Peak Resorts: The New ASC?

[doublediamond]

But Crotched will make it back and is continuing to grow. The same cannot be said about Wildcat imo.

Wildcat will. They will save boatloads of money with the new guns, and not having leaking/rupturing/freezing pipes.

 

[bigbog]

The only thing holding Crotched back is the crap ass roads to get there. It certainly isn't the skiing product. That is fantastic for a little 900 vert hill.

Someone needs to convince the state to expand 101 West into a highway like the eastern half of the state. That would be great for the economy in the Southwestern part of the state.

Agree.... It would take a bit of time from Boston area(1980s) but used to snowshoe to some nice stuff(just getting into skiing:roll: then)...

 

[Glenn]

Very interesting financials. Looks like a lot of expansion in a short amount of time.

Wasn't there talk at another Peak Resort pass holder meeting of the Bluebird not delivering the skier visits they expected?


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[Tin]

Wildcat will. They will save boatloads of money with the new guns, and not having leaking/rupturing/freezing pipes.

It doesn't matter what they save if they are not bringing in the revenue.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Frankly with money being essentially "free" right now, I'm surprised we haven't seen more in the way of ski area consolidation.

 

[jerryg]

Hostile takeover of Killington. POWDR will threaten to remove the lifts.

As funny as that sounds due to the irony with PCMR, resorts like KMart, SR, and Okemo are prime for a Vail purchase... IF they had any interest in the east, which they have repeatedly said they don't. Granted, they said the same thing about Utah as well, but yes, they like to buy the resorts with infrastructure in good working condition. They already have plenty of resorts with massive skier visit numbers to continue to develop if they wanted to go that route, but unless the resorts if profiting in a big way with food, bev, and lodging, don't expect any expansion. Thus Wildcat would be out from the get go.

 

[thetrailboss]

It should read latest closing date in NH

Minor detail

And maybe it's been said, but Wildcat was on the market for a long time before and didn't budge. I doubt that many buyers will materialize this time around.


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[jerryg]

Minor detail 

And maybe it's been said, but Wildcat was on the market for a long time before and didn't budge. I doubt that many buyers will materialize this time around.


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I recall the recent spring that Wildcat tied with KMart for the latest closing, 2007 I think. Half the trails open and a super-fast lift to access it all. It was my intro to lapping with Snoseek and Bobr and a Sunday inclusion of Snowmonster. Good times had by all!

 

[VTKilarney]

Wildcat can't have much real estate development potential, can it? If that is the case a lot of potential purchasers will not be interested.

 

[thetrailboss]

I recall the recent spring that Wildcat tied with KMart for the latest closing, 2007 I think. Half the trails open and a super-fast lift to access it all. It was my intro to lapping with Snoseek and Bobr and a Sunday inclusion of Snowmonster. Good times had by all!

Any day with those guys is a good one!

Nice to see you here jerryg.


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[thetrailboss]

Wildcat can't have much real estate development potential, can it? If that is the case a lot of potential purchasers will not be interested.

Exactly.


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[deadheadskier]

Wildcat can't have much real estate development potential, can it? If that is the case a lot of potential purchasers will not be interested.

There is no real estate to develop.

However, it does have excellent terrain, views, the most natural snow in New Hampshire and proximity to North Conway/Jackson etc.

Snowmaking and day lodge upgrades could go a long way for the place. It will never be a cash cow, but I think it has enough positive attributes that with smart investments, it can be profitable and sustain itself.

One other thought I've had for Wildcat is to have a world class retail store. A separate building from the base lodge with it's own parking out near the state highway as close to Joe Dodge as possible. Sell world class high end hiking, climbing and ski gear. Wildcat is really the only "commercial" business development up Pinkham Notch. A lot of people go up there and have money. It's just a matter of finding the right product mix to sell.

 

[jerryg]

Any day with those guys is a good one!

Nice to see you here jerryg.

Thank you, sir. A couple years off and I'm ready to make life difficult for my buddies rippin' down the hills... Snoseek, we're gonna party soon, yo! I can't wait to get back to Mother's Burritos...

 

[ThinkSnow]

Speaking of ASC.....

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20141027/NEWS02/141029145/-1/news

 

[BenedictGomez]

Speaking of ASC.....

Les Otten's in charge? I think I have this figured out.

Basically the plan is to go deep into debt and use the money to make it appear to others that a successful turnaround is at play, until the debt bomb eventually explodes and weeds start growing. I left out a few steps, but I'm guessing that'll be close to the outcome.

 

[tree_skier]

So I just am looking for a little clarification. All of the Les haters would like Someday Bigger to revert back to pre Les and have 3 T-bars and 9 trails???

 

[deadheadskier]

So I just am looking for a little clarification. All of the Les haters would like Someday Bigger to revert back to pre Les and have 3 T-bars and 9 trails???

Qft

People can tease about him all day, but the guy has been as successful a ski area developer in New England ski history as anyone.

 

[ThinkSnow]

He did a lot of good for Sugarbush-- improved snowmaking, added the Slidebrook Express, then sold the place.

 

[BenedictGomez]

People can tease about him all day, but the guy has been as successful a ski area developer in New England ski history as anyone.

It really depends on what your view of success is.

What I mean is, my guess is that if you could secure millions of dollars in financing to spend on.....almost whatever you wanted to, you too could build something that would likely appear to be "successful".

But if it blows up in your face due to the huge leverage which was required to create it in the first place, and then an outside entity has to purchase your creation out of bankruptcy, I wouldnt call that a success just because your creation "lives" under someone else's watch who purchased it for pennies on the dollar.

 

[jerryg]

It really depends on what your view of success is.

What I mean is, my guess is that if you could secure millions of dollars in financing to spend on.....almost whatever you wanted to, you too could build something that would likely appear to be "successful".

But if it blows up in your face due to the huge leverage which was required to create it in the first place, and then an outside entity has to purchase your creation out of bankruptcy, I wouldnt call that a success just because your creation "lives" under someone else's watch who purchased it for pennies on the dollar.

Which ski resorts were purchased out of bankruptcy? I will list the ski areas/resorts that were held by LBO Holdings, Ski LTD, or ASC and you put a check by the ones that were in bankruptcy. Were there mistakes made? Sure. Did some areas benefit from an infrastructure perspective more than others? Of course. Were some of the factors of the demise of ASC beyond LBO's control? Sure thing. If not for him spearheading the effort to get the Balsam's back to operational and sustainable, would the resort remain dormant? Most likely.
Here's the list of resorts:
Sunday River:
Sugarloaf:
Sugarbush:
Killington:
Mount Snow:
Haystack:
Cranmore:
Waterville Valley:
Attitash:
Pico:
Steamboat:
Heavenly:
The Canyons: