Looks like a hot spot for trout tho.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/html/WildAndHeritageTrout/waters/HotCreek.htm
Posted on 10/05/2005 6:56:04 PM PDT by calcowgirl
MAMMOTH LAKES – The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, a longtime winter playground for Southern California residents, says it will sell a controlling interest to a private investment firm.
The $365 million acquisition will be made by Starwood Capital Groups, led by luxury hotel mogul Barry S. Sternlicht. The move is expected to give the resort an upscale character, unlike the raw, unpolished style developed by founder and co-owner Dave McCoy.
The deal will give Starwood 70 percent control and the right to operate 4,000 acres of ski terrain at Mammoth and June mountains and allow for some development. The land itself is owned largely by the U.S. Forest Service and operators have a 40-year lease that expires in 2024.
McCoy, 90, started the resort about 60 years ago with a rope tow that relied on a truck engine. He and his wife, Roma, became emotional Tuesday as more than 100 pages of deal documents were signed in a Mammoth conference room.
"It's like selling your heart," Roma McCoy said. "We practically grew up here. We raised our kids and grandchildren here. There's never been a man like Dave McCoy and there never will be. Nobody knows what he went through for the mountain."
Her husband drew a deep breath and said, "Well, we had a lot of fun and a lot of heartbreak."
Once the deal is completed and with all the stakeholders, McCoy should get about $80 million. He vowed to keep riding mountain bikes and exploring the area in his off-road vehicle.
The resort's new owners plan to develop 60 acres around Mammoth Lakes with Canadian resort operator Intrawest Corp.
"The goal is to bring in other hotel brands, a mixture of both boutique and large hotels," said Marc Perrin, managing director of Starwood Capital. "We're also focusing on bringing in hip restaurants as well as new residential, hotel and entertainment experiences."
Mammoth enjoys a great reputation for its skiing and the new deal should help it appeal to visitors who have been drawn to upscale resorts such as Vail and Aspen, said hotel industry analyst Bruce Baltin of PKF Consulting.
Mammoth drew 1.5 million skiers last year and was one of the nation's three most-visited ski areas.
The transaction is expected to close in 90 days.
In an unrelated development, cross-country ski resort Royal Gorge, which operates on more than 9,000 acres on Donner Summit near Truckee, was sold to a partnership of San Francisco Bay area developers. John Slouber, who helped spawn cross-country ski resorts nationwide with the creation of Royal Gorge in 1971, sold the resort to developers Todd Foster, his cousin, Mark Foster, and Burlingame developer Kirk Syme.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
That's too bad.
A$pen We$T?
I wonder how much caldera insurance costs?
That is too bad. In a few years the property values will be sky high and if you don't have big money you won't be skiing on the mountain; service employees will have to move farther away; the A-frames and cabins will gradually be replaced by big condos; and the impact will start to spread to nearby communities.
A little farther north an upscale development has been proposed for a parcel on Whitney Portal Road just outside Lone Pine. It just makes me want to cry. The Eastern Sierra is still a very precious place.
Serious skiers and ski runs are seen as both a revenue stream to fund construction, as as a hindrance to construction. Basic levels of food and lodging go away as operators aim to attract upscale clients who can afford to buy a timeshare or an outright condo. The playground for all - the citizens own this land, after all - becomes an unaffordable upscale shopping mall in the snow.
I'm not lamenting capitalism, but I think it's sad when something so basic and beautiful as the sport of skiing - which I want everyone to be able to enjoy - becomes the domain of the upscale only.
Maybe I'll have to get into back-country skiing - anyone have a beacon and avalanche shovel they can sell me cheap?
My thought as well. An extreme sport -- ski the Supervolcano. "The crater, called the Long Valley caldera, is the collapsed core of a volcano that exploded 760,000 years ago, sending a blanket of ash over much of the Western U.S."
You paint a sad picture...
I started skiing there when they had 6 chairlifts, a rope-tow and two t-bars. I feel like I grew up on that mountain. I hate to see the area turn into another resort location--I liked it's old rustic nature.
I take it you used to participate in the Mammoth's unofficial Memorial Day festivities at Hot Creek?
Looks like a hot spot for trout tho.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/html/WildAndHeritageTrout/waters/HotCreek.htm
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