Crystal is getting a gondola

Anyone who thinks we should emulate Canadian environmental policies should go climbing in the B.C. Coast Mountains. Talk about clearcuts.

Maybe the review process for the Crystal Mountain master plan could have been done quicker. But if there had been no review at all, we'd be looking at chairlifts on Silver King and East Peak right now. Is that what we want?

If building the Peak-to-Peak lift at Whistler was such a good idea, why is Intrawest on the verge of bankruptcy?

I doubt that the new Crystal gondola will improve my ski experience on the mountain much. I'm 99% sure it will mean higher lift prices. I think support for the gondola may depend on whether you ski Crystal all the time and buy a season's pass. If you do, the higher price probably won't bother you much. But if you buy tickets a day at a time (as my family does) the higher price will be a disincentive to ski at Crystal.

If building the Peak-to-Peak lift at Whistler was such a good idea, why is Intrawest on the verge of bankruptcy?

I understand the the Intrawest bankruptcy is not driven by any aspect of the Whistler operations but rather by the need to pay off a leveraged buyout note.

www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-busine...debt/article1439047/

"October 2006: Fortress Investment Group LLC buys Intrawest in a transaction valued roughly $2.8-billion – just before the economic downturn hit and sales of lift passes and resort condominiums slowed. Intrawest becomes a portfolio company controlled primarily by private equity funds managed by affiliates of Fortress."

So due to this transaction, Intrawest becomes responsible for payments on $1.7 B that is the financed portion of the money that was used to pay the former owners (the real winners here, including holders of the publicly traded shares IDR). Even with allegedly positive cash flow, this becomes too much for the Intrawest operations to manage.

The latest update on March 1, possibly averting bankruptcy:

www.reuters.com/article/idCAN0111595520100301?rpc=44

"Fortress has reached a deal to restructure the debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The firm will inject some $150 million additional equity into the business, but it will retain its entire stake, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter."

The fact that most PNW ski areas lease their land from the Forest Service, and the red tape that goes along with that, is what makes skiing here unique and great. If you want a huge base facility with overnight accommodations, lifts strewn about haphazardly, $90 lift tickets, $20 parking, and fur coats for sale, I suggest you try Vail, Keystone, the Canyons, or Whistler. There was an article in Powder recently that suggested the only ski areas turning a profit in these dismal economic times are the mom n' pops like Baker, Bridger Bowl, or Monarch. Low overhead and no shareholders demanding double digit returns. With an inconsistent snowpack and a long drive from a population center, I don't see dumping allot of money into Crystal as a wise move.

I agree with the idea that mom and pop ski areas best represent ski culture and are the best places to find fresh tracks and short lift lines, but the idea that Forrest Service red tape causes this is a stretch.

If you understand the process and investment required to complete an EIS document you know that often (not always) the consultants know more about protecting the environment than the Forrest Service.

This probably sounds like an anti-gov't rant, but it's not. I am all for regulation, but it needs to come from gov't organizations that actually understand how to protect the envirnoment and help organizations like ski areas be responsible and focused on conservation.

"Also - is Bandit correct that access to USFS land from the ski area is being prohibited in some fashion? Hope not as I thought we won that battle the first time."

I don't remember stating anything about not being able to access USFS land . You must be thinking of someone else.

As far as I know, the USFS and MRNP land are open to BC skiing.

Bandito, you are constant source of excellent information and stoke. Oh and BTW, my kid (the blondie longhair) says to quit throwing snowballs at him.