Silverton being sued -- time to hurry up and get down there

[hatchgreenchile]

On the bright side this will probably stop the expansion into the backcountry terrain that a bunch of people were pissed off about

Ooohhh, that's a juicy rumor, how you'd come up with that one?

[The SnowShow]

Maybe Vail will buy it and build a new resort.

[creaky fossil]

Thanks for the vote you old assed fuckstick.

I don't and have never claimed to be a Liar.... oops I men Lawyer, same thing really.

Just 34 years in the Ski Industry and with years of risk management experience. But again, what do I know.

I think they will probably settle and that yes, they fucked up big time.

Hah hah hah you're amusing. Nursery school teachers calling selves "risk managers" because they manage the "risk" of a toddler shitting/pissing self.

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons," etc., but I'm the one with 30 yrs legal experience here, not you.

You have been ass-blasted toward me forever, palzie. The jealousy and envy are stunning.

So... back to insurance expertise: please line up and puff up your online selves! Show me how ignorant you really are!

Someone who's defended a ski area on behalf of its liability carrier? Yeah, well I'm from the side of the picture where we choose who to hire for such things. Inside the insurance company, knowing liability pictures in many industries, in 50 different US jurisdictions.

It's good to know what lawyers have any experience at all w/ ski area liability, but that's not the pinnacle of understanding for a global audience -- "I've tried 3 cases in CO re ski liability," that's pretty good, but not the pinnacle.

[at this point, my honest words dressed up in arrogant self-impression should be clear, it's a satire of TGR puff-heads who have to brag so hard on themselves they look the ignoramus. like Lindahl, or bunion, or....]

[summit]

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons," etc.

[at this point, my honest words dressed up in arrogant self-impression should be clear, it's a satire of TGR puff-heads who have to brag so hard on themselves they look the ignoramus. like Lindahl, or bunion, or....]

Wait... so you hate Jews or you think Bunion hates Jews or TGR is a bunch of Jews or TGR hates Jews?

And WTF is "palzie"? I even tried urban dictionary and google. Is it some fucked diminutive of pal?

[Meadow Skipper]

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons," etc., but I'm the one with 30 yrs legal experience here, not you.

[at this point, my honest words dressed up in arrogant self-impression should be clear, it's a satire of TGR puff-heads who have to brag so hard on themselves they look the ignoramus. like Lindahl, or bunion, or....]

You know, it's one thing to be a bigot, it's another thing to brag about it. GFYS

[goldenboy]

Ooohhh, that's a juicy rumor, how you'd come up with that one?

New heli zones off cty rd 2

[ASmileyFace]

On the bright side this will probably stop the expansion into the backcountry terrain that a bunch of people were pissed off about

Nah that already passed, despite local skiers being up in arms about it. Link This heavy handed expansion and a couple other moments are my only gripes with the Brills. They basically ignored the local skiers and have been pretty much silent about how they expect to safely manage the terrain while allowing for continued human powered use. It doesn't help that the BLM manager who made the final call is a former Silverton employee with obvious ties to the Brills...

[hatchgreenchile]

New heli zones off cty rd 2

Yep , my comment was based on that “expansion” no longer happening because of this lawsuit...

[Name Redacted]

Maybe Vail will buy it and build a new resort.

Maybe not to this extreme, but for another company (with deeper pockets) to buy them out of bankruptcy and run the place in the black, with more unguided days, better infrastructure, and *cough* safer facilities, could be a win for the consumer. However, someone like Vail would never take the chances that it took to get the place running and keep it running.

You gotta respect what the Brills have done on a shoestring. They might have pissed off some locals, but there might have not been any other way accomplish what they've done as a husband and wife team, with little or none outside investment dollars (AFAIK). Shit, my wife and I can barely make it through decorating a condo without wanting to kill each other!

[MagnificentUnicorn]

[at this point, my honest words dressed up in arrogant self-impression should be clear, it's a satire of TGR puff-heads who have to brag so hard on themselves they look the ignoramus. like Lindahl, or bunion, or....]

creaky fossil.

[Alpinord]

Maybe not to this extreme, but for another company (with deeper pockets) to buy them out of bankruptcy and run the place in the black, with more unguided days, better infrastructure, and *cough* safer facilities, could be a win for the consumer. However, someone like Vail would never take the chances that it took to get the place running and keep it running.

Hmmm. Maybe Coleman who owns Purgatory (with San Juan cat skiing), now Hesperus, and has bought up several desert ski area will want to buy one in the mountains...with heli service. He's been dumping a bunch of money on area improvements and pumping tons of snow to open lots of terrain for limited early season income.

[ASmileyFace]

Maybe not to this extreme, but for another company (with deeper pockets) to buy them out of bankruptcy and run the place in the black, with more unguided days, better infrastructure, and *cough* safer facilities, could be a win for the consumer. However, someone like Vail would never take the chances that it took to get the place running and keep it running.

You gotta respect what the Brills have done on a shoestring. They might have pissed off some locals, but there might have not been any other way accomplish what they've done as a husband and wife team, with little or none outside investment dollars (AFAIK). Shit, my wife and I can barely make it through decorating a condo without wanting to kill each other!

It's not a huge secret that the Brills have been kind of shopping Silverton and trying to find someone to buy it off their hands. This is complete speculation but, in my little group of friends, the general consensus is that James Coleman (who bought Purgatory a few years ago and owns Arizona Snowbowl) might purchase Silverton sometime in the next couple years. He done a great job rebounding the local image of Purg and is ambitious enough to try something to save Silverton too if things go south with this lawsuit.

EDIT: Alpinord and I are both hearing the same rumors I guess.

[boardtodeath]

Hah hah hah you're amusing. Nursery school teachers calling selves "risk managers" because they manage the "risk" of a toddler shitting/pissing self.

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons," etc., but I'm the one with 30 yrs legal experience here, not you.

30 years legal experience? How many years experience being a bigoted asshole? Zero excuse for that fuckin "jewish" lawyers comment.

"I'm not bigoted! You're just too progressive!" -a fucking bigot

[ex-powderbroker]

Hah hah hah you're amusing. Nursery school teachers calling selves "risk managers" because they manage the "risk" of a toddler shitting/pissing self.

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons," etc., but I'm the one with 30 yrs legal experience here, not you.

You have been ass-blasted toward me forever, palzie. The jealousy and envy are stunning.

So... back to insurance expertise: please line up and puff up your online selves! Show me how ignorant you really are!

Someone who's defended a ski area on behalf of its liability carrier? Yeah, well I'm from the side of the picture where we choose who to hire for such things. Inside the insurance company, knowing liability pictures in many industries, in 50 different US jurisdictions.

It's good to know what lawyers have any experience at all w/ ski area liability, but that's not the pinnacle of understanding for a global audience -- "I've tried 3 cases in CO re ski liability," that's pretty good, but not the pinnacle.

[at this point, my honest words dressed up in arrogant self-impression should be clear, it's a satire of TGR puff-heads who have to brag so hard on themselves they look the ignoramus. like Lindahl, or bunion, or....]

I am sorry you walk around feeling such a sense of shame and inadequacy. Working on that would have to be more productive than lashing out at people on a ski forum, right?

[Name Redacted]

It's not a huge secret that the Brills have been kind of shopping Silverton and trying to find someone to buy it off their hands. This is complete speculation but, in my little group of friends, the general consensus is that James Coleman (who bought Purgatory a few years ago and owns Arizona Snowbowl) might purchase Silverton sometime in the next couple years. He done a great job rebounding the local image of Purg and is ambitious enough to try something to save Silverton too if things go south with this lawsuit.

EDIT: Alpinord and I are both hearing the same rumors I guess.

Good to hear. I like Silverton how it is, except for the guided situation. That's honestly the reason I only go every once in a while. If they just slightly upgraded facilities and staff to open unguided up all week and season long, I'd be down there all the time. They could still guide heli-bumps and some of the bigger terrain after storms, but going guided on Colorado or Cabins in midwinter when it hasn't snowed in two weeks is kinda dumb, even if they are farming it.

[Alpinord]

It's not a huge secret that the Brills have been kind of shopping Silverton and trying to find someone to buy it off their hands. This is complete speculation but, in my little group of friends, the general consensus is that James Coleman (who bought Purgatory a few years ago and owns Arizona Snowbowl) might purchase Silverton sometime in the next couple years. He done a great job rebounding the local image of Purg and is ambitious enough to try something to save Silverton too if things go south with this lawsuit.

EDIT: Alpinord and I are both hearing the same rumors I guess.

It was a guess and does seem to make sense. Maybe after they get the Mountain Coaster project finished??? Coleman loves to ski and that's been great for all of us vs the previous owners. Imagine Silverton Mtn with Purg's Lift 8. Freshies would be gone and people would be cooked by noon.

Hell, at the current rate, Silverton could turn into a desert ski area. I talked to someone last week from the Silverton Avy school who said this is the first time they have ever had to cancel early Dec courses due to lack of snow.

@ASmileyFace, do you know what the HeliTrax/Silverton connection is? I thought I understood that there was a direct connection and I know they pick up skiers at the Peaks in Telluride and buzz them over to Silverton Mtn terrain.

[ASmileyFace]

It was a guess and does seem to make sense. Maybe after they get the Mountain Coaster project finished??? Coleman loves to ski and that's been great for all of us vs the previous owners. Imagine Silverton Mtn with Purg's Lift 8. Freshies would be gone and people would be cooked by noon.

Hell, at the current rate, Silverton could turn into a desert ski area. I talked to someone last week from the Silverton Avy school who said this is the first time they have ever had to cancel early Dec courses due to lack of snow.

I'm not very familiar with the coaster project but I think it is pretty close to being finished? I don't really ski Purg anymore so I haven't personally seen the progress, but I'll ask my friends who work there. What Coleman could do at Silverton is a mystery to me. It's such a niche place that adding a quad and running it like a normal resort would be a crazy amount of change. All the runs right around the lift would get decimated. I'd have to think that early season unguided is dead forever. Coleman could bring people in from Purgatory for a "real mountain experience" and just keep it guided like the cat program.

We also might not have any snow in the future. 25% of normal even after this last "storm." That wind was pretty wild last night. The SW is starving. We need something soon but the earliest it looks like winter might start is the week of the 20th now.

@ASmileyFace, do you know what the HeliTrax/Silverton connection is? I thought I understood that there was a direct connection and I know they pick up skiers at the Peaks in Telluride and buzz them over to Silverton Mtn terrain.

I know the two companies have worked with together in the past and seem to have a friendly relationship. But, I don't think Helitrax was bringing clients over into terrain near Silverton much, if at all. Helitrax's had the lower angle/danger permits near Silverton, but rarely used them since they were on the outer reaches of their terrain/required a flight over Red Mountain Pass to get to them. My understanding is that Silverton swapped the BLM for those permits since Helitrax wasn't using them/gave them up.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Unfortunate but not surprising. I enjoyed the looseness of Silverton but I guess this is the downside from a business perspective.

Silverton Mountain as a business and Aaron an Jenny as people can be and are fairly polarizing. That said, they get a ton of respect for me due to what they have accomplished.

This will probably fall on deaf ears, but this is where I give my, "I you wouldn't say it to someone's face, consider not saying it on the internet". I'm far from an apologist for the Brills, but understand that they read this fourm.

[Alpinord]

know the two companies have worked with together in the past and seem to have a friendly relationship. But, I don't think Helitrax was bringing clients over into terrain near Silverton much, if at all. Helitrax's had the lower angle/danger permits near Silverton, but rarely used them since they were on the outer reaches of their terrain/required a flight over Red Mountain Pass to get to them. My understanding is that Silverton swapped the BLM for those permits since Helitrax wasn't using them/gave them up.

It's certainly possible I misunderstood this but was under the impression people were at least being shuttled or something.

[hatchgreenchile]

Maybe not to this extreme, but for another company (with deeper pockets) to buy them out of bankruptcy and run the place in the black, with more unguided days, better infrastructure, and *cough* safer facilities, could be a win for the consumer. However, someone like Vail would never take the chances that it took to get the place running and keep it running.

You gotta respect what the Brills have done on a shoestring. They might have pissed off some locals, but there might have not been any other way accomplish what they've done as a husband and wife team, with little or none outside investment dollars (AFAIK). Shit, my wife and I can barely make it through decorating a condo without wanting to kill each other!

The story is awesome. They clawed and scraped their way to an 1800 acre ski area, despite all the environmental red tape and NIMBYism, and have carved out a really cool niche. You don't have to like them, but they are earned the right to do it their way. I've got limited time there but enjoyed the experience immensely. It's better than low angle meadow skipping outside the ropes and 3 run demolition derby powder days.

Anyway, in fantasy land, I'd like to see very, very modest improvements (running water and actual shitters!) - longer unguided seasons wouldn't hurt, but there's a reason any remote ski area closes operations the first weekend of April.

This place needs more Silverton stoke!

[Peruvian]

I have no clue re Silverton's liability insurance limits. I had heard from a reliable source that a WA ski area that got sued a few years ago had policy limits of $4 million.

Total guess on my part, based on the family ownership and small time operation. A bigger resort would have higher limits but based on my limited understanding of this operation 'if you got nothing, you got nothing to loose' means lower limits for lower premiums. If they are on federal land, they will have at least $2mil in coverage based on USFS rules.

[ASmileyFace]

It's certainly possible I misunderstood this but was under the impression people were at least being shuttled.

I haven't heard that they were doing that but It is certainly possible and makes a lot of sense. Maybe someone else can chime in if they know.

[raisingarizona13]

Silverton needs a 4k vertical foot tram from town and up Kendrick. That would be sick!

[Alpinord]

Silverton needs a 4k vertical foot tram from town and up Kendrick. That would be sick!

Did you mean Kendall? The little lodge at Kendall Mtn Ski 'Hill' is nicer than anything at Silverton Mtn....real bathrooms and a couple minutes to two brewerys...and Montanya's.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Jewish lawyers are your "liars = lawyers," palzie. Know that's a tough one on a "progressive" forum like this, where all goyim are "morons,"

Nah, it's just you. Don't extrapolate to others based on yourself.

Fleeing the NJ bar for the hinterlands must have been inevitable. PSIA failure as well.

Vibes.