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Homewood buys alpine meadows
Powdr Corp. has agreed to sell Alpine Meadows ski resort to JMA Ventures, the owner of Homewood Mountain Resort. The transaction is expected to become final in June, pending Forest Service approval and the usual closing considerations. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

If completed, the sale will add to a growing list of Tahoe holdings for JMA Ventures. The San Francisco-based company owns Homewood Mountain Resort, the Tahoe Inn near Crystal Bay, and is planning a high-end hotel and restaurant along the Truckee River in downtown Truckee. The company hopes to build a village at the base of the Homewood ski area, though JMA is moving cautiously on that project; plans have yet to be submitted to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Park City-based Powdr Corp. continues to own Boreal and Soda Springs resorts on Donner Summit, and those resorts’ operation is expected to remain the same.


Snowbowl snowmaking battle continues
The battle over snowmaking continues at Arizona Snowbowl, where resort operators have proposed to use reclaimed water to make snow. A recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling overturned a previous decision that would have allowed Snowbowl to move forward with its upgrade proposal. The Court’s decision could have a much greater impact on land use in the west as environmental groups and North American tribes use the ruling to protect other sacred sites, of which there are 50,000 in the U.S.


ASC Closes on sales
American Skiing Company (ASC) and Intrawest completed the sale of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation in early March. Purchase price at the time the deal was announced in December was $265 million. But after preliminary adjustments for working capital and debt assumed by the buyer, and income realized by ASC from this current season, final proceeds to ASC were $239.1 million.

A little over a month later, Peak Resorts closed on the purchase of Mount Snow and Attitash resorts from ASC. The sale agreement, announced on Feb. 16, includes all properties and assets of Mount Snow and Attitash resorts, for a purchase price of $73.5 million. In addition, Peak Resorts assumed approximately $2 million in debt and other liabilities related to the resorts.

For its remaining resorts, ASC announced that the company was looking for buyers for its two Maine resorts: Sunday River and Sugarloaf. Should the two resorts sell, ASC will be left with The Canyons only, and that area is in a dispute over a lease concerning land that the area operates on.


retail sales down
Snowsports retail sales at specialty stores declined three percent for the August through January period this year compared to the prior season, according to the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit. Sales totaled $1.37 billion compared to $1.41 billion in 2006 as an eight percent gain in apparel sales helped offset declines in accessories and hard goods. Unit sales were down three percent. The retail performance was surprisingly good, considering the warm temperatures and lack of natural snow that persisted east of the Mississippi throughout much of January.


OBITS
Aubrey A. Knight, 98, died on March 15, 2007. Knight left his mark on the ski industry as a master splicer, splicing his first cables at Aspen, Breckenridge and Vail. Knight was also instrumental in organizing the Rocky Mountain Lift Association.

Bob Nordhaus, 97, died on February 22, 2007. Nordhaus, a member of the NM Ski Hall of Fame, was responsible for the creation of Sandia Peak Ski Area and the tramway. He also was part of the group that bought Santa Fe Ski Area. Nordhaus served in the 10th Mountain Division and took part in the Riva Ridge attacks.


People
Jules Older was a recipient of the Harold S. Hirsch Award of Excellence in Snow­ sports Journalism for his work in columns writing. . .Pat O’Donnell was the first winner of the Mountain Travel Industry Achievement Award for his long-time activism and leadership in environmental protection.

New Hampshire’s Chief of Tramway and Amusement Ride Safety, Bruce Burroughs, retired after 11 years of service.

Logan Price is the new snowsports director at The Homestead, Mich.

At Sundown Mountain, Iowa, Deborah Schmidt was welcomed to the marketing department.

At Alpine Valley, Tim Knox became the new ski school director.

In Colorado, Roger McCarthy, COO of Breckenridge and co-president of Vail Resorts’ mountain division, resigned to develop a new ski resort in Russia. . .Greg Finch was promoted to president of Dundee Realty USA, owner of Arapahoe Basin, Colo., and Bear Valley in California. Jim Gentling became the VP and COO of Bear Valley while Alan Henceroth became VP and COO of Arapahoe Basin. . .Bob Murphy was promoted to VP of resort services and the ski and snowboard school at Telluride.

Les Otten, founder of American Skiing Company, resigned from the company’s board of directors. . .At Park City, Utah, Brian Suhadolc was promoted to operations manager.

At Intrawest, Dave Brownlie became COO, Intrawest Mountain Resorts, Canada. David Barry moved up to COO, Intrawest Mountain Resorts, U.S. Kevin Smith was named CFO, Intrawest Mountain Resorts. Steve Rice, formerly head of the Eastern mountain resorts for Intrawest, left the company and joined CNL to oversee the REIT’s Eastern operations.


Supplier News
The ticketing company, Axess, announced that Alta will be installing the new double reader, AX 500 SmartGate system for the 2007/08 season. The system will allow hands-free, RFID passes for Alta’s customers, who can purchase tickets on-line and track vertical.

Acordia, Inc., has changed its name to Wells Fargo Insurance Services. Wells Fargo acquired Acordia in 2001, and now wants the company to be associated with the strong Wells Fargo name.

Charles Blier has started his own business, called Resort Consulting Services, LLC, which will specialize in organizational alignment, business planning and project management. His website is www.resortcs.com.


Supplier People
Chris Nyberg is stepping down from his VP position at Prinoth. As a result, the company has restructured its staff. Jim Coughlin, the Northeast USA regional manager has been promoted to director, Eastern North America sales and after sales support. Peter Craig, Mid Atlantic product representative, Al Cooper, Eastern trail grooming sales manager and Guy Massicotte, Eastern Canada regional manager, will work under Coughlin. Greg Clowers, the Intermountain regional manager, has been promoted to the position of director, Western North America sales and after sales support. Joe Clark, Rocky Mountain regional manager, John Swartz, Far West regional manager, and Ken Graves, Western Canada regional manager, will work under Clowers. Chris Perkins, the China and Southern Hemisphere export manager, has been promoted to director of sales and marketing for Asia/Southern Hemisphere and will also be responsible for marketing activities in North America. Norman Glen, parts and service manager, has been promoted to director of operations in the Granby, Quebec facility.

Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., announced the appointment of Dylan West as claims specialist for the Mountain­Guard Program in the Willis of New Hampshire office.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services announced the addition of Mistica Walker as claims representative in its Lakewood, Colo., office.

TRM North America hired Brian Tito Alex to work in sales and installations.


Correction
In our annual lift construction survey (SAM, January 2007), a Doppelmayr CTEC was omitted. Wolf Ridge, Colo., put in a fixed quad that is 1,550 feet long covering 275 feet of vertical, giving it a VTFH of 330.

Also in the survey, the detachable quad put in at Whistler was listed with a vertical of 508 feet. Well, that is actually in meters. In feet, the lift measures 1,666 feet.

With these additions, the total number of lifts comes to 32 with a combined VTFH of 67,233. Not bad!