That was the word on Tamarack Resort, the new name for WestRock Lake Cascade and near-relative to the defunct Valbois project. The common wisdom on this site in west-central Idaho: bad idea.
The reality is quite different. When I visited in late February, the 2,800-vertical-foot mountain was five-feet-deep in snow at midmountain, with about three feet at what will be village level, located at about 5,200 feet. And the terrain is much better than advertised.
What makes Tamarack noteworthy, though, is not just the skiing and riding—it’s the sum of its many parts. Tamarack will offer a spectacular golf course, a brilliant lake and a cross-country center all within a nine-iron shot of the base village. With the vast expanse of the Frank Church Wilderness across the valley, with opportunities for fishing, rafting, and other adventures, Tamarack may be the most natural and complete four-season site in the U.S.
And in spite of its many parts, the project has been approved with near-blinding speed. That’s why few realize that the nation’s next major resort will open next season, a year ahead of schedule—albeit on a limited basis. “We expect to have our lifts ordered by May,” said CEO Jean-Pierre “J.P.” Boespflug.
Lay of the Land
Access to Tamarack is comparable to other Western resorts. It is two hours north of the Boise airport, with daily flights from 16 cities. The resort’s potential market area covers Pacific Northwest, upper Midwest and Texas-Louisiana. Boise itself is a growing high-tech community of 400,000. The mostly two-lane highway to Tamarack rises 2,000 vertical feet. Much of the road is snowless most of the time, and it is scheduled for $50 million in improvements that will further ease access.
Skiing and riding take place on the northern edge of West Mountain, a long ridge that rises 3,000 feet above the broad, flat Long Valley. The crooked finger of Lake Cascade, a shallow reservoir, parallels the ridge for 22 miles. The base village and golf course will lie between the slopes and the lake.
In February, the biggest indication that there will be a ski area here soon—two express quads and a platter lift will go in this summer—were two yurts that comprise the cross-country and visitor centers. Colored poles that staked out the landscape for the planned base village gave further evidence, as did the two trails that snake their way down to it.
A day of snowcat skiing was consistently fun and occasionally spectacular. The top third of Tamarack’s ski terrain is mostly natural glades and open bowls with some steepish pitches and gentle slopes. To the north are more wooded runs and the most prolonged steep sections. There is plenty of higher-angle terrain for advanced sliders and a variety of glades and open slopes to keep just about everyone thoroughly entertained.
My experience was not unique. “I’m very excited about the project,” said Chris Cushing of SE Group, which did the on-mountain plan. “The terrain is a nearly ideal mix: a good amount of beginner terrain just above the village, plenty of longer, intermediate cruising runs, plus ample bowls, steep, and trees for advanced skiers. Lots of locals have been skinning and skiing this area for years.
“As a ski mountain, it’s not as big as Vail. But it is a true 2,800 vertical feet, whereas most of the resorts in Colorado don’t have a continuous vertical as great as that. It’s going to be a strong destination for people.”
Cushing said low-snow rumors are “totally not true.” Snowfall is “copious,” he added.
The Rest of the Story
As good as the mountain is, the rest of the resort is its equal.
The village plan, at full buildout 15 years from now, calls for 1,200 units, comprising small private homes, condominiums and hotels. A second area of private lots lies to the south, above the golf course and separated from the main village by a nature preserve/eagle’s nesting area.
The plan calls for village units no more than three stories tall to line a pedestrian street that stretches for about 1,500 feet. Underground parking will extend from one end of the village to the other; only a small number of surface spaces will be available. Overall, the scale is very human. That was the goal of Gordon Pierce, of Resort Design Associates, which did the overall massing of buildings, and of David Peugh, the McCall architect who designed the individual buildings.
To the south, winding through a meadow that overlooks both the lake and the mountain, are the cross-country trails and the golf course. Designed by Robert Trent Jones II, the rolling golf layout will be one of the best in the country, said Boespflug. Those are the same words used by X-C consultant Jonathan Wiesel to describe the cross-country layout.
With all these quality activities, it’s no surprise that Tamarack plans to have an active members’ club. Membership will include skiing/riding, golf and boating privileges, plus a concierge to book adventures in the Frank Church Wilderness and the surrounding region. There will be a clubhouse, of course, and even a club lodging facility for members’ guests. Will homebuyers find enough value in the club to pay the $60,000 membership and $8,000 annual dues? “All we can do is show them the financial logic to what we are doing and trust that they will see the value,” Boespflug said. And members will have a say in how the club’s services and programs evolve, he added.
How Did All This Happen?
Tamarack’s success owes in large part to Boespflug’s determination and political skill (Dave Scott of International Resources Group also helped shepherd the project through the state regulatory process and the state legislature). Boespflug has constantly modified his proposal to keep stakeholders happy—as a long-time high-tech executive, he’s learned the necessity of flexibility. Boespflug has held executive positions at tech leaders Cisco and 3Com and is an investor is Les Montagnettes, a series of luxury apartments in four French ski resorts. On the ski side, Boespflug is a certified ski instructor who taught at Squaw Valley and Val Thorens, France.
Rounding out the management team are Tamarack Chairman Alfredo Miguel Afif, head of the Infomin-Mina conglomerates and the largest stockholder; Idaho entrepreneur Donald K. Weilmunster, active in cattle ranching, lumber and trucking; and Andreas Conesa, chairman of Iconsa, a construction company in Mexico.
But Boespflug is the front man and largely responsible for the fast track the proposed resort is on. First, to avoid one of the tangles that doomed Valbois, he relocated the resort off the National Forest and onto state land. Second, Tamarack discovered its own water supply, a vast aquifer that underlies the property. Third, it has installed a sewer system that serves the resort and other properties along the lake and greatly reduces pollution. The cross-country system has won over local X-C fans. And snowmobilers, who run the summit ridge trail, came on board after Tamarack offered to provide access to the summit restaurant and set up a mountaintop supply center.
One reason for the speed of approval, and for the enthusiasm of many of those who have worked on the project, was Boespflug’s insistence on creating the best possible experience, not the biggest resort possible. “He said, ‘tell us what this site can comfortably accommodate,’” said Cushing. As a result, “We went with a little lower density on the hill,” he said. Similarly, the number of residential units approved is 2,000, down from an original proposal for 3,500.
The final sign of Tamarack’s acceptance was the unanimous passage of a bill in the state legislature to extend the lease of state land from 10 to 49 years.
The Near Term
With this final key approval, said Boespflug, “We will start to show the vision of the boutique resort. Not crowded, good service, lots of things to do.” The concept is luxury in the wilderness: after a day of hiking, canoeing, rafting, or skiing, members can order fully prepared meals from the clubhouse, which are delivered to members’ homes.
This summer’s construction includes a pioneer village with about 17,000 square feet of skier services, including a members’ facility, which will be housed in a temporary Sprung structure. The resort is also building the first residential units: eight members’ cottages, three “chalets” (roughly 2,500-square-foot homes) and six single-family homes. There will also be restaurant seating for 300. “We hope to be able to handle 1,000 visitors a day,” he said.
To date, Tamarack has invested about $47 million. Boespflug expects to spend $50 million to $60 million a year for the next three years, then accelerate development after that. Over the 15-year buildout, the investment will reach $1.2 billion, with at least half of that coming from Tamarack itself. Given its assets, that doesnt sound like such a bad idea after all.
