Another life for Tamarack?

[montanaskier]

BOISE, Idaho — Homeowners at a failed central Idaho resort want to resurrect ski lift operations next winter and are asking the state, a bankruptcy judge and creditors who are owed hundreds of millions to go along with their plan.

The Tamarack Municipal Association, which represents property owners at Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, said they'd use some of their reserves to initiate a four-day, Thursday-through-Sunday ski season starting in December. The resort hasn't had a ski season since mothballing the lifts in March 2009.

Its majority owner, Jean-Pierre Boespflug, is trying to find a buyer while the resort's finances are sorted out in bankruptcy court.

Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group is among dozens of creditors trying to recover hundreds of millions in unpaid debts.

The homeowners said Thursday they have a business plan showing they could break even.

Two ski lifts that are subject to litigation because Bank of America's leasing unit wants to repossess them wouldn't be operated, according to the plan. The five lifts that would be used provide access to most of the skiing terrain on 7,700-foot West Mountain.

The homeowners would likely have to work out an agreement with the state, because the resort failed to pay its $250,000 annual lease for state land where most ski runs are located, and another payment is due next year. Homeowners pledged to make a "substantial payment" in exchange for a winter recreation season.

"That's one of the things that will need to be resolved," said Scott Peyron, a spokesman for the homeowners who hope their proposal can go before the Idaho Land Board in September.

Season passes would cost $199.

A lawyer for the Idaho Department of Land said getting all the players on board and reopening the resort, even for limited skiing, likely won't be easy.

"All of the interested parties are going to have to sit down and say, 'This makes sense,' " said Robert Follett, a deputy attorney general, adding any deal wouldn't release Tamarack from its obligation to make good on its underlying lease.

A Credit Suisse Group spokeswoman in New York declined to comment.

Last year, the bank opposed a plan by some owners to fire up lifts with a $7.9 million loan from a Mexican real estate investor. That deal collapsed amid opposition from the Swiss bankers to provisions ensuring the Mexican lender would be repaid before other creditors who are already owed more than $300 million.

Peyron said the homeowners aren't asking for similar concessions with their latest proposal.

Boespflug told The Associated Press Thursday he supports this proposal, in part because operating ski lifts will help make the resort easier to market to potential buyers and because it will help prop up flagging property values of homes whose prices collapsed when the lifts were idled more than a year ago.

Boespflug has so far been unable to find a buyer, amid a complicated tangle of demands from a syndicate of lenders — headed by Credit Suisse — who want their money back.

"There is nothing to report on this process," Boespflug said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers would also have to agree to the homeowners' plan.

In April, Myers agreed to give Boespflug a chance to reorganize Tamarack's debt and ask creditors to modify terms of loans, rather than holding a fire sale.

On Monday, Myers gave Boespflug another 90 days to resolve lease issues with Idaho over 2,124 acres of state-owned land, according to federal bankruptcy court documents.

[enlosandes]

I hope they can get it sorted out and the community gets their ski area back!

[Sol Skier]

Do the lifts need inspection before they can operate? Could the inspections be completed before ski season?

[danimal's dead]

I've never been up there, how is the terrain, how much snow does that area get, anyone know? Maybe we could buy it collectivley and run it like Silverton without all the avi worries, I have to imagine it's pretty mellow.

[MtnRA]

I've never been up there, how is the terrain, how much snow does that area get, anyone know? Maybe we could buy it collectivley and run it like Silverton without all the avi worries, I have to imagine it's pretty mellow.

Purchasing (or creating) ski areas amongst the people and operating them like Silverton (with open boundaries) is a fantastic idea!

[Bunion 2020]

I hope they can get it sorted out and the community gets their ski area back!

Tamarack was never the Community Ski Area. That is up the road a bit at Brundage.

Tamarack was never a good idea except to sell real estate.

[moonlightdbag]

Ding Ding Ding! ^^^^^ spot on

[ChaosVon]

Tamarack was never the Community Ski Area. That is up the road a bit at Brundage.

Tamarack was never a good idea except to sell real estate.

Very true. Valley county has never benefited from Tamarack and the whole operation has only taken jobs away from us after they gave us a lot of empty promises.

[DharmaBum]

I've never been up there, how is the terrain, how much snow does that area get, anyone know? Maybe we could buy it collectivley and run it like Silverton without all the avi worries, I have to imagine it's pretty mellow.

One of the local nicknames for this place is, Tamaflats. Nobody will mistake it for Silverton.

[Vets]

I skied there two years ago. The inbounds terrain wasn't all that impressive. As I recall it had a lot of short semi-steep pitches that transitioned to long flats leading to compressions if you didn't anticipate them. On the other hand the two different out of bounds/sidecountry runs that I did had great terrain with sustained pitches, better snow, and less people.

I hope that they are able to turn things around and reopen as it is sad when any ski resort closes.

I also had the opportunity to ski Brundage and Bogus Basin and really enjoyed both places a lot.

[enlosandes]

Tamarack was never the Community Ski Area. That is up the road a bit at Brundage.

Tamarack was never a good idea except to sell real estate.

Thanks for the clarification.

[neckdeep]

Maybe we could buy it collectivley and run it like Silverton without all the avi worries, I have to imagine it's pretty mellow.

Don't mistake a death rattle for signs of life...

Notice that the actual stakeholders, the homeowner suckas from Boise, are not trying to buy this failure. The principal secured creditors don't want to run it. Noone wants to buy this sour turd. The debt load doesn't go away just because it changes hands. There are already creditors that want the infrastructure stripped and sold for whatever they can get. The owner can't sell it because it had several operating years to prove that it only provides a thin cash stream of revenue but it is encumbered by deep debt. Why buy trouble? It is currently worthless as a business. Any purchaser would have to be netting over 20 mil in profits annually merely to keep up with debt service and massive legal bills. Don't cry for the homeowners loosing their value-added playpen. It's over and it serves 'em right for stampeding in and driving $250,000 building lots up over $750,000 in under three years. Don't cry for greedy fools.

Land values here in the Teton Valley are now nearly back to where they were 12 years ago, long before we became the hottest real estate play in the West. 20 acre subdividable lots that used to be offered for a million are now down in the $150-200K range. Luxury 2nd home prices are down about 60%-70% off the peak. Bottom feeders are now paying around 400 grand for golf course mcmansions that were marketed as can't fail 1-1.5 million buck investments only three years ago. And we have the TETONS and a functioning resort with some of the best snow in the land. McCall is ok but it ain't shit compared to this area. Can you say schadenfroi?

[allTandA]

Schadenfroi, WOOT! i said it







.....is he related to Huntsman?

[AdironRider]

I read in an advertisement of all places that Huntsman Springs in Driggs will cover your ass if the house you buy there loses value, and let you keep everything if it appreciates. Really?

I wonder if anyone will believe that.


And Im tickled pink that in the three years Ive lived in the Jackson area, it went from like hell youll ever live here permanently, to 100 grand will get you 3 beds, 2 baths on a couple acres with water rights in Victor. Hell Ive even seen a couple places in Jackson for only like 4 hundo. Christ three years ago those shitty 70's ranches in East Jackson were going for a million plus.

[AdironRider]

Back to Tamarack, Credit Suisse or whatever its called needs to realize they hold some of the risk as well, and if they want to see any money back, they better take a loss as well.


That irks me a ton, lenders are taking a risk as well, yet they think they should be paid when shit hits the fan. You fucked up to Suisse, get over it.

Tamarack cant be that shitty of a sell can it if you drop the debt issue. Brand fucking new everything has got to be pretty nice. Im sure I could find something fun there.

They letting backcountry users poach it for the time being?

[splat]

Schadenfroi, WOOT! i said it







.....is he related to Huntsman?

Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

[snacktray]

I had the opportunity to visit Tamarack several years ago when our family biz was doing a portion of the road work. (We were one of the lucky ones to get paid for our work.) I was impressed with the overall layout for an all season resort but the real estate prices were thru the freakin roof! I was under the impression they had thoughts of competing with far neighboring Sun Valley.
The terrain seemed to be fairly tame. Quite a bit of snowmaking capability. I've driven to Donnelly from Spokane and from Boise. Its a bitch either way and no place to stay.You had to drive to Cascade or McCall for a motel. I really didnt get putting that kind investment into a first class resort without a draw from a major city.
I do hope for the sake of the investors and neighboring communities that it finds a way to stay afloat. It could provide alot of jobs and...another option for area skiers/boarders. Good Luck

[splat]

The drive up and down 95 has always been a slow and lonely one. There aren't a lot of open space places that variably beautiful that aren't built out. Most of the towns along it relied on logging, so an alternative means of supporting the communities was big shit. But with perhaps way too much optimism. Hopefully, the banks have to eat the majority of the debt and the locals get to keep the best chairs/terrain open and salvage/sell off the fluff amenities built for that horde of city folk that won't be making the drive or building an airport to support a destination resort.

[omFOUR]

Back to Tamarack, Credit Suisse or whatever its called needs to realize they hold some of the risk as well, and if they want to see any money back, they better take a loss as well.


That irks me a ton, lenders are taking a risk as well, yet they think they should be paid when shit hits the fan. You fucked up to Suisse, get over it.

Tamarack cant be that shitty of a sell can it if you drop the debt issue. Brand fucking new everything has got to be pretty nice. Im sure I could find something fun there.

They letting backcountry users poach it for the time being?

That's how lending works. Obviously they understand that there is risk in a loan, but they price the loans with the expectation that default is not the same as everything evaporating. If that were the case, and lenders didn't try to recover a portion of their losses, then loan interest rates would be even higher and there would be even more defaults.

While there are predatory lenders out there, the financial system by-and-large is not cruel. Its just not particularly empathetic.

[GlimmerIII]

The place sucks go home! Yes it is flat and you can't ski 20k before one. I do not want to cross anyones tracks before 3.
ps. Best chair Wildwood will not open this year
They Repoed the Cats last weekend, left three that are paid for.

[bigdude2468]

I have no skin in the game, have never skied Tamarack or anywhere else in Idaho for that matter. Typically these type of businesess that go TU eventually end up reopening when the major creditors, in this case Credit Suisse dump it for 25 or 30 cents on the dollar. All the creditors that are not secured end up with nothing or maybe a few pennies. Stripping it of the lifts and anything else that has value cannot possibiliy result in more than selling it as it sits. The property owners have a big stake in that what is left of their investments as I would guess they lose just about all of it if the ski lifts don't spin. Creditors like Credit Suisse are used to taking big time haircuts and they know damn well they get more for an operating business than a liquidation. Is it just Credit Suisse or are there other securded lenders that have not subragated their rights to CS?

[neckdeep]

The place sucks go home! Yes it is flat and you can't ski 20k before one. I do not want to cross anyones tracks before 3.
.

Uh, isn't that the problem? A ghost town base...So few of Boise's skiers want to go there that the hill's economics barely justify having one lift in operation, let alone the full spread of chairs and snowmaking they installed across the slope. Build it and they will come....and buy overpriced real estate? Sorry, but if the real estate scam can't succeed during the biggest housing boom in three generations, empty slopes don't look so good for the hill's future prospects. Certainly won't encourage a buyer to step up and run it for the sake of skiing.

[GlimmerIII]

The latest is there is a deal out there, paperwork might be signed. It is just such a mess the leagal side can not be cleared up till early next year.
Sun Valley-Skied out by 10:30
Bogus-Need some luv, better Mt. then Tamarack or Brundage, Snow is the worst of the four.
Brundage-I just don't get it. Everyone bags on Tamarack being flat. Where is the Mt. here?
Tamarack-You need to ski a few times and learn your way arround. Lookers right or maybe lift line on Wildwood. You can ski 20k before you know it.

[Conundrum]

McCall is ok but it ain't shit compared to this area.

Exactly. Everyone read this statement.

They letting backcountry users poach it for the time being?

Yes. With sleds.

Sun Valley-Skied out by 10:30
Bogus-Need some luv, better Mt. then Tamarack or Brundage, Snow is the worst of the four.
Brundage-I just don't get it. Everyone bags on Tamarack being flat. Where is the Mt. here?
Tamarack-You need to ski a few times and learn your way arround. Lookers right or maybe lift line on Wildwood. You can ski 20k before you know it.

Sun Valley-this pic was taken on a February Sunday at 2 pm within view of a lift.



Bogus-snow is not great but it operates night hours until 10 pm every night of the week so people with regular jobs can still get vert. Neat that you can get 20k by noon or whatever. Bogus allows people to get 20k and work full time. And it's a non-profit. It's job is to give a community cheap, accessible skiing. Which it does.

Brundage-can you say soul. This is a mom and pops place with sweet tree skiing. If you are not afraid of skinning, you can go as big as you want. Plus they have a bloody mary bar on Sundays.

Tamarack-a bunch of temporary bubbles for lodges because they never got funding for permanent structures. An unfinished hotel that was barely boarded up because they didn't have the money for boards until some emergency financing was secured. Vary marginal terrain. It's great if you want to hike but there are far better options in the vicinity for that. A bunch of Boise assholes who thought they were cool because they finally got that 2nd vacation home that really made the "I've made it" statement for them. No business plan other than selling real estate-I'm sorry, I'm not going to root for a ski area whose mission statement wasn't about skiing. Terrible access for out of towners. Tons of track housing and cabins that was developed around the base area. I could go on. The only good thing about Tamarack was the mountain biking and they are not going to make a comeback based on that.

And really, I don't feel that bad for the home owners association there. They bought into an investment. Those fuckers jacked the property taxes for the long time residents of that valley. The people who already lived in the area were not the people buying the big new homes. All the people that moved there ran for public office and a lot them won. When they all lost their jobs at Tamarack, they left to find work leaving a shit storm of a small town political mess to fill the abandoned positions. This on top of no budgets for local government. Most of the local contractors got screwed for work they did and were never paid. There were only a few contractors that made any money up there.

The only people that really benefitted from Tamarack were the first ins that got out early. The long timers were boned as were all the people who bought to turn a buck. I don't feel too bad for them though.

But hey, they limited pass sales to make sure you could get your courderoy in. Too bad the banks repo'd the groomers. But hey, there's still Deer Valley right?

[RTR]

And really, I don't feel that bad for the home owners association there. They bought into an investment. Those fuckers jacked the property taxes for the long time residents of that valley. The people who already lived in the area were not the people buying the big new homes....

The only people that really benefitted from Tamarack were the first ins that got out early. The long timers were boned as were all the people who bought to turn a buck. I don't feel too bad for them though.

Quoted for the revolting truth that it is.

I lived in Cascade for a summer as the city engineer and watched the life in the eyes of the Valley Club, hard-working, mustache-donning locals dwindle because their abode in the Long Valley was being taken over by high-income transplants that were probably only hoping to make a buck. The locals are badass, and Tamarack is just another picture of the unfortunate aspects of development made in the name of “progress.”

I’ve never skied Scamarack. But I do know that there are some hard-assed locals that are carved out of wood that have recreated in their backyard mountains for years. Mick Riffie comes to mind, who also works as the Idaho Transportation Department avalanche forecaster for the Lowman Highway stretch… that guy can probably skin up and ski down and rack up more vert than the average Tamarack-vacationer with his/her brand new fat powder sticks, parting the corduroy.

Thank God there’s no resort in the Stanley area.