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So Who is Behind Powder Mountain?

BenedictGomez

BenedictGomez

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crystalmountainskier said:
The co-owners of PowMow are all from very well-known conservative families.
Click to expand...

I have no idea who is "co-owner" of Powder Mountain, but what I do know is how they're currently marketing that real estate and "life experience" to the newly wanted clientele in marketing materials, and they're sure as hades not targeting "conservative families" that's for sure.

EDIT: Who are you referring to? I just spent about 3 minutes looking into the Powder folks & they're not conservative. One of them is clearly liberal from his TWTR page. Pro-Obama, anti-Trump, pro more immigration, anti-oil, pro gay marriage, anti-gun, etc... He is a capitalist, however, but that's about it. Seems like your stereotypical Silicon Valley elite, and anything but conservative. Other guy has a very thin TWTR profile, but it's mostly about shutting down an oil pipeline (DAPL) & some black lives matter stuff.
 
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Edd

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A

AdironRider

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Edd said:
Long read here. An update on how it’s going. The short version is unhappy locals and the plans have altered dramatically.

apple.news

The young creators of a 'TED meets Burning Man' conference bought a $40-million mountain in Utah to build a Davos for hipsters. What could go wrong? — FORTUNE

The Summit Series conferences are wildly popular extravaganzas. But building an eco-friendly ski resort for the rich and famous is quite a different undertaking.
apple.news apple.news
Click to expand...

Locals upset with a ski resort development? You don’t say.....
 
1

1dog

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Just got back from there a couple weeks ago. . . . . the good ( ?) limit to 1500 skiers a day. . . on a Friday ( after being closed for a week due to electric motor failure in Paradise lift) couldn't have been 500. . . . fresh tracks everywhere, ( guided by my friend who is a local), rode the two newer lifts - those houses. . . .f'ugly. . . .
great terrain for 90% of the market. . . . just no steeps or super-challenging terrain. . . .

other good news is it may drastically increase the value of those properties in Eden and Paradise. . . . .which families will benefit from. . . .as long as the move out. . . . . already has in that valley between Snowbasin and this development. . or one can leverage the equity. . . .at 7%. . .
 
KustyTheKlown

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i was a bit smitten with powmow on my first visit a few years ago. 12" perfect pow day. great day.

after going back on this more recent trip tihs year, i'm less fond of it. mainly because of logistics. all of the lifts are very slow, except for the one main hsq. none of the lifts serve a true 2000 vertical. a run that is 2000 vertical (hsq to paradise) has a lot of run-out. most lifts serve under 1000. to get to the best terrain, you need to run a 3 lift circuit of paradise > hsq > surface lift, and then ride a long green to a long traverse, to get like 500 vert of nice skiing. the advantage to that rigamarole is that that area keeps it powder because its a bitch to get to. woodys/powder country terrain, cool, but also kinda short, and you need to wait for a shuttle bus to come get you. i havent done the cat skiing.

its just not a lot of vertical and a lot of very spread out not very steep terrain. i skied bell to bell every day of my trip out west and got 30-40k vert per day. my pow mow day i got like 22k. its inefficient. i wouldn't make a specific point to go back, compared to everything else within 1 hours drive.
 
thetrailboss

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Edd said:
Long read here. An update on how it’s going. The short version is unhappy locals and the plans have altered dramatically.

apple.news

The young creators of a 'TED meets Burning Man' conference bought a $40-million mountain in Utah to build a Davos for hipsters. What could go wrong? — FORTUNE

The Summit Series conferences are wildly popular extravaganzas. But building an eco-friendly ski resort for the rich and famous is quite a different undertaking.
apple.news apple.news
Click to expand...
Yeah, they've burned a lot of bridges.
 
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crank

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We've been going to Pow Mow off and on for about 20 years. Love it for the relaxed vibe, the ability to get away from others and find fresh tracks. Fun and funky and not for everyone.

Didn't sign up to news thingy to read article but have read others in the past. No love Summit Group but happy they haven't changed things too much...yet. Last time we were there they had cut some roads and build just a couple houses and were talking about a village with "curated" shopping/eating. I hate it when they curate things.
 
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Arrogance and hubris meets reality of development at 9,000' in someone else's back yard.......
 
thetrailboss

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Edd said:
Long read here. An update on how it’s going. The short version is unhappy locals and the plans have altered dramatically.

apple.news

The young creators of a 'TED meets Burning Man' conference bought a $40-million mountain in Utah to build a Davos for hipsters. What could go wrong? — FORTUNE

The Summit Series conferences are wildly popular extravaganzas. But building an eco-friendly ski resort for the rich and famous is quite a different undertaking.
apple.news apple.news
Click to expand...
All right, I read this last night and I've got to sat that this was a very substantive article that explained a lot. Other articles had mocked these guys but had not really delved into things. This one does. So if you want my funny lines, this is not that post. Also, the link to Fortune Magazine leads to a paywalled article. I was able to read mine through Apple News.

  1. The article confirms that the original four guys who started the Summit Series have NO money but no shortage of ideas. They pretty much made a big networking event for younger folks and were going to take it to the next level with Pow Mow but crashed.
  2. Following up on this, the four guys flew out 60 or so of their biggest fans (who had money) and asked them to bankroll the purchase and development. It appears that they raised over $40 mill with no real issue.
  3. They did a Summit Event up here with a 1/4 mile long table to seat folks and make a big spectacle. That said, they were learning that the logistics and operations were going to be much more involved than expected.
  4. Like other ski areas, these guys were involved with the EB-5 investment program and they sought a $120 million loan from a collection of Chinese EB-5 investors to actually build what they wanted. It was to be a 5-year loan. They had a developer lined up to build the hotel and other amenities by 2019 but the deal collapsed and they are in suit now.
  5. And those original investors? At least one claimed that his deal was that they would have at least 50% of the "Main Street" built by 2015 or he would get a refund. He sued and got his money back. Two others are also seeking their money back.
  6. These guys have written a book. It is referred to numerous times in the article. They admit that they were over their heads.
  7. The real interesting story is the now majority owner. He had been eyeing the place for a while to do a traditional development. He got these guys to buy into the deal--they owned the other half. When things went south, Greg Mauro became the majority owner and is now pursuing developing a part of this into a traditional exclusive club.
  8. The reason why the place is stagnant is because of the failure of Summit. They had no "professional board" running things. They had no idea what to do and ended up running out of money. The article states that in 2017 alone they were $2.2 mill in the red and hemorrhaging money with a payroll of $14 million in 2016 and 2017 combined. The current management is portioning off projects for others to develop.
  9. They asked, and got, Weber County to back an $18 million bond to upgrade the road and install infrastructure (sewer and water). Summit promised a $2 billion buildout with 1,000 jobs. Summit later had to downgrade that number to $1 billion. None of it has come to fruition. Some of the ideas (reusing sewage, water-conservation, etc) were good, others were pretty stupid (hiring a consultant to find the "feminine energy" in a saddle on the mountain, a "brain lab" for alternative medicine, an outpost for the "U.S. Institute for Peace", and a virtual University to name a few).
  10. Mauro and others saw that their ideas were crazy and that there were many, many red flags. First, over 40 other prospective buyers toured and walked away before these guys. Second, at over 9,000 feet above sea level, the village would be difficult to design and build. Third, the road is the steepest in Utah. Last, the land-use restrictions and other issues would make things incredibly difficult.
The end result? It is in limbo right now. Some houses are built, but no amenities and nothing near what they were thinking. Summit Series is still going but is back at hotels and cruises and will not be here. And that Greg Mauro guy, a developer, is largely driving things while a few of these guys watch from their expensive homes paid for by their networking parties.


 
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