Resorts see big surge in skiers

ASPEN – Reports from the Aspen Skiing Co. and Vail Resorts suggest a very, very good winter so far for destination resorts in the West.

Aspen has logged a 7 percent increase through December at its four ski areas in the Aspen-Snowmass Village area.

The snowpack in the Aspen area as of last week was 25 percent above average. In addition, the company attributed the increase to boosted service levels that yielded return visits, plus its “value-added marketing,” a company official tellsThe Aspen Times.

Vail Resorts, meanwhile, reported a 10 percent increase through early January at its four ski areas in Colorado and two ski areas in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California and Nevada. The company said revenue for lift tickets, ski rentals and lodging was up at all resorts.

These statistics mirror a new report this week from the Mountain Travel Research Program. After studying hotel occupancies at participating properties in more than a dozen major resorts of the West, MTRiP reports an increase of nearly 9 percent during December compared to the prior year. MTRiP’s Ralf Garrison also reported advance bookings for January through June increasing 7.6 percent as compared to last year’s rate.

While most evidence points to continuing economic growth for resorts, MTRiP also noted a wavering consumer confidence index.

Sales of snow-related sporting goods have also been robust. SnowSports Industries America reported a 22 percent increase in dollar volume of goods for equipment through November – but 30 percent in the West.

Especially noteworthy were sales of reverse-camber snowboards, up 60 percent, with reverse-camber skis up 130 percent. Only the telemark gear category declined, 12 percent in dollar volume.

Telluride lodges set to close

MOUNTAIN VILLAGE – Two of the Telluride area’s new lodging properties — the Capella Telluride and the Inn at Lost Creek – will close Jan. 31 unless somebody delivers a miraculous infusion of cash.

Both properties entered the foreclosure process in October. A court-appointed receiver in November had assured the public that the properties would remain in operation through ski season. But he now says that the revenues just don’t justify continued operations. The lodges employ 120 people.

The Capella, in particular, was a high-end property with extraordinary service levels and was expected to allow Telluride to compete with the highest-end resorts of the West. But the condo-tel opened at virtually the worst time imaginable, February 2009.

John Volponi, general manager of both properties, told The Telluride Watch that the Capella financial model depended upon sale of the condominiums to prepay the construction debt, and that was the fatal flaw.

“The program was to sell all the original hotel rooms, condominiums and retail space,” he said. “None of that has been sold by the developer.”

The primary lender had been Lehman Brothers, but when it went bankrupt at the start of the Great Recession, a Scandinavian bank called Swedbank decided to invest $6 million to finish construction. It later invested another $5.9 million to keep the Capella operational. But faced with an estimated $2 million shortfall this year, it apparently has had had enough.

How important is this to Telluride? Initial reactions are unreliable, but at least some in Telluride think this is the worst economic news for Telluride since the Idarado Mine closed several decades ago.

Seth Cagin, publisher ofThe Telluride Watch, outlines scenarios that could result in reopening of the hotels, but finds them improbable. He sees no clear silver lining. “It sure isn’t easy to identify,” he writes. Instead, he sees real estate values being further dampened. Unlike other places, he believes, Telluride still hasn’t hit bottom.

Robert Levine, the chief executive of the development firm RAL Companies, still owns the properties, despite the debt of $154 million to Swedbank. An auction is now scheduled for June 2, and Levine told theWatch he will be unlikely to bid.

“Not under the current price structure,” he said. “The debt on the property is far greater than the property is worth.”

Avalung’s recall prompts debate

KETHCUM, Idaho – The manufacturer’s recent recall of the Avalung, a device that can deliver air to somebody buried in an avalanche, caused some philosophizing in Ketchum.

“I have no problem with all of this technology. I think it’s great,” said Chris Lundy, director of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center. “But that should be the last safety net.”

Lundy told theIdaho Mountain Express that the problem with the Avalung is that it can be difficult to use when being swept up in a slide.

“You have to get this tube in your mouth and hold it,” he said. “You’re not going to ski with it in your mouth, so it’s a tricky thing to do under the gun of an avalanche,” he said. And once buried, the user may not be able to move enough to grab the tube, he added.

Lund explains that the problem with relying upon technology is that it lulls a person into assuming a greater risk. That’s been demonstrated with studded snow tires, which result in people driving faster on snowy and icy roads.

“One little check that people can do in the backcoun try is say, ‘Would I do this without a beacon?’ It just gets you thinking.”

But even if both the beacon and the Avalung are functioning properly, somebody swept in an avalanche might not survive. “Airbags, beacons and Avalungs aren’t going to do a thing if you smack a tree,” Lundy said.

Foresters fret about lodgepole pine

FRISCO – The die-off for lodgepole pine has mostly ended in Colorado. Now trees killed by bark beetles are falling en masse and creating new worries about catastrophic fires.

The Forest Service estimates 98,000 lodgepole pine trees fall daily, primarily in Colorado. The epidemic began in 1996, and several years ago officials estimated 90 percent of the pine trees would die within five years. The most affected region is between Rocky Mountain National Park and Vail, with some stands near Aspen and Gunnison.

All along there have been disagreements about how much fire danger will be elevated because of the dead trees. It seems intuitive that a dead tree would be more vulnerable to wildfire, although some scientific evidence suggests that drought plays an even more important hand.

It’s not just fire risk that worries foresters, but also the baking of the soil that would occur, making the soil incapable of absorbing moisture. And that, in turn, could produce flooding and erosion.

Given that a majority of Colorado’s 5 million residents get their water from headwaters located among the dying lodgepole forests, the threat becomes ominous and far-reaching.

In August, Denver Water Department, one of the major importers of water from pine forests, agreed to give $33 million for restoration. About $6 million of that will be spent in Summit County in drainages upstream from Dillon Reservoir. The Forest Service has also committed to doing work on its own.

Banks mixed on foreclosure future

OURAY – Foreclosures in Colorado resort communities continued to rise last year, in many cases eclipsing records set during the real-estate bust of the mid-1980s.

The Denver Post notes that resort-dominated counties may well lead Colorado’s 64 counties in foreclosures, the flip of what usually happens.

“We are certainly seeing our biggest dollar volume in county history as well as the largest number of foreclosures,” Janice Stout, San Miguel County’s public trustee, told the paper.

But while Eagle County broke its foreclosure record set in 1987, it also has about twice as many residents as it had then–and perhaps twice as much housing.

– Allen Best