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Mountain News: Vail Resorts survives drought

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Vail Resorts, operator of four ski areas in Colorado and now three in California, survived the early season drought reasonably well — at least for now.
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SNOW SURVIVOR Vail Resorts is reporting it made it through the snow-deprived early winter season.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Vail Resorts, operator of four ski areas in Colorado and now three in California, survived the early season drought reasonably well — at least for now.

Skier visits dropped about five per cent in Colorado, for the early portion of winter through February, but more than 30 per cent at its Tahoe Basin resorts.

And with the drought came increased expenses: snowmaking alone cost the company $2.2 million more this season than the same period of December-February of the previous winter, according to company officials who spoke at a quarterly earning call covered by the Vail Daily.

But season passes had sold briskly before the ski season began. And the average daily rate at lodges owned by Vail Resorts has increased nearly 14 per cent, according to Rob Katz, the chief executive. He said that revenue from food operations is up nearly 10 per cent. And he also said that the number of international visitors has increased.

Altogether, the glad tidings from corporate headquarters mean a dividend of 18.75 cents per share.The company recently added California's Kirkwood to its ski area holdings. Katz has been open — if not specific — about his interest in adding yet more resort properties to the corporate fold. While Vail Resort officials have visited China, industry insiders suspect the company's international move may be in the Alps, reports Mountain Town News.

Mammoth lays off 75

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. – Some 75 people have been laid off and other employees at Mammoth Mountain ski area have had their pay cut as a result of this winter's subpar snow conditions.

Half of the ski company's $150 million in projected annual revenue is paid out in wages, reports The Sheet.

Rusty Gregory, the chief executive at Mammoth Mountain, told town officials that the ski company's revenues would be off 30 per cent. This is despite ramped-up efforts to make more snow. But the added water and electricity were costly, he said.

As always, the 6-foot-4 Gregory was good for a memorable quote. "We fared better than our peers," he said, speaking of snow conditions, "which makes me the tallest man at a midget contest."

High-end real estate recovers

CANMORE, Alberta – Real estate sales seem to be picking up in ski towns.

In Alberta, developers of the resort called Three Sisters Living report stronger buyer interest, according to the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

"We probably had more traffic than in the last three years. Things are picking up in the industry," said Mike Butt, general manager of the Swan Group, one of the four building groups helping build the 200 housing units now planned.

In Colorado, the Vail area had a very strong January — with the most sales since January 2008. As before, the high end is propping up the average sale price of $1.2 million. Trevor Theelke, of Land Title Guarantee, reported several top-of-shelf sales prices: one house in Vail that sold for $13 million, and another at Beaver Creek that sold for $11 million. But sales activity has also been vigorous in the down-valley communities, home of the carpenters and electricians that built the mansions.

Vail Resorts, the ski and real estate company, also reported improving markets for luxury real estate at both Vail and Breckenridge.

"The feel is pretty good in both markets," said Jeff Jones, the co-president of Vail Resorts, in a quarterly earning conference call covered by the Vail Daily. "That speaks well to the luxury component coming back."

Still, the company is in no hurry to begin pouring footers for its next big project, a $1 billion affair in Vail in gestation for the last decade. It's called Ever Vail, and because of the recession, it may be forever before it's ready for market. It is still seeking entitlements from town authorities but with no sense of urgency.

Ralston describes Hell

BISHOP, Calif. – In the way of youngsters, some of the 1,000 students in the Inyoa County schools who heard former Aspen resident Aron Ralston talk about his woebegone adventure in 2003 had perplexing and interesting questions.

For example, would he have rather lost his leg than his arm, one student wanted to know.

Depending upon the activity, both are needed, replied Ralston, who lost his arm in April 2003 after it got wedged between boulders during his solo adventure in Utah's Canyonlands National Park.

"Hell isn't hot and crowded," he said in recalling his situation. "It's cold and lonely at the bottom of a canyon. I was standing in my own grave."

Ralston's book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was chosen for the Community Reads program in the Bishop-Mammoth Lakes communities this year. It recounts his adventuring life and the circumstances and aftermath of his desperate decision to cut off his own arm in order to survive.

"May the challenges in your life bring out what's extraordinary in you," he told the students.

Loopy legal briefs

ASPEN, Colo. A year ago, a man and his companions were waiting in line for a lift at Aspen Highlands. Tending to a barbecue grille, a lift attendant had a momentary lapse, failing to warn the riders that a jake table — a removable metal rig used to transport injured skiers — was still attached to a chair.

His two companions ducked, but Ryan Bradley got whacked. He shrugged it off, and accepted a voucher for lunch. But later, after a diagnosis of a tear in his shoulder and surgery, he sued the Aspen Skiing Co. for $100,000.

So far, simple enough, but the Aspen Daily News points out that a judge must now weigh countering arguments about liability and the contractual agreement involved in a season ski pass. The injured man's lawyer says that the ski industry is a "public service of great importance." But the legal beagles for the Aspen Skiing Co. argue that their company operates a business that is not "practically necessary."

That may be true, but it's not an argument you normally hear a ski company make.

Grand Traverse upsizes

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. – The Grand Traverse, a 40-mile race that starts just before midnight in Crested Butte and finishes 8 to 16 hours later in Aspen, surely is one of the epic adventures of the West. And now, organizers hope to expand it — just a bit.

It was first held in 1998, based on the routes used by mail carriers to link Crested Butte and Aspen during the 1880s, before they were linked by railroads.

Typically, 200 racers compete, skiing to more than 12,000 feet in elevation before descending through the Aspen Ski Area. The two-person teams usually take 8 to 16 hours. Total elevation gain is 7,800 feet.

"Ten or 15 years ago, this was an unbelievable event. But now there are more events around the U.S. that are like it. There are more athletes interested in this kind of race, and there's an opportunity get onto the stage," co-director Julene Szuba told the Crested Butte News.

So far, there have been no major accidents, although a team one year got off course and had to spend the night in a cabin.

This year, organizers have reached out, hoping to draw more people to Crested Butte. The event will begin at 11 p.m. on March 30. There are 150 two-person teams.

Park City on sideline

PARK CITY, Utah – For the time being, municipal officials in Park City have chosen not to take a position on connecting ski resorts along the spine of the Wasatch Range.

For decades, there has been talk about linking two or more of the seven resorts. But this year, legislation has been introduced in Congress that would direct the sale of Forest Service land to help effect a link across the range. The most immediate prospect is of a gondola connecting Canyons, located in the Park City area, and Solitude, which is a relative few miles away, but on the west side of the range, near Alta and Snowbird.

By an overwhelming margin, Utah legislators recently adopted a resolution in support of the concept. The result, according to the resolution, "would create a skiing experience unavailable anywhere else in North America and reposition Utah's ski and snowboard experience to be even more competitive and attractive relative to other states."

While this talk of connecting the siblings along the Wasatch continues, relationships between two of the existing resorts operating in the Park City area have frayed. Park City Mountain Resort leases land from Talisker, operator of the Canyons. The two had been negotiating for three years about terms of the lease, but they have apparently not gone well.

Park City Mountain Resorts has now filed a lawsuit and accuses Talisker of trying to shut it down. Talisker denies the charge, and accuses Park City of trying to use legislation to better its negotiating stance, reports The Park Record.

Another Telluride festival?

TELLURIDE, Colo. – Telluride's summer festival calendar is getting filled out. In mid-August, it will be a stop on the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, which this year starts in Durango and ends in Denver. Two weeks later it will have, as it always does, half of the nation's film critics in town for the annual Telluride Film Festival.

Between the two now comes the potential for another music festival at the town park. The venue can accommodate up to 9,000 people, as it did two summers ago when Phish played Telluride for a two-night stand. Event organizers promise to set aside 2,000 tickets for local residents, reports the Telluride Daily Planet.

Bears already in trash

ASPEN, Colo. – Bears have already been rifling through trash cans in Aspen. Wildlife biologists tell the Aspen Daily News that it's a little early. The first report came on March 5, whereas in other years the first reports of pillaging bears came somewhere between March 17 and April 1. Aspen police say that while it may still be winter, homeowners are legally obligated to lock up their trash in bear-resistant containers.