Ski Safety Blog

Breckenridge Ski Resort's proposed expansion to Peak 6 poses a classic growth for business vs. resistance to change and exploitation. The plan was recently approved by the U.S. Forest Service following a study of the project and is now being considered by the town council.

Data included in a recent study of the proposal indicates a possible increase in the number of annual peak days for the town and the mountain, but also shows the expansion will likely pour millions into the local economy. The addition would accelerate the resort's already steady growth in annual skier visits.

The Environmental Impact Statement found that Breckenridge Ski Resort would likely see a 2 percent yearly increase in skier visits over the next 10 years after building Peak 6, compared with only a .75 percent yearly increase without the expansion. The third alternative would foster a 1.25 percent yearly increase in skier visits.

Over 10 years, the Peak 6 expansion would grow Breckenridge's number of annual visits to 1.95 million, 250,000 more than if the Forest Service went with the "no-action" alternative, according to analysis included in the draft EIS.

Currently the town and ski resort have enough parking to accommodate just over 21,000 skiers per day, sufficient for most days but not so on peak days. And the crowds of people create congestion both on Interstate 70 and on Highway 9 as well as lift lines, crowding and long waits at local restaurants. Local officials worry that more peak days will not only begin to impact quality of life for locals, but also hurt the experience of visitors to Breckenridge.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 3:21 PM | Permalink

Ski pass prices for the 2011-12 season are going up 3 to 4 percent over last year, the Aspen Skiing Co. announced last week. SkiCo defends the increase as a reflection of the company's higher cost of doing business, such as higher fuel and power costs.

Season passes will go on sale today. Skico's pricing attempts to get buyers to join the chambers of commerce in Roaring Fork Valley, and it tries to get people to commit early. Skiers and riders who purchase their pass before the Sept. 16 "super-early deadline" get the best prices. Members of a chamber of commerce reap substantial discounts on pass prices compared to non-chamber members.

The Skico is offering a similar lineup of passes as years prior, except for the Classic Passes. Last season the Skico offered only a five-day classic pass. After customer complaints, it killed the five-day Classic and resurrected the four- and seven-day Classic Passes. But the company did not revive a Highlands-only pass, as some customers have requested.

The Skico's two most popular passes are going up $40 to $50 over the prices last season. The Premier Pass for buyers who qualify for a chamber of commerce discount increased from $1,099 last season to $1,139 this season; that is a $40 increase or 3.5 percent. The Premier Pass for buyers who don't qualify for the chamber of commerce discount increased from $1,499 last season to $1,549. That is an increase of $50 or 3.3 percent. The Premier Pass allows for unlimited skiing without blackout dates. Special variations of the pass are available for seniors and youth.

The Skico's Premier Pass price increases are the first in three seasons. The company dropped the prices of its Premier Pass in 2009-10, then kept the price flat in 2010-11. Skico also justifies the increase by is making $26 million in capital improvements this year: the new $7 million Tiehack Express chairlift; a $6 million remodel of the Merry-Go-Round at Aspen Highlands; and the first phase of construction of a new $15 million restaurant at Elk Camp at Snowmass that will open for the 2012-13 season.

Vail Resorts' Adult Epic Pass is $649; it offers unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado as well as Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 9:42 AM | Permalink

Powderhorn Resort was on the auction block yesterday, and some familiar faces in Colorado ski community walker away as new co-owners. Former Vail Resorts executive Andy Daly and his partners in a new corporation, Ken and Tom Gart, had the high bid of $1.4 million for the Powderhorn Resort along with a more than 700-acre parcel of nearby land that could be developed into a golf course and home sites.

The Gart brothers of the Colorado-based sports corporation The Gart Cos., accompanied Daly to the auction and after three rounds of bidding, the trio bought up the ski area and the undeveloped land to the south. An inn and restaurant, the foundation for a new condominium complex and lots around the resort went to other individual bidders.

The Garts, whose family has been in the sports retail business in Colorado for three generations, would not comment on what part they will play in the ski area. They disappeared into the crowd while Daly welcomed handshakes and backslaps following the auction. Ken Gart deferred any comments to Daly. Daly referred to the Garts as "real estate partners."

Daly has been part of the Colorado ski industry since he took a job at Aspen Highlands in 1970. He was president and chief executive of Vail Associates Inc. before it became Vail Resorts. During his time as president, the company acquired Keystone and Breckenridge, Heavenly in California and Wyoming's Grand Teton Lodging Co. 2002 to start an investment company. He said he started a new company called Powderhorn Partners to acquire Powderhorn.

Daly's and the Garts' acquisition of the struggling ski area was warmly welcomed by the crowd in ski lodge. Local officials, former ski area employees and neighbors of Powderhorn came out on a day when the stock market tanked to see what the fate of the beloved local ski area would be and if the rumors sifting around Mesa County in the past week -- that Daly was bidding -- were true.The entire auction brought in just more than $2 million. Previous co-owner Steve Bailey, who is retiring, was all smiles after the auction.

Daly said he plans to make some small improvements to lifts and snowmaking equipment and to add a tubing park before this winter's ski season. The ski area includes four lifts and 1,600 skiable acres and attracts about 75,000 skiers annually.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 1:13 PM | Permalink

Voters in Steamboat Springs will be asked on November 1st to consider adding a 0.25 percent sales tax to their shopping bills in order to bolster the ski season airline flight program that transports some of Steamboat Springs' highest-spending tourists and second-home owners to the resort.

The Steamboat Springs City Council voted unanimously last night to put the question of the tax on the fall ballot. It would increase the tax collected on purchases here from 8.4 percent to 8.65 percent. Of the 8.4 percent, 2.9 percent is state sales tax, 1 percent is county tax and 4.5 percent is collected by the city. Of the 4.5 percent for the city, 0.5 percent goes to the Steamboat Springs Education Fund.
The additional sales tax would amount to 10 cents on every $40 spent for consumer goods. If approved, the new tax would be in place for five years. The actual ballot language has not been written.

Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. supports the tax and has stated that more funds for the airline program are needed because airlines are demanding more money for fewer inbound seats to Yampa Valley Regional Airport, and proceeds from the 2 percent accommodation tax that contributes more than $1 million to the program annually is off by 33 percent in recent years. That translates into fewer arriving seats and fewer passengers to generate new sales tax revenues.

Steamboat's airline program is 25 years old and relies on the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. to sign contracts with each airline based on a promise to provide minimum guarantees to offset the uncertain profits of flying to a resort market. Since 2004, the cost of the revenue guarantees has been split evenly between Ski Corp. and the proceeds of the 2 percent accommodation tax dedicated to the air program. That tax is collected by the city through a local marketing district that comprises most of the resort bed base.

The actual cost of the program depends on the fiscal performance of each flight. After the winter of 2010-11, the flight program sent $1.9 million to the airlines against guarantees of $2.69 million. However, rising fuel costs, airline mergers and reduced aircraft fleets have forced airlines to increase the guarantee budget for the coming ski season 50 percent to $3.35 million. The challenge for proponents of the tax is to overcome any perception that the purpose of the tax is to reduce the amount of money Ski Corp. plans to pay into the program. Spokesman for the Ski Corp. argues that the resort currently bears half the cost of the ski season jet program although it captures only 25 percent of winter visitors' expenditures.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:22 PM | Permalink