Big Burke announcement

[VTKilarney]

Current management seems to be on top of things now, which is why the locals now view FoB as a solution in search of a problem.

Your point is well taken. Information about what is going into the system is only relevant in the context of what is going to come out of the system. That information was less than clear. I agree that it would be a huge improvement if they can make snow on the lower and upper mountains at the same time.

 

[fbrissette]

That was a surreal read. I can see why FoB has become very controversial. I appreciate the passing of information, but the official endorsement for the purchase of a season pass was just bizarre. That's a decision I'll make on my own, thank you very much. How many people attended the meeting?

I'm not in the market for a Burke season pass, but if I was, this endorsement would have a big weight on my decision. I would be happy someone went through a due diligence process without having to figure it out on my own.

 

[VTKilarney]

I'm not in the market for a Burke season pass, but if I was, this endorsement would have a big weight on my decision. I would be happy someone went through a due diligence process without having to figure it out on my own.

I can appreciate that. I can assure you that the locals already knew this information. But your point is well taken for those who are not in the loop. Too bad they couldn't get this accomplished before the prices went up. For a lot of people it may have come too late. But at least it may give them some reassurance.

 

[thetrailboss]

The only thing I'm curios about, that isn't really answered, is... Can they now make snow on one lower mountain trail, and one upper mountain trail simultaneously? Such as blow a beginner/return to lower lodge trail/ and a trail off the top? AND... if so, is there enough leftover to run the fans on the mid-mountain crossover/Training Hill also at the same time?

If that is now possible, that would be great all around.

Pre-Q they used to be able to do this.

 

[yeggous]

Yes my view of FoB is evolving. That endorsement is bizarre.


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[VTKilarney]

Yes my view of FoB is evolving. That endorsement is bizarre.


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I appreciate that they shared the information, but the endorsement was officious. From what I hear the mountain would rather have them as a friend than an enemy, but mountain management doesn't believe that they are bringing any value to the table now that things are running smoothly. Again, they are a solution in search of a problem - which is actually a good thing. They've just stayed at the party a little too late and haven't noticed that the lights have been turned off for a while.

It's definitely great to see the turnaround at Burke.

 

[Smellytele]

It's definitely great to see the turnaround at Burke.

I am waiting to judge a "turnaround" by how their season goes.

 

[VTKilarney]

I am waiting to judge a "turnaround" by how their season goes.

From a management perspective, it can't be worse than the last couple of years. But that is definitely a low bar.

 

[doublediamond]

Pre-Q they used to be able to do this.

That statement is very meaningless. Greek Peak will make snow on a good portion of the mountain at once and half of the trails with pipe will have "SM" on them on the daily report in the cafeteria, but Greek does that with one gun on each trail. Or you can light up half of the trails at Crotched, bury them overnight, and run out of pond water in a day or two.

The new fans installed on the training slope take a heck of a lot of water. New HDK towers put out more snow than the old low-E guns of yesteryear. Tower guns closer together mean you need less diesel for pushing snow and less labor from moving ground guns around with hydrants further apart. But that means even with the same water flow, you are making snow in fewer areas.

See how such a statement is meaningless?

 

[thetrailboss]

That statement is very meaningless. Greek Peak will make snow on a good portion of the mountain at once and half of the trails with pipe will have "SM" on them on the daily report in the cafeteria, but Greek does that with one gun on each trail. Or you can light up half of the trails at Crotched, bury them overnight, and run out of pond water in a day or two.

The new fans installed on the training slope take a heck of a lot of water. New HDK towers put out more snow than the old low-E guns of yesteryear. Tower guns closer together mean you need less diesel for pushing snow and less labor from moving ground guns around with hydrants further apart. But that means even with the same water flow, you are making snow in fewer areas.

See how such a statement is meaningless?

True that there is new hardware on some of the trails. But it's meaningful if you understand the history and the context. Specifically, Q got rid of a lot of their capacity and did not replace it. However they are now back to where they were before with air capacity.


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[wtcobb]

Took a ride across the river over the long weekend. Rime time on top.

Lifts were spinning for some maintenance work.

Soon...

 

[thetrailboss]

Nice! Thanks!

 

[thetrailboss]

The latest:

EB-5 Investors Object To Citibank Settlement
Hearing Next Week On $13.3 Million Settlement
Amy Ash Nixon

Two groups of investors are objecting to a settlement the federal receiver in charge of Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts has reached with Citibank, which holds $17 million in collateral for a line of credit the resorts’ owner, Ariel Quiros, has allegedly defaulted on.

Quiros was accused in April of securities fraud in what federal authorities said was a massive Ponzi-like scheme. More than $200 million of immigrant investor funds in the EB-5 program were allegedly misappropriated. His partner, Bill Stenger, was also implicated, and has since reached a settlement with the Securities Exchange Commission for cooperating in their investigation.

Quiros was further charged with having allegedly diverted more than $55 million in investor funds to his own pocket, court records show.

The federal receiver, Michael Goldberg, struck a deal with Citibank to bring a $13.3 million settlement into the coffers of the receivership to keep the two Northeast Kingdom ski resorts liquid and running, including payroll for more than 500 employees.

Goldberg said the money will also help to pay down millions owed to contractors, vendors, and others caught up in the wake of the scandal, dubbed the most massive fraud in Vermont’s history.

Under the agreement, given preliminary approval by U.S. District Court Judge Darrin Gayles, Citibank will retain $3.7 million of the collateral it holds.

Citibank says it gave a $15 million line of credit to alleged Ponzi scheme mastermind Quiros, which he has now defaulted on.

Citibank has been unable to go after Quiros in the defaulted line of credit because his assets were frozen by a federal judge when the securities fraud allegations against him were brought in April.

The settlement was agreed to in a preliminary order by a U.S. District judge in Florida, and is the subject of a hearing next week, Oct. 20, where investors and creditors have a chance to testify.

The motions filed this week are part of the record for the settlement hearing.

One of the motions objecting to the settlement was brought by a committee of investors in the Jay Peak Biomedical Research Park, which authorities have said was nearly a complete fraud and will never be built.

A total of $84.5 million was raised from 89 investors through and EB-5 offering for the biomedical park.

Those investors argue that a large portion of the collateral funds making up the proposed settlement are being targeted for facilities other than the Biomedical Phase VII project.

The group of Chinese investors, calling themselves the Group 7 Ad Hoc Committee, state they do not object to the settlement itself, but do object “to the use of the proceeds of the settlement.” They argue, through their attorney, that an order approving the settlement “must provide a benefit to Phase VII investors.”

A second motion, also filed Monday, was brought on behalf of eight foreign investors who put up more than a half-million dollars in investment in the EB-5 projects in the Northeast Kingdom, for promised permanent green cards which now are in jeopardy since the promised job creation from the economic development projects is in question and part of a complex web of state and federal court cases.

The group of State Court Plaintiffs, who have brought action through state court in Florida, are arguing against a bar order which is part of the Citibank settlement and which would prohibit all parties from going after Citibank in the future.

“The Citibank settlement will prohibit the State Court Plaintiffs from amending their Complaint, if determined through discovery, that one or more State Court Plaintiffs have viable claims against Citibank as a party defendant in their action,” the motion states.

The motion states, “The State Court Plaintiffs are asked to acquiesce to the settlement in exchange for the uncertainty that their respective Jay Peak Entities might one day bring their investments to fruition.”

“At this juncture, the State Court Plaintiffs have a well-founded reluctance to surrender valuable legal rights,” the motion states.

Most of the settlement money, nearly $11 million, is set to go toward operations at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts.

In a summary of the settlement, the federal receiver says he will use much of the settlement money, if the judge permits, to “…subsidize operations at the Jay Peak Resort and the newly opened Burke Hotel until such time as they can be sold.”

Under the settlement agreement, Citibank committed to pay the receiver in three installments: $1.8 million was paid in May; $700,000 was paid with the execution of the settlement agreement last month; and $10.8 million is set to to be paid when conditions are met, including the entry of the federal judge’s order.

 

[thetrailboss]

WCVB's "Chronicle" covers Burke and Jay. Provides a summary of the debacle with a nice ending that there is a new hotel and new facilities that are going and will be sold to a new owner(s).

http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/chronicle-uneasy-times-in-the-northeast-kingdom/42322032

 

[MEtoVTSkier]

From FB:

Fan guns firing up on Warren's Way

 

[thetrailboss]

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[oldtimer]

Congrats to the Burke Team

Not very many people came to ski, but those that did were rewarded by deep man made coverage where they had snow. The vibe among the staff was great. By Sunday morning the groomed product was excellent. After the heavy rain thursday it dried out and froze up slowly so that it ultimately groomed into an excellent surface. Some care required on Willoughby above darling point where they did manage to till up a couple of small pepples.

The mid-burke/ hotel cafeteria situation is odd. Mid-Burke lodge is open but with no food or beverage until the Bear's Den opens at 11. The cafeteria is happening at the hotel. If the Mid-Burke lodge is meant to be the staging area for day trippers who do not want to go to the base lodge, it would be nice to be able to get a cup of coffee without going down to the hotel.

It is not at all clear what they consider their "day lodge" in the mid-Burke area. The situation will be even more absurd when the Base lodge is open. 3 day lodge areas for a mountain that rarely has a crowd- not sustainable. That said, the hotel cafeteria will be crazy on days when they host weekend races if there is no mid-Burke Lodge and it is a long way from the hotel to the Poma for the race crowd.

nice weekend on the snow at Burke- I am looking forward to seeing how they do for next weekend. After this little shot of warm, temps look incredibly favorable well into the week before Christmas. Is it possible we could go either left or right off the chair during Christmas week?

 

[Smellytele]

Not very many people came to ski, but those that did were rewarded by deep man made coverage where they had snow. The vibe among the staff was great. By Sunday morning the groomed product was excellent. After the heavy rain thursday it dried out and froze up slowly so that it ultimately groomed into an excellent surface. Some care required on Willoughby above darling point where they did manage to till up a couple of small pepples.

The mid-burke/ hotel cafeteria situation is odd. Mid-Burke lodge is open but with no food or beverage until the Bear's Den opens at 11. The cafeteria is happening at the hotel. If the Mid-Burke lodge is meant to be the staging area for day trippers who do not want to go to the base lodge, it would be nice to be able to get a cup of coffee without going down to the hotel.

It is not at all clear what they consider their "day lodge" in the mid-Burke area. The situation will be even more absurd when the Base lodge is open. 3 day lodge areas for a mountain that rarely has a crowd- not sustainable. That said, the hotel cafeteria will be crazy on days when they host weekend races if there is no mid-Burke Lodge and it is a long way from the hotel to the Poma for the race crowd.

nice weekend on the snow at Burke- I am looking forward to seeing how they do for next weekend. After this little shot of warm, temps look incredibly favorable well into the week before Christmas. Is it possible we could go either left or right off the chair during Christmas week?

They should just use the old lodge for the bar and remove the cafe section and just add more seating to boot up.

 

[thetrailboss]

They should just use the old lodge for the bar and remove the cafe section and just add more seating to boot up.

That is a good point. Seems weird to have three lodges.

 

[oldtimer]

3 lodges and 3 bars- I LOVE the Bear's Den but it does not seem viable given that there is another pub 400 yards away that needs to be profitable.

That is a good point. Seems weird to have three lodges.