Results 101 to 125 of 156
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04-04-2019, 01:45 PM #101
Coincidentally I'm wearing my favorite hoody today, thing is starting to get gross
Skiing there with Gary was pretty cool. Bobby, he set up the non-profit and still runs meetings, so basically is the mayor.
Place leaves quite the impression.
Al, did you ever hear whether Mike survived his terrible illness? I tried sending him a note several months ago but didn't get a reply. What a colorful character, hope he didn't fuckin die.
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04-04-2019, 01:50 PM #102Registered User
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Smuggs
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04-04-2019, 01:51 PM #103
Bridger Bowl does not count.
It is community owned and everyone now knows that Bozeman has the highest per capita of Shitheads in Montana.
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04-04-2019, 02:06 PM #104Registered User
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04-04-2019, 02:09 PM #105"fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
"She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
"everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy
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04-04-2019, 02:55 PM #106
I don't often ski there, but I've never heard anything really bad about Berkshire East's ownership group. It's a wealthy family, but they've been willing to really invest in the mountain and the one guy I know who is a regular likes them. I've been a couple times and it seems like a good place to ski with a family and it's not too far from Western MA, CT.
What I really like it for is the summer bike park (Thunder Mountain). They've done a nice job of building a good mix of flow and more natural/technical trails.
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04-04-2019, 04:24 PM #107
mt baker gets extra points
powdork.com - new and improved, with 20% more dork.
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04-04-2019, 04:52 PM #108
I included based on them having a good kids’ lesson program, friendly atmosphere and somewhat decent skiing for me while the boys were in lessons. Wasn’t aware of the skinning policy. Is it possible it may have changed? They were bought by the Berkshire East people last year.
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04-04-2019, 05:23 PM #109Registered User
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04-04-2019, 06:05 PM #110Registered User
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Red is owned by a guy in California, but they are investing, new lift going in this summer. And the local vibe is incredible.
Whitewater is, I believe, owned by some investors based in Calgary. One is a brother of some old friends. This was the case 10-15 years ago, I think it is still the case from what I heard when I was at Red earlier in Feb. The owners are passionate skiers, but I am not sure how deep the pockets are.
Kimberly is owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. There is history there. Charlie Locke ran Lake Louise back in the day (1970’s-early 1990’s). He was a very good operator, but not a resort developer. He then entered into an agreement to operate Nakiska on behalf of the Alberta Government (the owner). Over several years, he debt financed purchasing Fernie, Kimberly, Mt St Anne and Stoneham in Quebec. He ran into leverage issues and made some huge mistakes with the potential gem, Fernie. As I said, he knew little to nothing about developing a resort, and Fernie came with a lot of developable land. He sold a bunch of lots, but nothing in a manner approaching a master plan. So, as comparison, if you go to Whitefish, homes are placed along roads adjacent to ski runs for true ski in ski out. Nothing like that at Fernie. As a result, while it sold, revenue was not maximized. When Locke went into receivership, Murray Edwards (CEO of Canadian Natural Resources and a few others) bought RCR. A couple years later, RCR sold Lake Louise back to Charlie Locke, who I believe operates it to this day. Fast forward to Kicking Horse running into financial troubles and the Dutch owners wanted out, Murray picked up Kicking Horse as part of RCR.
Murray won’t invest a dime unless he believes it will produce a positive return, so little has gone into many of the resorts without first selling a good amount of real estate. He also won’t overpay for anything. He is as hands on as any CEO, especially considering the size, scale and number of different businesses he runs. Down to the level of approving/signing payables cheques to suppliers. Tough to do when you are sitting on your yacht in the Med.
So the vibe at Fernie/KH/Kimberly is based on the locals and their participation in the mountains, totally unrelated to the ownership.
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04-04-2019, 06:20 PM #111Registered User
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Dude, I think it still had a t-Bar at the summit back then. Now a fixed grip quad. The Champagne chair may have been a double? Can’t remember......You may have been there when my brother was transferred to Pano from Whistler-Blackcomb by Intrawest.
Monster is great. And a huge opportunity for scoring lines those that rush up Monster miss entirely. It has been open for two years and I have yet to go up.
Holidays and weekends they run a cat from Never Never Land up to the summit of Monster. $10 pay as you go or several pass options. SO on powder days, many many folks line up for the cat at Never Never Land. They ignore White Tail, Ktunaxa, Jekyll and Hyde and several other runs, which leaves them frequently untouched for days after a storm. If the cat isn’t running, it is 30-40 minute hike from the summit lift station. The other issue with it is that a few times this year when we have had huge winds, it is slabbed, along with a few adjacent runs. Don’t get me wrong, when it is good, it is unreal. And it opens up a lot of opportunities elsewhere in the bowl.
Monster is great, but there is amazing terrain frontside as well, with the “Extreme Dream Zone” (I would classify the name as optimistic at best) basically gladed frontside steeps into some really nice rolling drainages and drops, there are now only a few spots off limits.
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04-04-2019, 06:20 PM #112
Cochran’s. The owners are def not d-bags.
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04-04-2019, 07:33 PM #113wickstad
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04-04-2019, 07:35 PM #114wickstad
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04-04-2019, 07:54 PM #115wickstad
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04-04-2019, 07:59 PM #116wickstad
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04-04-2019, 08:59 PM #117Registered User
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04-04-2019, 10:11 PM #118Registered User
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04-05-2019, 08:24 AM #119
Well thanks, but not entirely true my friend. It was a group effort, with some of the largest contributions from folks behind the scenes working on governance documents and business plans. I was just one of the loudest mouthpieces buddy.
I thought of this as it relates to any coop hill when I saw the thread title.
Yeah Brit, but you and Scotsman are very likable folks who appreciate stuff.
Cain is a non-profit, however I'm not sure it's a Coop, or at least not the same model as Shames.
That was an awesome little mini summit eh?
Thanks again for the kudos Norse, however again it was (is) a huge group effort. For the record I resigned from the board a couple of years ago (it was a good long run), the new blood is extremely qualified, and is crucial for a non-profit coop like Shames. I'll probably get back involved when I get back to T town in Sept.
Mike has certainly had some BIG health issues and I'm happy to say that my favorite intense loveable adrenaline loon is on the mend after another recent large surgery go-round. Dude's heart is as big as his balls. Hopefully he can go on with his life now, he's had quite a ride.
Riding Castle this season has showed me that hill's management seems to be pretty decent. The ownership structure of the hill seems flawed (it's a weird contradictory structure that supposedly limits the number of shares one owner can have but doesn't enforce it) but it seems like they're trying to do the right thing for the skiing population. I'm not sure that property owners (lease holders) feel this way also but whatever.“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
www.mymountaincoop.ca
This is OUR mountain - come join us!
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04-05-2019, 10:14 AM #120
Yep Summit T-Bar, and that terrible Champagne double. Looooooongest double in the world and also the slowest in North America (from my assessments). Taynton bowl was OB that year, but the mountain had already begun glading and working on the run-out. We would go back there and have lots of fun sending jumps and stuff, it was great. Was the first season they had that village gondi to shuttle people up and down the green monster stairs. I remember working on that helping to put the haul rope on - everyone was waiting for "the splicer" who was some german guy who was like the world's rockstar of wire rope splicing or something. Dude finally shows up and everyone around town is all like "did you hear - The Splicer has arrived!"
That was probably the best winter of my life. Living off of Kraft dinner, chunky soup, beer, and george foreman grilled cheeses. What a time to be alive.
That's it - I'm going back!
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04-05-2019, 10:31 AM #121
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04-05-2019, 10:34 AM #122
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04-05-2019, 06:39 PM #123
Mt. Rose
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04-05-2019, 10:58 PM #124
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04-05-2019, 11:24 PM #125Registered User
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LOL, that’s awesome. Yes, my brother used to talk about the “Splicer”. I think every lift gets the treatment every four or five years. Your diet was pretty dairy and carb heavy, but clearly you survived! I do think it is a pretty special resort. Happy to show you the new goods if you get there next year. Tho Pano Dude might know way more than me!
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