Yellowstone Club Sold

[WWF-VT]

Greed, Bankruptcy and the Super Rich

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905u/yellowstone-club

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

When I used to frequent Big Sky..it was always cool looking down on the Yellowstone Club from the top of Lone Peak and Liberty Bowl..really not that large of a ski area but being about to ski fresh powder days after a storm right under the lift and fresh cord at 330PM is a huge draw..plus they apparently have fresh baked Chocolate chip cookies everywhere you turn. The number of Lear Jets at Gallatin Field(Bozeman airport) was insane...

 

[Johnskiismore]

Darn, I was going to join.......

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

wow....pretty impressive for a members-only resort....

Over 2,200 skiable acres
2,700 vertical feet
Top elevation of 9,860 feet
400 inches of average annual snowfall

Pioneer Mountain Chairlifts:
3 bubbled high-speed quads
1 fixed-grip double
1 fixed-grip triple
Andesite Mountain Chairlifts:
1 bubbled high-speed quad
1 transverse "no-tensioning" lift
1 bubbled pulse quad

More than 60 Runs:
15% Beginner
55% Intermediate
30% Expert

all that and Warren Miller is the "honorary director of skiing"!

http://www.theyellowstoneclub.com/skiing/skiing.aspx

 

[wa-loaf]

Nice, need more Judges like that.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

A few years ago the YC sued to gain access to the summit of Lone Peak shared by Big Sky and MB. They lost, it cost them a bunch of money, investers were not happy with the YC's leadership. Not mentioned much but I personally feel that losing this effort to be able to expand to the summit was an additional push down a slippery slope financially for the YC.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

wow....pretty impressive for a members-only resort....

Over 2,200 skiable acres
2,700 vertical feet
Top elevation of 9,860 feet
400 inches of average annual snowfall

Pioneer Mountain Chairlifts:
3 bubbled high-speed quads
1 fixed-grip double
1 fixed-grip triple
Andesite Mountain Chairlifts:
1 bubbled high-speed quad
1 transverse "no-tensioning" lift
1 bubbled pulse quad

More than 60 Runs:
15% Beginner
55% Intermediate
30% Expert

all that and Warren Miller is the "honorary director of skiing"!

http://www.theyellowstoneclub.com/skiing/skiing.aspx

There's no way the Yellowstone club averages 400 inches of snowfall per year..

 

[Geoff]

I'm kind of surprised that the members didn't just throw money into the hat and buy the place out as a co-op.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I'm kind of surprised that the members didn't just throw money into the hat and buy the place out as a co-op.

In alot of ways these private ski resorts are a co-op. The resort is owned by the member investors, there is a BOD and instead of costing $2000 to play at MRG it costs $300,000. At MRG each member is required to spend a certain amount of money each season. At the YC I guess you were required to build a Montana mcmansion.

Sure the vibe is completely diferent and MRG is a non-profit but the similarities are there versus your typical resort ownership structure.

 

[jaywbigred]

They did a lot wrong, but you can understand the allure of the concept...

 

[AdironRider]

If I had the cash Id buy a spot there in a second. Scored access on a 12" day there a few years back. Untouched, every run, all day. No joke. Theres something to said for a bunch of rich dudes who cant ski keeping the goods all nice and tidy for ya.

 

[dbking]

Sure, there are a few old dudes that ski there. I thought that I would tear the place up and get adopted by some rich person. Not true. Just like real nice country clubs' members are usually pretty good golfers, so it goes at the Club. These folks all took the lessons as did their children and grand children. And the instructors are world class skiers. Some former World Cup racers.
If I could afford a house at the club, I would live somewhere else. They destroyed a beautiful forest to build that place. They have been without money for a few years now and nobody is putting a " responsible clean-up" of the construction mess as a priority. The EPA gets them every once in a while but they miss 99% of the violations.
It is an awesome ski experience. Yeah GSS, they average about 400" a year. The terrain is pretty good... not as good as Big Sky... but the conditions ( hardly any other skiers ) make the place a geat time. And I think it is safe to say that the service is second to none at a ski area.
Start saving your money!

 

[Warp Daddy]

Hats Off to the Judge !!

We need MORE responsible actions in the courts that reflect the courage and leadership of this judge . Greed and lust for power will always be there UNTIL CONSEQUENCES are meted out that add severe punitive action on greedhog's that perpetrate these schemes . Hit 'em BIG TIME where they live in their damn pocketbooks !

 

[bigbog]

....

Hats Off to the Judge !!

We need MORE responsible actions in the courts that reflect the courage and leadership of this judge . Greed and lust for power will always be there UNTIL CONSEQUENCES are meted out that add severe punitive action on greedhog's that perpetrate these schemes . Hit 'em BIG TIME where they live in their damn pocketbooks !

1+

 

[dbking]

Yup, the judge did the right thing in this case. Alot of people got burned for trying to work honestly. When the Club failed to pay many local contractors it really knocked the community's dick in the dirt. Oh sorry. Can I say that ? Besides the big builders and road bosses, alot of smaller business people got hurt. I know a fishing guide who is owed over $10,000 and a few others that lost thousands. It appears the the judge ruled to make sure everyone gets paid. The home owners lost millions in real estate value. Oh well... make some, lose some. The bad publicity will crush this place. If it really falls flat, maybe Big Sky can buy it and connect the two.

 

[Geoff]

Sure, there are a few old dudes that ski there. I thought that I would tear the place up and get adopted by some rich person. Not true. Just like real nice country clubs' members are usually pretty good golfers, so it goes at the Club. These folks all took the lessons as did their children and grand children. And the instructors are world class skiers. Some former World Cup racers.
If I could afford a house at the club, I would live somewhere else. They destroyed a beautiful forest to build that place. They have been without money for a few years now and nobody is putting a " responsible clean-up" of the construction mess as a priority. The EPA gets them every once in a while but they miss 99% of the violations.
It is an awesome ski experience. Yeah GSS, they average about 400" a year. The terrain is pretty good... not as good as Big Sky... but the conditions ( hardly any other skiers ) make the place a geat time. And I think it is safe to say that the service is second to none at a ski area.
Start saving your money!

The couple of people I know who own there are very strong skiers who also happen to have more money than god.

 

[abc]

I'm kind of surprised that the members didn't just throw money into the hat and buy the place out as a co-op.

They come out better this way.

Had they buy the club outright, they would have to pay back the loan. With bankrupcy, they pay 30cent on a dollar.

Kind of like if your landlord is falling behind on his mortgage payment, do you help by pyaing extra rent? No, you wait till the bank forcloses and buy it dirt cheap. You still get to live in it. Or negociate with the new landlord for lower rent. He's more likely to agree since he has a lot lower mortgage.

Unlike MRG, YC doens't have half as much a competition. So it's not like it'll actually stop operating.

 

[riverc0il]

Sure the vibe is completely diferent and MRG is a non-profit but the similarities are there versus your typical resort ownership structure.

I don't recall MRG being non-profit. Stark Mountain Foundation is a non-profit partner but I don't think the coop is.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

A few years ago the YC sued to gain access to the summit of Lone Peak shared by Big Sky and MB. They lost, it cost them a bunch of money, investers were not happy with the YC's leadership. Not mentioned much but I personally feel that losing this effort to be able to expand to the summit was an additional push down a slippery slope financially for the YC.

I'm not sure that was a factor at all. None of YC is located on Lone Peak, so there was never any issue of them "expand(ing) to the summit". It was a land dispute where they were essentially trying to extort BS and MB by claiming some sort of ownership of a piece of the peak.

Much more of a factor was the Blixesth's using their debt capital as their personal piggy bank for an ill-advised expansion into the luxury vacation property club business.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I'm not sure that was a factor at all. None of YC is located on Lone Peak, so there was never any issue of them "expand(ing) to the summit".

from the Bozeman Chronicle -

"In 2003, Blixseth filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service over who owns the top of Lone Mountain Peak. He claimed the land belonged to him as part of the Big Sky Lumber land exchanges of 1999. He said the peak could support another lift and was worth a fortune. U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull dismissed the lawsuit ruling Moonlight Basin has existing domain to the peak because owner patent was issued to Moonlight Basin before Blixseth’ land exchanges were authorized by Congress. The boundaries of two national forests as well as the Lee Metcalf Wilderness all converge near Lone Mountain’s 11,166 ft. summit."