THE SNOW INDUSTRY LETTER
August 3, 2010 Vol. 32, No. 28
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FORMER BURTON EXEC TO HEAD NEW QUIKSILVER DIVISION
Quiksilver is ramping up its "off the coast" capabilities by launching a mountain division and hiring a former top Burton executive to run it, according to published reports. Mike Nusenow, who just left Burton as the senior vice president of global marketing, is the new SVP and general manager, mountain division. He will report to Quiksilver America’s President Craig Stevenson.
"While our company logo clearly reflects the 'mountain and the wave,' we have not yet fully leveraged our 'off the coast' capabilities," Craig said in a memo sent to Quiksilver employees.
Nusenow's responsibilities will include identifying, planning and developing market strategies for new products and categories, such as male and female non-technical apparel; accessories, helmets, goggles; bindings, and licensed and/or company-owned mountain concept stores.
He will also be responsible for the existing snow businesses, including DC snowboard boots and apparel, Lib Tech and Gnu snowboards and technical apparel, Roxy snowboards, boots, bindings and apparel, and Quiksilver snow apparel.
NEW OWNER GAMBLING ON CANADIAN REAL ESTATE RECOVERY
When former Cranbrook, B.C. mayor Rick Jensen and some friends bought Panorama Mountain Village for a reported $27-million last winter, they were gambling that a recovering economy would restore consumer demand for Canadian resort property, according to The Globe and Mail. It could prove risky, as the national housing market shows signs of cooling.
That hasn't stopped Jensen from proceeding with his plan to turn the resort - which the group bought with cash, but plans to mortgage to finance development - into one of the only ski-in, ski-out residential neighborhoods in the region. He hopes to offer lots for sale at around $150,000 each, with construction beginning next summer.
Jensen is counting on making money from real estate - the very thing that got the original owners into trouble in the first place. Most resorts were never designed to pay the bills with revenue earned from tourists. The real money - in theory, anyway - is in condo development. The question is: Will the recovering economy restore consumer demand for Canadian resort property?
To read the full article, go to http://bit.ly/9t5Iio.
ASPEN TO SEE BIG DROP IN FLIGHTS THIS WINTER
Frontier Airlines and Delta Air Lines will not be flying in and out of Aspen, CO this winter, according to published reports. Frontier has been flying about four flights a day to Aspen since April 2008. Delta started serving the Aspen winter market in 2006 with flights to Salt Lake City and added a direct daily flight to Atlanta two winters ago.
The airlines' departure from Aspen represents at least a 20% loss of seats compared to last winter, making it the biggest seasonal drop in airline capacity to Aspen since Continental left in 1994 and lowered capacity by 35%.
The departure of Frontier and Delta leaves United Airlines as the sole carrier serving the Aspen airport and airfares to Sardy Field are expected to rise as a result.
WV RESORT FEELS STATE FUNDING IS UNFAIR
The owners of Timberline Four Seasons Resort, WV, are reportedly not happy with the state providing a $21 million overhaul for Canaan Valley, its neighbor seven miles down the road. Fred Herz, vice president and co-owner of Timberline, believes the state should also provide tax incentives to help Timberline upgrade its resort. He thinks there should be "a fair and level playing field," according to The West Virginia Gazette.
Earlier this month, the state Economic Development Authority authorized a $160 million bond issue that will pay for improvements at state parks, universities and the state Capitol complex. Lottery revenues will repay the bonds. Canaan received $20.8 million to build 100 new guest rooms. The existing "modular" rooms were originally constructed in the 1970s.
Herz doesn't begrudge Canaan wanting to improve its facilities, but the state also should pony up to help Timberline finance renovations and expansion, he said. Timberline has asked the state to authorize tax increment financing for Timberline's proposed renovations, but state officials gave the idea a cool reception. Instead, administration leaders suggested the resort pursue other economic development incentives - programs that Timberline doesn't believe measure up to tax increment financing.
Timberline's owners have spent more than $20 million over the years to upgrade the resort. Not a dime came from the state or federal government, Herz said. He said the state should be spending money on improving infrastructure - things such as water and sewer projects - not "using its deep pockets" to subsidize development that hurts private businesses, such as Timberline.
WOLF CREEK REVISES PLAN; COLORADO WILD OPPOSES
Developers of the Village at Wolf Creek, CO have modified plans for a proposed land swap near the top of Wolf Creek Pass, where a resort town with ski-in and ski-out access is envisioned, according to The Durango Herald. The amended plan is similar to one submitted earlier this year by developers, but it makes slight boundary adjustments to accommodate the realignment of a ski lift that would link the village and Wolf Creek Ski Area. It also includes two alternate plans should the U.S. Forest Service reject the land swap.
The proposed deal would swap 178 acres owned by Wolf Creek ski area with 178 acres owned by the developer, B.J. McCombs. The ski area would gain some property close to the ski mountain, while the developer would get, among other things, much-needed land to connect the proposed village to U.S. Highway 160.
McCombs has tried for 20 years to build a resort town on the 287-acre in-holding. Until about two years ago, he was proposing a village that could hold as many as 10,000 people when fully built. The most recent plan calls for a 1,711-unit village, including two hotels, condominiums and townhomes. Phase 1 calls for 497 units. Phasing would be tied to future expansion of the ski area.
Environmental group Colorado Wild wants to keep the land undeveloped. The proposed village is too large for the area and will have severe impacts on the region's air quality, water quality and wildlife, said Ryan Bidwell, executive director of Colorado Wild.
NEW ZEALAND MAN BUYS MONTANA SKI AREA
Montana's Teton Pass Ski Resort has a new owner who plans to spend $3 million over the next two years on improvements at the ski hill, according to published reports. Nick Wood of New Zealand, who has a background in the technology industry, purchased the ski area last week for just under $300,000.
Wood, who is working with two U.S. investors on the Teton Pass project, plans to add two Poma lifts that will open up 250 additional acres of skiing and add 400 vertical feet before the coming ski season. That means skiers will be able to take in 1,400 vertical feet on one continuous run, he said. He also plans to renovate all the buildings and repair the existing lifts.
Before the 2011-2012 season, Wood plans to add two more lifts that will go nearly to the top of the mountain, expanding the hill to 1,700 vertical feet. He also plans to build a ski school and rental shop buildings, and increase the size of the lodge.
POWDER USES TWITTER FOR WOMEN'S SKI SURVEY
Powder Magazine used its Twitter account to poll women on whether they prefer women-specific skis. Responses ranged from "I've skied both mens and womens, but I am loving the womens' specs, topsheets, design teams, and pros" to "Girls rocking guy skis are rad" to "I don't care about gender specification when buying skis. It's all about performance & yes, graphics help."
To read more, go to http://tinyurl.com/2arqar4.
VERMONT SKI AREAS USE BILLBOARDS TO ADVERTISE
Vermont banned roadside billboards in 1968, but many of its ski areas take advantage of the fact that nearby states still allow them, according to an article in alternative newspaper Seven Days.
Bromley advertises itself as the Vermont ski resort closest to Albany, NY and rents billboard space along Interstate 787 as well as on Route 9 in the Albany area. Okemo advertises during ski season on a billboard on the stretch of Route 4 between Whitehall, N.Y., and Fair Haven.
Mount Snow is considering an investment in outdoor advertising near Albany. The resort already spends heavily on billboards in the New York City area. It advertises on Long Island Rail Road station platforms as well as inside the carriages of the commuter train. It also rents digital billboards along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and at the New Jersey entrance of the Holland Tunnel to Manhattan.
Okemo's marketers figure it will reach a bigger share of its target audience on Interstate 91 in Connecticut and Massachusetts than it would on Route 4 in New York. So the resort spends its advertising dollars more readily on billboards to the south of Vermont than to the west.
A few Vermont businesses have given up on billboard advertising. "We've found better ways to spend our advertising dollars," said Tom Horrocks, Killington communications manager. "Billboards can be very expensive," he added, "and in our experience, radio, the Internet and print have all proven more cost effective."
To read the article, go to http://tinyurl.com/2cygq89.
BANFF RESORT EXONERATED IN WORKER DEATH
The death of a Sunshine Village, Banff, Alberta ski lift operator was "bizarre and unforeseeable," but not the fault of his employer, a judge has ruled, overturning the resort's conviction under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. A lower court judge erred in finding the ski resort guilty of failing to protect the health and safety of worker Jan-Karl Stunt, who died in 2004, according to published reports.
Justice Suzanne Bensler also determined the ski resort wasn't liable for the "momentary inattentiveness and carelessness" of two employees who were with Stunt leading up to his death. Stunt, a 25-year-old ski lift worker, was hit on the head by a metal piece that twisted after the chair he was riding on collided with the lift's main control terminal. He died in hospital six days later.
In 2009, a Banff provincial court judge convicted Sunshine Village of failing to ensure the safety of its workers and ordered the resort to pay a $5,000 fine and establish a $250,000 ski hill operations scholarship in Stunt's name at Selkirk College in B.C. Now that the resort has had the conviction quashed, the scholarship won't go ahead, a resort spokesman said.
ASPEN DECIDES TO RELEASE SKIER VISIT NUMBERS
Aspen Skiing Co. officials have reversed a recent policy of not releasing skier visit numbers and have now provided last winter's figures for each of the company's four ski areas, according to the Aspen Daily News. It reported a total of 1,338,210 skier visits in the 2009-10 winter season, which was 4.3% above the 1,283,348 visits tallied in the 2008-09 season.
Aspen Mountain saw 294,439 skier visits in '09-'10, up 3.4% over the previous season. Snowmass Ski Area tallied 725,709 visits, up 4.5%; Buttermilk Mountain recorded 143,115 skier visits, up 19.2%, and Aspen Highlands saw a 4.8% drop, falling from 183,710 in the '08-'09 season to 174,947 in the '09-'10 season.
Skico Vice President of Marketing Jeanne Mackowski said the Buttermilk numbers went up due to the company promoting packages for families and kids, as well as improved ticket scanning at certain lifts. She said Skico managers changed their minds about not releasing the company's skier visit numbers - and instead just releasing a percentage against the prior season's total - after discussing it with local reporters.
Colorado Ski Country USA recently announced that it no longer would be releasing skier visit numbers for individual ski areas and instead was leaving it up to each resort to release its numbers - or not.
COUNTY COMMISSION VOTES TO TAKE OVER SKI AREA
Baker County, OR commissioners voted to take control of the Ski Anthony Lakes resort, according to published reports. The 3-0 vote was taken last Wednesday. Yet to be decided is whether the county will operate the ski area next winter or whether a nonprofit organization will be formed to do so.
Commission Chairman Fred Warner Jr. said that the county has the next three months to either start a nonprofit organization or take full ownership of the resort. The current owners will keep the business until Nov. 1, giving the county time to plan the transition and organize a business model.
SAM OPS CAMP FOCUSES ON SUMMER ATTRACTIONS
SAM Magazine is holding its first annual Summer Ops Camp, bringing together top summer attraction operators from the mountain resort industry and the amusement park industry. Through presentations, a panel of experts representing all aspects of summer attractions and operations, and on-site visits, attendees will garner new ideas to bring home to their own resorts. The program will also encourage resort managers to exchange ideas on best practices for summer operations.
The Camp will be held at The Sagamore Resort in Lake George, N.Y. from 6 p.m. September 22 to 6 p.m. Thursday September 23.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: The North Face's Director Strategic Marketing & Corporate Sustainability discusses the company's efforts to go green. http://www.youtube.com/snewstv.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE
Freestyle skier Shannon Bahrke announced her retirement from the U.S. ski team after a 12-year run that saw her win two Olympic medals. ...Fischer Skis US announced that Pearson Neal is now its eastern competition and promotions representative and Chris Smith is the western competition and promotions representative. ...Vail Resorts Inc. announced changes within the senior leadership team at Beaver Creek and Keystone, CO and Heavenly Mountain, CA. Keystone Resort Chief Operating Officer Doug Lovell has been named vice president and chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort. John Buhler, director of skier services for Breckenridge, has been promoted to the position of vice president and general manager of Keystone Resort. Vail Ski & Snowboard School Director Pete Sonntag has been promoted to the position of vice president and general manager of Heavenly Mountain Resort. ...Peter Frenette and Lindsey Van were crowned 2011 Normal Hill U.S. Champions at the 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships on July 30. ...Sports medicine leader and ski safety pioneer, Robert P. Mack, MD, was inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Hall of Fame, Friday during its Annual Meeting in Providence, RI. Mack's laboratory research resulted in the development of an internationally accepted device for testing ski bindings and the formation of the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) F-8 Ski Safety Committee that established safety standards for ski bindings. ...Shaun White's return to skateboarding wasn't enough to stop the P.L.G. Express. Pierre-Luc Gagnon, a 30-year-old star from Quebec, won his third straight X Games gold Friday night, with White finishing second. ...Paul "Jumpin' Joe" Perrault, 85, died Thursday at his home in Ishpeming, MI. Perrault was one of the nation's premier ski jumpers in the 1940s and '50s. A two-time member of the United States Olympic team, he set a North American ski jumping distance record of 297 feet in 1949. ...University of Utah Director of Skiing Eli Brown has resigned, leaving his job at the helm of one of the country's most storied programs. In an interview, Brown cited a desire to spend more time with his family combined with changes to the direction of the Utah program as the reasons for his decision.
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