August 11, 2008
There's A New Sheriff In Town - Is There Optimism Around The 'Bend'?

Powdr Corp. hung out an "Under New Management" sign at Mount Bachelor. It appears the fresh breeze rolling through the Cascade Mountains of Central Oregon has a name: Dave Rathbun. The winds of change became a foregone conclusion when a significant disconnect with many in the energetic, outdoor-focused community of Bend and its 75,000 residents took on a life of its own. The biggest straw to break was a lift - the Sunrise Express - on New Year's Eve day, stranding skiers and riders. That incident was followed by a "clustering of chairs" upon morning start-up at the bottom terminal of the Pine Martin Express 11 days later, resulting in operators having to run the lift in reverse to off-load approximately 15 passengers. Both incidents, regardless of the "here's why it happened" part, received widespread media coverage and led to a perception that the resort's lifts were not safe. ...continue reading »

An IR In-Depth Report Beetlemania Returns, But Is Decidedly Unwelcome

Mountain pine beetles, an endemic native insect that inhabits the Rocky Mountains, are at epidemic levels in vast areas of North American forest, particularly in Colorado, Montana, parts of Utah, and much of British Columbia. But, is the impact more economical than ecological? "The whole range of the mountain pine beetle, from Mexico to Canada, is under outbreak," Allan Carroll, an insect ecologist with the Canadian Forest Service in Victoria, B.C. told The Industry Report. "British Columbia is undergoing the biggest outbreak to date in any part of the mountain beetle range since the 1990s. The area affected is now roughly 36 million acres, about the size of Nepal, or one-and-a-half times as big as Maine or Indiana," Carroll said. ...continue reading »

Mirror, Mirror On The Slopes: Euro Real Estate Is Mixed Bag

The purchase of ski resort property across Europe's slowly dissolving international borders has boomed in recent decades as the continent has mirrored a number of North American traits. "There is no doubt that there has been a slowdown in the purchasing of ski property for the first half of this year, but we are also in the height of summer typically when a slowdown occurs. Come September, we hope the mood will shift towards a more positive latter half of '08," said Bertie Sanderson, Director of Marketing and New Business for Erna Low Property told The Industry Report. Erna Low Property is the leading ski property sales company for U.K. buyers looking to purchase in Europe and North America. "The old adage of 'location, location, location' will be more important than ever now, so altitude and high quality and high occupancy will be key," Sanderson said. "Already popular established resorts will remain popular, such as the Chamonix Valley, Vallorcine in particular, in France, where great infrastructural investment is been channeled. The same is true for Meribel, Les Arcs, Serre Chevalier, Val d'Isere, and Tignes." ...continue reading »

July 31, 2008
Red Lodge Residents Flee From Fire; No Structures Damaged So Far

Red Lodge Resort, and more than 90 nearby homes in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, have been evacuated by fire officials. The Industry Report has received an early evening update on Thursday (July 31) noting a red flag warning has been issued for the entire Cascade Fire area for high winds associated with a cold front passing through the area. The Structure Protection Group at Red Lodge has been placed on alert. ...continue reading »

July 28, 2008
An IR In-Depth Report: Mountain Real Estate Sales Wed To Supply And Demand Right Now

Call it supply and demand meets exclusivity, with abundance causing value and price to drop, and scarcity keeping or driving value and price up. News may be bleak in some sectors of U.S. real estate, but it seems that the wealthiest among us continue to spend their money on high-end properties in exclusive places such as mountain resorts. "We're definitely seeing the strength in the $1 million and above range, and below $600,000. It's all cash buyers above $1 million, and below $600,000, it's cash or a reasonable loan," Ryan Williams, marketing manager for the Ritz Carlton Club at Northstar-at-Tahoe, Calif., told The Industry Report. ...continue reading »

Energy Is Overriding Issue Facing Midwest Resorts, Says Crystal's Jim MacInnes

A spa at a mountain resort is a spa at a mountain resort. Right? Not this one. The Crystal Spa is a $4 million, 13,000-square-foot expansion to the existing indoor pool and fitness center at Michigan's Crystal Mountain Resort. It will open in December to arguably become the Midwest's most complete destination spa. But there will be a difference in this facility that Crystal Mountain CEO and President Jim MacInnes believes will set the direction for helping to reduce spiraling energy costs than anything ski resorts can do. The Crystal Spa will be among the first LEED-certified mountain resort facilities in the Midwest. LEED-certified facilities are those that undergo a rigorous, independent, third-party verification that the project is environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy. LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. ...continue reading »

Follow On The News: Carpooling 'As Well As Expected' Says Kirkwood's Cohee

Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe region of the California High Sierra jumped out ahead of the pro-active pack last winter as gas costs rose faster than even the prodigious snowpack. The resort teamed with SnowBomb.com, an online lift ticket retailer, to launch a pilot ride-sharing program. (See IR 7/14 re: gas situation.) "The first year went as well as we hoped and expected," Kirkwood President Tim Cohee told The Industry Report. "Moving into year two with winter 08/09, we have higher expectations as our partnership with SnowBomb has been redefined." More than 500 persons had registered for the ride-sharing program within 24 hours of its launch, report's SnowBomb founder Jim McAlpine. There were nearly 2,000 members interacting online by season's end. The company estimates the program led to 1,000 less cars on the highway. ...continue reading »