Capacity
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is allowing Silverton Ski Area, Colo., to host 80 people a day, up from 40 last season. In the meantime, the agency continues to assess the area’s request to host 475 sliders a day, both guided and unguided.
Aaron Brill, the owner and operator of the new backcountry ski area, owns 344 acres, upon which he installed a lift that accesses the Bureau of Land Management’s land. The BLM is weighing an environmental impact statement as well as safety issues, especially avalanche control. For the time being, Brill must provide an 8-to-1 client-to-guide ratio, ensure that all tours are guided and he must have four full-time safety personnel. A decision by the BLM is expected this month.
Joint Show for Transworld and MSM
Transworld Snowboarding Business is teaming up with Mountain Sports Media and SIA for a conference scheduled for April 1 to 4 at Copper Mountain, Colo., called the Transworld Snow Industry Summit 04.
The event effectively combines Ski Magazine’s Ski Industry Week, which was started in the 1970s but discontinued two years ago for budget reasons, with Transworld Snowboarding Business’s annual get-together.
Correction
The following company was inadvertently omitted from the 2004 Product and Supplier Directory:
Ward-Young Architecture & Planning
12010 Donner Pass Road, Suite 201
Truckee, CA 96161
P (530) 587-3859, F (530) 587-8908
www.wyarch.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Home office contact: Larry Young
Site planning, architecture and landscape design for base area and on-mountain development including hotels, housing, restaurants, retail space, rental shops, skier services, children’s centers and maintenance buildings.
People
At Mountain Sports Media, Jamie Pentz was named group publisher, replacing Andy Clurman. Stefanie Luciano was promoted to vice president of marketing for Mountain Sports Media, Greg Finn moves up to director, resort and equipment sales, Beth Ricciardi was promoted to creative director and Amy Artzer was promoted to advertising coordinator.
In Maine, 10 ski industry veterans became the first inductees to the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. They were: Wendall “Chummy” Broomhall, Aurele Legere, Robert “Bunny” Bass, Amos Winter, John Bower, Otto Wallingford, Al Merrill, Wes Marco, Doc Des Roches and Russ Haggett.
At Mount Snow, Vt., Mike Murphy is the communications manager and Chris Minnes was named event manager.
At Grand Targhee, Susie Barnett-Bushong becomes vice president of marketing, Jonathan McLaren moves into the CFO position and Kay Metherell is the resort’s new guest services director.
At Vail Resorts, Jeffrey W. Jones was appointed senior vice president and CFO while James P. Donohue becomes a senior vice president and chief information officer. . .Emily Jacob has moved from Beaver Creek to Breckenridge and will head up communications. Christina Schleicher will replace Jacob at Beaver Creek. Nicky DeFord moves up to corporate communications manager.
Powdr Corp. announced that Brian Strait, most recently vice president of operations at Park City, Utah, will head up the newly-purchased Lee Canyon Ski Lifts, Inc., the parent company of the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort. Back at Park City, Peter Curtis will move up to fill Strait’s spot and Jenni Smith will assume the new title of director of resort administration. Chris Lampe will assume an expanded role as human resources manager.
Supplier News
PistenBully announces the Big Red Push ’n Pull at four different locations. The event will allow ski area personnel to try out the latest grooming offerings from PistenBully. The dates and locations are: January 20-21 at Mt. Rose, Nev., January 26-27 at Alta, Utah, February 10-11 at Granite Peak, Wisc., and February 23-25 at Hunter Mountain, N.Y.
Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc., announced its affiliation with Snow Park Technologies (SPT) for the operational development of terrain parks, halfpipes, snow skate parks and special events at all six Booth Creek Resorts. SPT is made up of park designers Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson and Josh Chauvet.
Resort Technology Partners was named the winner of the 2003 Communications Arts award for its interactive advertising design for Vail’s website.
K2 promoted J. Wayne Merck to the position of president.
Kwik Ski and Snowboard Products is now on-line at www.kwikski.com with their entire catalog of tools.
Lenko donated a model FA 2000 snow gun to Gogebic Community College for the school’s small ski area.
The Huffy Corporation announced that it has sold its Volant ski business to Atomic, owned by Amer Group Plc.
