Intrawest is Investing in the Steamboat community not just the ski resort

That's music to my ears. Intrawest takes over and unveils their vision for Steamboat after the sale closes in March of 2007. I think that Intrawest will be great for Steamboat but how much they would care about the community was a concern for me. I am looking forward to seeing them back up that statement with their short and long term actions. I think it is up to all of us to hold them to that commitment. They clearly see value in what is unique about Steamboat to pay the price that they did and it is nice to hear that they see Steamboat as a long term hold.

Selected quotes from the Steamboat Pilot: "“The town environment in Steamboat is what attracts people there, he said Tuesday from Intrawest headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia. “It is the asset that differentiates it from other resorts, so we are investing as much into our relationship with the community and the town as we are with the assets that we are purchasing.

Wasilov said it is too early to say what sort of improvements or changes Intrawest might make at Steamboat. Those announcements will come once the sale has closed. “Because (American Skiing Co.) has not invested significantly in Steamboat ski resort improvements over the years, that leaves it open for Intrawest to make some improvements in the maintenance and in capital,” said Rob Perlman, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA.

Steamboat would be one of Intrawest'’s largest ski resorts with almost 3,000 acres of skiable terrain. Intrawest has interests in 10 North American ski resorts. It owns Copper Mountain and manages Winter Park, which is owned by the city and county of Denver.

We believe we are affiliating ourselves with an incredible consumer base in our industry, Wasilov said. “We're betting on the fact that demand will not only sustain itself, but with our involvement and our investment in the mountain and the community, that we will be able to grow the business over time.”

Wasilov said the development potential at Steamboat is somewhat “restrictive” because of the lack of land. We'’re not acquiring Steamboat for the redevelopment opportunity,” Wasilov said. We'’re really acquiring Steamboat because of its mountain operations business and its ski business.

If anybody was in doubt about Fortress’ seriousness about being in the ski business, they should not be in doubt any longer, said Mike Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association. At the end of the day, it bodes well for Steamboat. They will probably address some of the issues that everybody in this community wants to be addressed, whether it is capital improvements or other areas the community wants improved. Link to the full article here

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Steamboat Real Estate is Booming

That is the headline of a Rocky Mountain News article that runs today. Joanne Kelley from the Rocky Mountain News called me for some background info and was kind enough to quote me in her article about Steamboat Real Estate. I think that it would be closer to say that we have a strong market here with some significant potential for growth as the benefits of Steamboat's family environment, relative value, demographics over the 20 years, redevelopment and the ski area sale some into play. It's just that booming to me sounds more like speculation. What we have in Steamboat is a great value supported by an enhanced experience.

Quoted from the Rocky Mountain News:
Steamboat real estate booming: 2006 area sales a record; new ski resort owner may lift market even more. The Steamboat Ski Resort rises above the town of Steamboat Springs in northwestern Colorado. The possibility of a new owner for the ski area has been a boon for the Steamboat Springs-area real estate market in recent months.

By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
December 20, 2006
Steamboat Springs and the surrounding area have posted a record $1 billion in real estate sales even before the year ends, with talk about a potential new ski resort owner helping buoy an already strong market. By the end of November, total sales in Routt County exceeded $1.023 billion, outstripping the roughly $886 million in sales for all of the previous year. A whirl of development projects - both downtown and at the base of Steamboat Ski Resort - helps account for some of the interest.

"The ski area sale is a big deal, but it's not the only show in town," said Jon Wade, a broker and owner of Colorado Group Realty in Steamboat.

You can find the full article here in the Rocky Mountain News Plus another great article by Joanne Kelley, Big Deal for Steamboat that gives more details including the expected closing in March 2007.



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More details on the Steamboat Ski Area Sale to Intrawest

The following article has more details on the $265M price for Steamboat and some insights into Intrawest from Dave Hill a former Intrawest Exec that leads the team developing Wildhorse Meadows. ASC's CEO B.J. Fair does his best to take credit for the value of Steamboat but we all know it happened in spite of ASC's flawed strategies. Let me emphasize here that I think that our local resort staff has done an excellent job making Steamboat a great place to ski despite the mis-steps of ASC.

Steamboat's charm, improvements that proceeded depsite ASC's apathy, the changing demographics of resort markets like Steamboat and most importantly the quality of the people that come here & live/work here is what drove the increase in value. ASC just barely managed to hold onto Steamboat after many serious misteps and mounting debt from other failed ventures was compensated for by Steamboat's appeal despite ASC's efforts. If ASC was so good at creating value as B.J. Fair says in the article why is Steamboat a rare truly successful resort in their portfolio. There won't be many tears shed around town when ASC is finished here.

I'm sure that Intrawest won't be perfect but they have the potential to do a lot of good here if they remember the reasons that Steamboat is special. You can find the full text of Tom Ross's excellent artcle here in the Steamboat Pilot.

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Intrawest Buys Steamboat Ski Area for $265M

It looks like we have a deal for the Steamboat Ski Area after many rounds of bidding (scroll down through the last few months for some history) Ski areas are becoming much more attractive to buyers because of changing demographics as the baby boomers age and look for places to spend more time with their familes and eventually retire. Steamboat is particually interesting because it is a real town with a diverse set of attractions for retirees, familes and other vacationers. Steamboat will also benefit from existing plans to redevelop much of the base area and downtown. Intrawest will quickly bring a much better experience to the mountian and the pieces of the base area the resort controls. Indications are that ASC is serious about closing the deal this time. Let me know if you are curious about the implications and what to expect in hte near future.

From the Steamboat Pilot:
Intrawest to buy Steamboat $265 million deal announced today By Tom Ross
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 Updated 08:59 a.m.

Steamboat Springs — Intrawest ULC has agreed to buy the Steamboat Ski Area and related assets for $265 million, American Skiing Co. CEO B.J. Fair announced today.

The deal will bring an end to ASC’s 10-year run as the ski area’s owner. Included in the sale are the resort and all resort-owned operations, all of Steamboat's resort-owned real estate assets, the commercial core of the Steamboat Grand Hotel and Condominiums and the company's interest in the Walton Pond Apartments complex.

Intrawest, which was acquired by Fortress Investment Group in October, is expected to close on the Steamboat deal by March 31. Fortress is a rapidly growing hedge fund and private equity fund managing $26 billion in assets. Fortress purchased Intrawest, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, in a $2.8 billion deal. Intrawest has an interest in 10 North American mountain resorts including Copper Mountain and Winter Park in Colorado and Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia.

“The acquisition of Steamboat represents another milestone in our long-term strategy to develop, market, operate and provide our customers with access to the world’s premier network of experiential destination resorts,” said Alex Wasilov, president and chief operating officer at Intrawest. “This acquisition marks the resurgence in our strategy to grow through acquisitions and to leverage our platform to enhance value for our customers throughout the Intrawest network of resorts.”
Today’s sale marks the second time in five years American Skiing prepared itself to part with Steamboat. But today’s announcement is different from the last time around.

See the full article here in the Pilot

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Steamboat Ski Area sale announced this week?

We are getting close to an announcement of a sale of our beloved Steamboat Ski Area. There have been quite a few twists and turns as ASC and the potential buyers have thrown in several curve balls but it is looking more likely that they will announce a deal this week. I won't divulge who the likely winner is for a couple of reasons but if it doesn't happen this week I think that ASC is spending more time gaming the deal than making it. You can bet I will have some more thoughts to share once we have an announcement. From a real estate perspective I have seen a strong uptick in the market demand wise. If history in other ski area is any guide things are likely to get a lot more interesting from here even without a ski area sale. Why? Because there are so many other improvements quality and experience wise coming together right now here in Steamboat. Scan down if you want to see more history on how this has unfolded. Stay tuned...

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Bear Claw III Ski In Ski out plans

The Atira Group has given the city two options for the Bear Claw III site that is just below the older Bear Claw units. Atira purchased this 4 acre site recently for $25M and plans to built luxury Ski In Ski out condos, townhomes or both. The Atira Group is composed of partners that developed Catamount Ranch & Club here in Steamboat and Cordierra in Vail among other things. They have a track record of putting together very high quality developments.

The interesting twist with this site is that they have existing entitlements for an 11 story condo building that dates back to the 1980's. Everyone including Atira hopes that this building won't be built here but with the current lack of coherence in the city planning process it could be a fall back. Since they would also like to build something nicer they are giving the city an alternative proposal of building a combination of several condo and townhome buildings styled like ranch buildings. Knowing Atira's track record they will be very nice if they get their wishes.

what makes this the most interesting of all is the chance to see how council will react to a very clear choice of good vs. bad given the sometimes drifting course they take in the planning process. The other nearly as interesting twist is that the 11 story building was approved decades before the existing affordable housing rules. How they will handle that twist in trying to work for the greater good of a new development plan could turn out to be quite a show.

If you have any further questions about this project or what is happening at the base of the Steamboat Ski area in general feel free to drop a line. I can give you quite a bit more background on any of the new developments and the status of the URA improvements, it worth a little time if you love Steamboat. I love to talk about all of the improvements that are planned and how we should end up with a great base village with cool public spaces surrounded by more things to do year round as a result.

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Reinventing Downtown Steamboat Springs

There was an excellent editorial in the Sunday Pilot that I want to point out and recommend you read because it has a good summary of what is going on in downtown Steamboat. Howelsen Place should contain some new first class retail for the shoppers and a great new restaurant. Riverwalk will be a really great place to hang out along the river, get a nice meal and see some smaller public performances. Overall we expect to see more fun things to do downtown and nice public spaces to just hang out. Yampa Street is expected to evolve into the primary pedestrian corridor and will be a nicer place to have lunch than on main street. The editorial doesn’t mention it but downtown we need to do something about parking in the same sort of timeframe. That said if you walk 1-2 blocks a space is almost always available.

So far I think that what is happening will make Downtown a much nicer place to hang out while maintaining the things we all love about it.If you would like more details on what is happening downtown just drop me a line by phone or email. The following are selected quotes and a link to the full article.

"The approval last week of The Olympian, a 41,100-square-foot commercial and residential building at the corner of Fifth and Yampa streets, continues the radical transformation of our downtown area. We believe this transformation will have a significantly positive impact on the community, raising the vibrancy of downtown, helping existing small businesses, enhancing downtown as a retail and entertainment destination for visitors and driving sales tax revenues even higher.

It is worth noting that this transformation is being driven not by government, but by private investors and their faith in our resort economy. Developers have shown a growing willingness to take chances on major projects in the area between Third and 13th streets. And as each project is approved and completed, it encourages others to make similar investments. We think their investments will pay off, for them and the city as a whole.

These are no small undertakings. A summary of what has been done in the past three years: Waterside Village, Alpenglow, Howelsen Place, Riverwalk, the Olympian and the Victoria (see the full article below for details) These six projects will add nearly 200 residential units to downtown, an eighth of which will be affordable units. New stores, shops and restaurants are being added. And buildings and spaces that needed to go away: the Harbor Hotel, the Alpiner, Rocky Mountain Discount Liquors, Emerald City and Westland Mobile Home Park are going away.

Throw in some of the other projects of recent years: the new Ski and Bike Kare building, the new Cugino's, the renovations at Lyon'’s Corner Drug and Azteca Taqueria and the Chieftain Building— and you can see what Realtor and developer Jim Cook means when he says downtown Steamboat is being reinvented. Cook, who is involved in half of the big six projects going on downtown, sees downtown Steamboat becoming an attractive entertainment district." I encourage you to read the full piece here

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Steamboat Real Estate Sales set record

Real Estate Sales in Steamboat Springs hit the $1B mark as over November 30th up from $886M in all of 2005 according to Routt County records compiled by Land Title in Steamboat. Hitting $1B for the year was by no means certain and it was an unusually strong month in November that pushed us over the top despite thin inventory. Unit sales are just barely up. Higher average prices for new and existing units are the result of Steamboat's appeal, relative value, strong demographics and the anticipation of a ski area sale in recent months. We are also seeing an increase in the overall quality of new construction and new high-end Land Preservation Subdivisions.

If you would like to see a copy of the detailed data just drop me a line and I will send it to you. Give me a call if you would like some more insight into the numbers or what is behind them. I am a pretty low key guy if you haven't figured that out already from reading my blog so don't expect a sales pitch if you call, I prefer to stick to the facts and my interpretations of what is going on here in Steamboat. You cna reach me at 970-819-6930.

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Lifestyle based transition in Ski Towns

I've attached some quotes from an article in the weekend edition of the Wall street Journal. The broader investment market is starting to see the potential of changing demographics in resort towns and most are not seeing the whole picture. In addition people increasingly have the ability to choose where they want to live by the quality of the lifestyle and not work location. An increasing number of people are realizing they can live here without giving up a great career. Based on my experience here in Steamboat people that have made a lot of good choices in their lives now are realizing that they can work from almost anywhere or now have the flexibility to spend more time here so they are looking for a new primary of second home in Steamboat. The majority are either buying with their retirement in mind and plan to spend most of the year in Steamboat once they do retire, are ready to retire, or are looking to move their family here since they can work from anywhere and want to live / raise their kids in Steamboat.

One very important point the article misses is the transition of mountain towns to an economy based more on their overall lifestyle than just skiing. Skiing is an important part but as people spend more time in the mountains they realize Summer and Fall are just as nice and sometimes even better. Steamboat visitors start to come in the winter but what really attracts people over time it the overall lifestyle that is possible in places life Steamboat Springs, at that point skiing becomes a bonus. I can vouch for that. There is a growing body of research to support this as a broader trend. The percentage contribution of tourism to the economy in Steamboat has been on the decline for about a decade and that doesn't mean it isn't growing. It is just being eclipsed by a stronger trend of people coming here for the lifestyle then wanting to join and then contribute to the community here. It is amazing how quickly people feel a sense of ownership and want to help enhance it even if they don't live or own here yet.

The article also misses the fact that people are staying much more active. I skied a great powder run last week next to a guy only to find out at the bottom that he is 75. He had a couple of friends with him. The key here is that it wasn't surprising even though I still naturally assumed he was closer to my age. I'm sure this more than offsets the increase in the average age of skiers, I know plenty of 60 year olds here that can ski or bike me into submission.

Selected quotes from the article follow: Ski Resort Sales hit Brisk Pace By CONOR DOUGHERTY December 2, 2006 - "What's the must-have item this ski season? A resort. Some of North America's best-known ski areas have changed hands in the past year, in some cases fetching record prices, as private-equity firms and wealthy individuals are pouring money into mountains. Buyers have snapped up everything from destination resorts like Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia to smaller ski hills in New York and Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. New owners are betting that with the number of ski resorts declining, the remaining players will get a bigger slice of the market. "I think the pace of deals will remain brisk," says Chris Woronka, an analyst with Deutsche Bank in New York. "We are only in the early to middle innings of activity in the ski industry."

In October, New York investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC completed the purchase of Intrawest Corp. for $2.8 billion in cash and assumed debt, a buyout deal that included the Stratton ski resort in Vermont, Copper Mountain resort in Colorado and Whistler Blackcomb. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was bought late last year by a group of investors led by Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Capital Group Global LLC. Industry analysts say rising investor interest may have played a role in American Skiing Co.'s decision in July to explore "strategic options" for its Steamboat resort in the Colorado Rockies.

Ski resorts are in some ways a perfect target. The resorts generally have low debt, and their upscale clientele is less affected by economic fluctuations. But for investors, ski resorts come with plenty of risk. Despite efforts to become year-round venues, resorts remain a seasonal business largely dependent on Mother Nature to provide good snowfall. Resorts have spent millions updating their snowmaking equipment over the past decade, but the resort business still has generally better years when there is more natural snowfall.

And there's the issue of the aging skiers and snowboarders: The average resort visitor last season was 35.1 years old, up from 33.2 in the 1997-98 season, according to the NSAA. About 30% were 45 or over. While the industry has recorded a string of record seasons -- 59 million skier visits last year, compared with an average of about 55 million over the past decade, according to the NSAA. Investors say all of this is precisely what makes ski areas attractive. Over the past two decades, competition has pushed hundreds of smaller resorts out of business because the areas couldn't afford upgrades or snowmaking equipment to weather lean snow years. There were 478 ski areas in the U.S. last year, compared with 735 in 1984."

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Olympian Downtown Steamboat

City council approved the development plan for The Olympian, a 41,000 sq ft mixed use commercial building at Fifth and Yampa streets across from the river by the bridge to Howelsen Park and River Road. The building combines brick, stone, steel and timbers and consists of almost 7,000 sq ft of ground level commercial space, 23 residential units (3 restricted affordable units) underground parking, and improvements to the surrounding sidewalks. It is located just north of Riverwalk Steamboat and at the entrance to what the city is planning to be an improved pedrestrian and shopping area along Yampa Street as it flows down to the new Alpenglow and Howelsen Place buildings.

Paul Franklin plans to break ground this spring. Constuction for this type of building typically takes 18 months. Paul included a transfer tax on any sales in the building to benefit the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. He has two daughters and they are both skiers involved in the club. He is the second developer down town to voluntarily impose a transfer tax. Jim Cook started with the Sheila Cook fund for arts in the downtown area.

If you would like to know more about the Olympian, the overall revitalization of Downtown Steamboat or see plans for any of the projects. Give Jon Wade a call at 970-819-6930 or email jon@mybrokers.com

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Steamboat is #4 destination for Dogsledding

Time to shake up your winter vacation plans a bit? Ski.com rates Steamboat the number 4 destination for dog sledding in North America. I have actually met a couple of the people that run dogsleds out at Stagecoach Lake in the winter but haven't had a chance to try them. If you are looking for a different activity this winter check out: (the descriptions are their own)
- Red Runner Dog Sled Tours offers the most thrilling Dog Sled Adventure available! Travel at the speed of dog" on beautiful backcountry trails. 970-879-DOGS "
- Grizzle T Dog & Sled Works guarantees you an adventure to remember for a lifetime. Come experience the thrill of learning to drive a team of Alaskan Huskies along our pristine backcountry trails. This is a true wilderness adventure that the whole family will enjoy! Call (970)870-1782 for details.

Top Five Destinations for Dogsledding: 1. Snowmass, Colo., 2. Jackson Hole, Wyo., 3. Banff / Lake Louise, Alberta, 4. Steamboat Springs, Colo. 5. Winter Park, Colo.

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Steamboat Powder Skiing - Sundown Rope drop

There's nothing like the first rope drop of the season in the Sundown area. They always do it after a good storm and the skiing is always somewhere between great and epic. I rely on local knowledge & a variety of inside sources to always be there for this one. It wasn't as good as the last couple of years but it was still knee deep powder. I only wish the video could do it justice but I think that you will get the idea. It's just never as good when you stop to film because the skier isn't carrying the same amount of speed to throw snow all around and pop face shots of powder up on nearly every turn. I hope that all of you can get out soon to see it for yourselves. Thanks to Jeff Lampas, a 100 plus day a year local skier for coming out to throw some pow for me. Ski back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Steamboat Locals Powder day

I thought it would be merely good with a 7 inch at 5am report and the snow report didn't show any new runs opening but I know they can't resist on a day like this and it was still snowing so it was a safe bet more had fallen. 15 inches total made for some great skiing in the trees and out in the open too. They opened most of the front side of Storm Peak for the frist time this season and it was great. This is one of those time we locals get the mountain almost to ourselves. It's great to be here when the storms come through. It is still snowing nice and steady. Tomorrow should be great and if we are lucky they will open the Upper Closets, Shadows etc tomorrow.

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Anticipating a Winter Storm in Steamboat

The winter storm front they have been predicting since last week has arrived with a bang after almost a week of anticipation. Forecasts are all over the place since 2-3 systems are converging. Current forecasts range from 8-24 inches for the storm with some saying will go north and now one saying it will go south. All say the storm is carrying a lot of moisture they will deliver over the next 2 days.

Mountain weather can be beautiful, mysterious and unpredictable all at the same time so it never gets old just like a great woman. I think that is why I love living in the mountains and my wife so much, that makes me a lucky guy. Both sets of my grandparents were farmers that lived in anticipation of what the weather might bring. Times like this make me think of them. Even though the reasons I anticipate the weather are much more detached from my physical existence than my grandparents it is amazing how closely I can relate to how they must have felt. That said it is easy for me to say oh well and start anticipating the next storm if one doesn't quite come through :) Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Storm coming our way

Lets hope it pans out as predicted by the National Weather Service:
WINTER STORM WATCH - A STRONG WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE TOWARD EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO MONDAY AFTERNOON ACCOMPANIED BY A STRONG JET STREAM AND DEEP PACIFIC MOISTURE. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO NORTHWESTERN COLORADO LATE MONDAY NIGHT...THEN THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA TUESDAY PRODUCING HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW

Current NW Colorado predictions are for a foot or more or snow. I wouldn't mind if it decided to stay around a little longer and really sock it to us. One good storm like this could get us some nice coverage on the upper mountain since quite a bit more is likley to collect in the trees. Check my favorite site for Steamboat Snow Forecasts Sunday or Monday afternoon for an update on the storm and estimated snowfall or surf back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Steamboat

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Family and Friends wherever you found yourself this year. I have had a great time skiing with my wife Wendy, my son Alden and a few friends but most importantly getting to spend a luxurious amount of time with Alden, Neve and Wendy. I am a very lucky guy with much to be thankful for so this has been a special weekend for me.

Unfortunately it was a little warm here last week and we ended up one storm short of a solid opening this year. Scholarship day on Wednesday was a good chance to see friends on the mountain along with several nice sections with some soft creamy snow hidden among firmer snow and a little ice. Thanksgiving day was about the same. Friday brought the opening of the upper mountain and the chance to ski 3-4 inches of aged powder in the trees off of Buddy's Run and the traverse to 4 Points hut plus some bumps off the BC lift and very nice snow on lower Rainbow. Saturday brought a decent squall of snow during the day followed by some nice sunshine that made the snow much softer. I may not make it out on Sunday, I will be working in the morning and have hockey after that.

Overall the weekend was a good time to get out with several full and part time local friends, a chance to re-learn how to carve after last years epic snow fall where you could ski with round edges, see just how out of ski shape I am and make some turns to get back in shape. This may not have been an epic year like so many we have seen but I have had so many great years in Steamboat at Thanksgiving that I'm always here ready to go. Thanksgiving is on the early side this year and that makes a big difference when the storms most often hit Thanksgiving week here in Steamboat.

Up top there is a decent base so a big storm could get things looking nice in the trees. I'll be ready, how about you? They just happen to be forecasting just such a storm. Head back to the Steamboat Springs, CO blog main page for more.

Steamboat Opening day

It is opening day today and I will be heading out to sample the product for all of you. I don't think there is any reason to be overly jealous this year so far but it is always nice to get out and feel your skis on the snow and blow the rust off with a few runs. It still gets my heart pumping. I'm going out with 3 friends so that will be fun . I haven't skied with 2 of them before and I think they are really solid skiers so I am looking forward to the chance to bring up my game a bit in the new season.

UPDATE: I got out this morning for a few runs. There wasn’t too much open but the snow was soft even early and no sign of rocks. It wasn’t the epic opening that mother nature seemed to be setting us up for this fall but it was nice to carve some turns of all sizes. The upper mountain groomers look good and they plan to open up to the top on Friday. There is a light system coming in Thursday night but nothing significant is expected until early next week. Hopefully the Thursday storm will surprise us like they sometimes do this time of year.

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday with your families and you are planning some long trips out to ski this winter. Go back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Family Pictures today

Here is our first try at Christmas photos this year. The kids both have some "character" were a little fiesty but I did manage to a get a few decent shots. They are both much more comfortable outside in the snow. Neve (snow in Italian) just turned 1 and Alden is 3. I am a very lucky guy.



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Steamboat Discount Lift Tickets

Discounts on Steamboat Lift tickets are not quite as easy to come by as they used to be outside of package lodging deals but the meticket program is pretty darn good. Quite a few people ask me about lift ticket deals so I thought I would post a few details and a link to the website so you can find out more. I've been lucky to have a season pass for years so I don't have first hand knowledge of this program but people I know have used it. Basically you can get $13 to almost $30 off the daily ticket rates of $64-$81 by buying six lift tickets in advance @ $53 or 10 at $49. It makes a lot of sense for frequent visitors or vacation home owners who are not quite ready to get a super value pass, I hope that you will be ready for a pass soon :) More details below or go to: www.meticket.com

* mEticket is easy to use. Your card is valid every single day of the 2006-2007 ski and snowboard season, including weekends and holidays. Simply present your mEticket card and a valid photo ID at the ticket window. Your card may be used only once per day. You may use your mEticket to obtain single- or multi-day lift tickets
* Beginning March 15, 2007, you can use any or all remaining days on your card at once… and treat your friends or family! For example, if you have five days beginning March 15, 2007, you can bring one friend one day and two the next. You must present your mEticket at the ticket window in order to give days of skiing to others.
* All mEticket cards and all days purchased expire at the end of the 2006-2007 ski season. If you're having so much fun that you run out of days, you can purchase another mEticket.

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NASTAR National Championships in Steamboat

Our friends John, Kim and their son Andrew came up from Boulder for the NASTAR National Championships last spring. Andrew is a 4 year old NASTAR racer who is seeing early success and qualified for nationals so they made the trip for him to compete. He raced hard and placed 3rd in his age group. Someone liked what they saw and he was featured 3 times in the slide show before this year's Warren Miller movie and on the Nastar website front and center with Gold Medalist Phil Mahre and on the NASTAR National Championships page. The banner on both is titled "The Next Generation of Ski and Snowboard Racing". Descente also choose to feature Andrew in their Warren Miller and NASTAR Advertising. His parents are understandably very proud but will need to work a bit to keep him (or is that themselves) humble this season so his fame doesn't interfere with his skiing.

It is great that Andrew is off to such an auspicious start and we are looking forward to seeing him back here for the 2006 / 2007 National Championships in Steamboat Springs March 25-27th 2007 for the second year in a row. My 3 yr old son Alden is looking forward to his 4th season of skiing this year even more than I am. He got out with a training pole when he was 9 months old and has loved every minute of it (except brief incidents when he was tired and I had to pull out the chocolate to get him back on track) since then. I'm curious to see if he chooses to ski the trees with his daddy or follow his friend Andrew into the gates. Most importantly I hope that he continues to experience the sheer bliss of skiing that has captivated us all. Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Winter in Steamboat is here

Several people are have asked me how it looks in Steamboat after our most recent storm so I took a quick picture to share with you today. This is from downtown outside my office. I find myself walking out front a couple of times a day just to look up at the mountain and see how the light or the weather is hitting it. I am a pretty lucky guy to live here. We can still use some more snow for a great opening but it has been plenty cold to make snow. They are even making snow during the day downtown at Howelsen Hill. From town you can see where the snowcats have been working on the main trails to pack the new snow into a solid base. My favorite source for the Steamboat Snow Forecast shows the next possibility for significant snow coming through on Saturday. Hopefully it will develop into a good storm and be followed by another one for opening day on Wednesday. Head back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more Steamboat Springs Info.

Steamboat Snow Forecast

Here is a great snow focused forecast source from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. It is a true gem compared to other sources so I hope that you like it as much as I do. I say snow focused because the normal weather sites have a different focus so they don't give serious skiers what we need to understand what is coming and its potential. Even when they are looking at snow the forecast is more valley than peak oriented since that is where people live. These guys only care about place that we ski.

I have used this site for many years since it came out and have found CAIC to be by far the most accurate and insightful. Mountain weather is pretty unpredictable but these guys do much better since snow is their whole focus and they are much more into being useful vs. pretty. They generally call out the Steamboat snow forecast separately since it is often more than the rest of the northern mountains and do the best job catching surprise storms. It is updated daily between about 2-4pm. The CAIC Northern Mountains Forecast is worth bookmarking and watching so you know when you next case of powder fever is coming on. Here is a sample from earlier week without their commentary, it was very close to the actual snowfall we recieved:

Northern Mountains
Tonight: Lows 15-25, Winds W/40-50 G60+, Skies Obscured with 2-4", 3-6" Steamboat Tomorrow: Highs 18-28, winds W>NW/40-50 G60, skies Obscured with 6-8",6-10" Steamboat
Tomorrow Night: Lows 2-12, winds NW/20-30, skies Obscured with 1-3"

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Quick Steamboat Ski area sale update

It looks like Geogre Gillette is pulling out if the bidding for the Steamboat Ski Area at least for now but I'm not sure if that means that Andy Daly and the rest of the crew is out yet. Final bids are now due Friday Dec 1st. The process is taking a bit longer than the optimistic initial goals but I don't have a reason to see that as a bad sign yet. Some of the bidders for the ski area not shy about mentioning they are going for the Sheraton, Ski Square & Thunderhead too so this should work to their advantage.

If it hasn't hit you yet this is a really big deal to have a ski area along with 1/3 of the base availible for purchase. The right buyer can really do something nice and make some positive changes in our ski & apres ski experiences. Go Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Winter Storm Warning in Steamboat for the next 2 days

It looks like it could be a good one :) They are now predicting 10-20 inches up from 7-15 inches this morning. All of that wind should perfectly place large amounts of powder in the trees for an epic opening day so let's hope it goes according to plan. Hopefully we will have plenty of snow to give thanks for at Thanksgiving in addition to family, friends and living or visiting Steamboat Springs.

UPDATE: We got about 6 inches from the first wave that came through Monday. This next section is from the avalanche forecast with what we can expect tonight and Tuesday followed by the original forecast. Looks like a nice storm (I love how Steamboat shows more snow than the other areas and how often this is true)
Tuesday update: we got nine inches on the mountain as of this morning and the next wave is working on adding to that. It was heavy snow last night that packed everything down so this is effectively more than it sounds like and will lay down a dense base to build on from here.

Northern Mountains
Tonight: Lows 15-25, Winds W/40-50 G60+, Skies Obscured with 2-4", 3-6" Steamboat
Tomorrow: Highs 18-28, winds W>NW/40-50 G60, skies Obscured with 6-8",6-10" Steamboat
Tomorrow Night: Lows 2-12, winds NW/20-30, skies Obscured with 1-3"

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 PM MST TUESDAY.

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Steamboat featured in the Wall Street Journal for reasonably priced vacation homes

No surprise here, while Steamboat is no means cheap it does represent an excellent value in comparison to other top ski resorts and upcoming improvements are likely to make today's prices even more of a value.

From the Wall Street Journal:
Vacation Home Locales with Reasonable Prices
The Wall Street Journal's real estate Web site, RealEstateJournal.com, points to a dozen "tempting" locations in the United States where the price of vacation homes haven’t risen into the stratosphere. If you or a client is in the market for a second home, these are some spots to consider:

* Driggs, Idaho. A home just outside of town with a view of the Teton Mountain range and very close to Jackson Hole for $699,000.
* Blairsville, Ga. A mountainview residence, surrounded by forest, for $298,700.

* Steamboat Springs, Colo. A home near the ski-base area for $799,000. Once primarily a ranching town, Steamboat Springs goes by the nickname "Ski Town U.S.A."

* Clarksville, Va. A log home just off Buggs Island/Kerr Lake for $529,000.
* Dadeville, Ala. A home on Lake Martin less than two hours from Atlanta for $790,000.
* Cloudcroft, N.M. A Cloudcroft mountain retreat, surrounded by Lincoln National Forest, for $350,000.
* Eureka Springs, Ark. A Beaver Lake waterfront home in the Ozark Mountains for $599,900.

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Are we closer to a sale?

They raised prices on the Alpine Land high-end LPS lots in the $1.5 - $2.2m range today after a few recent price reductions. Alpine Land is being developed by Andy Daly and Bill Butler, indications are that Andy is involved in a bid for the Steamboat Ski area so does he know their bid was or wasn't successful and wanted to change prices before an announcement??? It seems to me that they are either stumbling around blindly in their pricing strategy or there is a different reason. They are pretty smart guys but I guess we will see soon enough.

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Neve's First Birthday

My daughter Neve turned one today and I feel like I'm the one that got the best present. Wendy and I are very lucky th have two wonderful kids that are both totally different and we can't imagine loving any more, until the next time they do something cute or want a hug that is. Neve means powder snow in Italian. It's hard to imagine if you know me but I think I love her even more than the fluffy Champagne Powder we live for here in Steamboat. The only thing better will be trying to keep up with her and Alden on a big powder day in the trees. I'm sure that days will be here before I know it. Last year it started snowing hard for the season a couple of days after she was born. Trillions of her friends came to meet her last season bringing near record snowfall here to Steamboat, hopefully they will be back again this year.

Ski area development in works

50 years ago James Temple was laying the groundwork for the Storm Mountain Ski area which is now what we know as Steamboat. I recently heard the story from Jim himself as he described how he purchased some out of the way ranch land and started my favorite ski area. Jim spoke at a dinner later that night to honor his contributions in advance of his induction into the Colorado Ski Hall of fame earlier this fall. His son Jeff put together a great video documenting how the area was built. One segment showed Jim and several other influential Steamboat skiers getting towed in from Rabbit Ears pass and then skiing down Storm Peak in a wonderful powder day. It sent chills down my spine to see these guys tearing up what would become the Steamboat Ski area on vintage equipment. I hope to get a copy soon so let me know if you would ever like to see it.

Selected quotes from the Nov. 1, 1956, issue of the Steamboat Pilot & Today - Ski plans move forward
Contour maps of Storm Mountain now are being made to push through development of a $1 million ski area on the 10,600-foot peak just east of Steamboat Springs. Necessary financial backing is available, Jim Temple said, and he plans to have an exact scale model of the mountain made this winter. Temple informed reporters making the initial trip on the Burlington railroads new vista dome train to Denver last weekend that “if all details concerning this vast area are worked out this winter as planned, construction should begin next summer with the first guests skiing here by 1957.

It is planned to construct a $600,000 tram lift that would be the first of its type in the United States, carrying passengers in steel and plexi-glass enclosed cars. It was said the lifts would vary in length, from 2,000 to 7,000 feet, with a total of about 25,000 feet. These lifts servicing he area will provide skiing for 3,000 people without overcrowding, Temple said. Storm Mountain long has been considered an ideal site for intensive ski development and the mountain itself would provide more skiing than any present area in the state, its proponents say. Snow remains on the mountain into May and June while there are more than 20 miles of potential trails. Although much trail clearing would be needed, about a square mile at the top of the twin-domed peak would no require any clearing, it was said. “Runs will be from three to six miles long for everyone, from beginner to international downhill competitor, Temple said.

Read the full article in the Steamboat Pilot or go back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Steamboat Ski Area Sale announcement soon ???

UPDATED: Things have gotten very quiet in regards to the sale of the Steamboat Ski Area recently except for the helicopters flying slowly over the mountain slowly inspecting the current terrain and the possible expansion in the Pioneer Ridge area. There have also been frequent tours of Ski Co and properties that are part of the Sheraton Resort Sale with Thunderhead Lodge and Ski Time Square getting a lot of attention. Most people that normally know something say they haven't heard anything in the last week or so. I have been asked for price and market opinions on various properties by people tied into various bids for Sheraton properties.

The Sheraton schedule is just getting started while we are well into, if not past, the second round of bids for the Steamboat Ski Area. It will be interesting to see if they both go to the same buyer. A second buyer may be able to pay more for the Sheraton and still benefit from that change without having to swallow the ski area too so that adds a bit of extra fun for the ski area buyers that would like to get both. A few very well connected people say that it is under contract for a close by the end of 2006 and an announcement will come soon.

Here's a stab at the big players still in the game:
- a partnership of 4 significant players, if you know the secret handshake, some say it is Vail (I think that translates to George Gillette, Andy Daly, Bill Butler, and their money guy in Denver who sold Founders Funds). They have been in town a lot lately so they are still in the game.
- Vail, still a possibility even with what I said above but insiders say that their next purchase will be outside of Colorado.
- it could be the Mueller's with either Disney or some of their local partners who made their money at Dell (Jim Larsen et all) from their bid for Steamboat in 2001. Disney could either be the company or family members since at least one has a home in the valley.
- Starwood Capital may be out more due to internal issues than anything but they are still actively poking around and gathering data.
- Fortress Group still seems to be in the hunt based on reports from properties they have visited. They are in the process of buying Intrawest for $1.8B which includes Copper Mtn and the management contract for Winter Park
- Maybe a group of 4 from the southeast and Steamboat, I'll refrain from giving more details right now as this is more of an idea.
- it could still be the unknown bidder that has been careful to keep their name out of view, I know there is at least one and it may be the group behind the Bretton Woods ski area in New Hampshire where Bode Miller hangs his hat. One interesting twist is that the Celebration Group which owns Bretton Woods is comprised of former Disney real estate executives. They may be looking at The Mueller's who own Okemo and now Crested Butte as a model for westward expansion or even be working with them.
- I think I am forgetting one but can't think of it at the moment and I need to run.

Whatever happens I'm sure there are a few surprises and possibly a different combination of the above players. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how it unfolds. You can scan through the rest of my blog below for more history. Let's hope it is someone with a heart that understands the soul of Steamboat, what makes it special here and will preserve that as they make needed improvements.

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CBS Ski Blog picks up Alden's early season skiing

CBS News 4 in Denver has a nice ski blog that covers skiing related stories in Colorado. They were nice enough to pick up on Alden's enthusiasm for early season skiing here in Steamboat and put up a quick post covering it on their main page. You can scroll down to see the video or go directly to the post here - early season skiing. Thanks CBS News 4!

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Halloween in Steamboat

We had a great Halloween in Steamboat. They just shut down the main street through town for 6 blocks and literally everyone in town shows up whether they have kids or not you see almost as many retirees as parents. The merchants give away candy and toys but the best part is seeing so many friends in one short night. Alden and Neve had a great time. If you are wondering I had to get a little creative costume wise (a real strech for me) so I was a powder pirate, don’t stop above a nice powder field if you are skiing with me. I will be sure to hop in before you.

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Skiing in downtown Steamboat Springs

We went over to Howelsen to get Alden on the snow again. He can’'t wait until the big mountain opens and may be looking forward to skiing even more than I am (which is not easy). He has plenty to learn, at age 3, but he picks is up fast and makes up for anything he is lacking in enthusiasm. The SSWSC Nordic director Tom Wilson walked over to talk to him and asked if he would commit to being a Nordic skier now and join his team. I said we were flattered but a boy has to keep his options open and do it all for a while. He thought that was a good idea but said he would watch for Alden in a year or two.

If you haven't been over to Howelsen Hill in downtown Steamboat Springs it is worth checking out. Right next to where Alden was skiing the Nordic Ski jumping team was getting in their last "summer" practice in on the year round nordic jump the community put in last year. Clint Jones, a Steamboat Olympian was there and we got to see him jump. The sense of history is palatable there since Howelsen hill is where Steamboat's ski traiditon was started nearly 100 years ago. Many dreams have been realized there and local kids can be found working hard to continue that legacy nearly every day all year long.

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Christmas in Steamboat

Here is what I call a white Christmas and my favorite present from Santa besides time with my family and friends. I took this picture of a friend just before Christmas 2005. Now that Santa has my list for this year I thought I would prod any of you that haven't made your Christmas plans yet to get your sleigh moving. I read today that One of the larger management companies is 80-85% booked for Christmas 2006 already. Steamboat is a great place to spend the holidays so this is no surprise but it is about 20% ahead of normal driven by earlier bookings and increased interest in Steamboat.

Once you have booked your tickets make sure to book key dinner reservations to places like Cafe Diva, Harwigs, Cottonwood Grill and Antares ASAP as they do fill up ahead of time over the holidays. Next plan some great dinners at home because those are always special.

If you are looking for gift ideas for the whole family Ski gear comes to mind first here in Steamboat. The local's choice and of course my own is Steamboat Ski and Bike Kare at 5th & Lincoln.It is a great shop with genuine people that give great advice. Steamboat Fly Fishing and Straightline Sports have great fly-fishing and general sport outerwear. If Nordic is your game I recommend the Steamboat Touring center at the Sheraton Golf course.

If you need to spoil your wife I recommend sending her to a local spa. These can book up early too so make an appointment now. The Homesteader is a great kitchen store if you want something unique for your favorite chef. I recommend going big for your wife and Santa may just bring you an extra trip to Steamboat this year which is also another great idea as a gift the "rest of your family.

If you need proof to show your kids that Santa really exists a friend of mine has put together a pretty entertaining Santa tracker page that even has a time lapse video of Santa in action at his house last year. He also does an extensive display of lights and Christmas decorations with a webcam that you can control over the internet, they have made national TV and print news for a few years in a row now. Alek is both really smart and has some time on his hands so both pages are a pretty fun diversion for kids.

Call me at 970-875-2962 or send an email to jon@mybrokers.com if you need more ideas, I have more than I can write about here. HO HO HO

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Video of Alden Skiing in Steamboat

We got another good snow storm up here in Steamboat so my son Alden was waiting with his skis "almost" on last night when I got home. He is 3 1/2 and it was getting dark so we walked across the street and got at least 50 quick runs in. Needless to say I am a very proud daddy. Alden talks about skiing even more than I do and can't wait to get out on the big mountain. Press the play button below the box to see the video and make sure your speakers are on to here the glee he derives from skiing. I have a feeling we will be out again tonight and will head up to the pass this weekend for some longer runs. Check out more of Alden's skiing in better light over at Howelsen hill in downtown Steamboat Springs. Thanks you stopping by to all of the visitors from ski-blog.com

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Steamboat Powder skiing in this year's Warren Miller Film

I just got back from this year's Warren Miller movie called Off The Grid. Steamboat has a 5 minute segment and the powder shots were awesome. Probably second only to the shots of a paralyzed guy in a sit ski heli-skiing in Alaska. As you know the 2005/2006 season was Epic here in Steamboat so it wasn't hard for them to get some nice shots. Most importantly we all got to relive a whole lot of days that were as good or better than when the Warren Miller Crew was filming. I still have a big smile on my face as I write this. It is snowing hard here tonight and has been since about 6pm. I ran into to a friend that hiked up to the top of Storm Peak on Sunday and said he had great powder turns for a long way down. It looks like tomorrow will be even better, I wish I had time to take a hike to the top. Go back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Intrawest and Fortress in Steamboat today looking at the Ski Area

As you know the Steamboat Ski area is for sale. I understand that Intrawest, the owner of Whistler and Blackcomb along with several other areas, is meeting with American Skiing Executives here in Steamboat today for late stage discussions on their bid. Intrawest in the process of being bought by the Fortress Group a large fund out of New York for $1.8B so Fortress is effectively the bidder. There may be one other bidder in town this week and a straggler in early November so hopefully we will know more soon. Here's to finding a buyer that understands what is special about Steamboat and the Ski Area they are buying so they can preserve that while bringing positive changes to the mountain and our ski experience.

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Snowmaking at Howelsen Hill

Snowmaking at Howelsen hill in downtown Steamboat Springs started over the weekend. It's not really that cold in town (got up to about 60 yesterday) but Howelsen is like an ice box since it doesn't get much sun. They plan to open Dec 2nd.

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Property Taxes

I was reading through the tax liens in Sunday's paper and found four clients and friends that had a past due balance. With second homes it is easy to miss. I know they would be happy to pay thier taxes since they are pretty minimal here but they either moved or didn't get a bill from some reason, one had paid off their loan and it didn't occur to them they needed to pay it now that the mortgage company is out of the picture. I let each of them know and thought I would do the same for you in case you didn't get your bill or your mortgage company didn't get it paid for you. The Routt County Assessor's office can be reached at 970-870-5544.

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Steamboat had 15 inches new on top last night

This morning's snow report showed 15 inches new on top this morning. Steamboat Springs has had an unusually snowy fall that followed a very wet August and 1st half of September. I saw quite a few nice tracks down Storm Peak Face, Heavely Daze and even Valley View this afternoon.

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Marabou Ranch in Sunday New York Times

Marabou Ranch located here in Steamboat Springs will be featured in Sunday's New York Times. The articles is titled "Where the front yard stretches 1,300 acres"

From the article: "Mr. Temple and his partners at Due West Land Ltd., which owns the property, have preserved in perpetuity 1,300 of the ranch'’s 1,700 acres. On the remaining land, they have created 62 lots what he calls homesteads— of 7 to 10 acres, priced at $2 million to $4 million apiece. If we’'re doing this right, each of our buyers can say they bought a 1,700-acre ranch, he said. Marabou, which sits along the Elk River, is among a widening group of expensive developments in Western states that are preserving land. At Marabou, Mr. Temple said, the developers decided not to place homesites along the Elk River or on the ridgelines, locations that would have reaped handsome profits. From a business perspective, this was risky,” he said."

You can find the Marabou Ranch article <-- here

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Disney confirmed as a bidder for the Steamboat Ski area

A good friend told me tonight that Disney's corporate jet has been a frequent visitor at the Hayden airport 20 miles west of Steamboat. I'm guessing that they don't have plans to open a theme park in the area so this lends more credence to a Mueller / Disney bid for the Steamboat ski area. The Mueller's from Okemo along with some local investors had the mountain under contract back in 2001 but ASC backed out and sold Heavenly to Vail instead. The Muellers went on to buy Mt. Crested Butte and have done great things for the ski area and town. They are highly respected back east and down in Crested Butte so many people think they would be a great fit for Steamboat.

This has been a big week for suitors to visit Steamboat. I have confirmation that George Gillette and Andy Daly's groups has been here, Fortress (the fund that is in the process of buying Intrawest including Whistler)delayed to next week because of the snow ( maybe they are not a good fit? ) one other I don't know and the Mueller / Disney group. You may not know but one of the Disney heirs has a large equestrian property in the south valley. That is one more cool thing about Steamboat, people don't come here to show their money. They may buy a big home but you would never know it if you saw them on the street, sat on a chairlift with them or ran into them at a party.

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Winter in Steamboat

Winter just can't wait to come to Steamboat Springs this year, it has snowed 1-3 times a week since late September and 18 inches is forecast tonight for Rabbit Ears pass. We got about 4 inches of heavy wet snow in town so there may be a foot or more up there to start with.

Sat Night UPDATE: The National Weather Service said the storm's heaviest snowfall was near Steamboat Springs, where some areas got up to two feet of snow. a warning remains in effect through the morning for western Colorado, where up to four more inches of snow is expected in spots.

Normally we get a good snow about the third week in September and then Indian Summer until at least the end of October. It is normally 60-70 degrees sunny and calm. Last winter was nearly a record snow year with huge powder days starting the Sunday of Thanksgiving and I was mountain biking up on the ski hill the first week of November. It normally starts snowing regularly in early November.

Thanksgiving requires some faith because the real storms come either Monday or Tuesday beforehand, during Thanksgiving weekend or the week before in order of likelihood. Personally I never leave town for Thanksgiving because 3 out of 4 years we have good to Epic conditions. Opening day or any day they open upper mountain tree runs for the first time there can be 3-4 feet of powder in the trees making for one of the best days of the year. You have to read the snow very carefully because there is not packed base underneath off of the blue runs but the rewards can be bountiful. Sunday Thanksgiving weekend last year was unreal with faceshots all day and powder days almost everyday for a week. Starting that Sunday we had 70 powder days out of the next 100. I never even got in shape last year because it was so soft. With snow that frequently the report could be 3-4 inches and it would be at least a foot in the trees. Definitely a year full of powder days I will never forget.

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Snow in Steamboat Again

Totday We awoke to fog in Steamboat and a little later we got a peak of Storm Peak with a perfect new blanket of snow. This afternoon it started snowing again and it really feels like winter. My ABS got it's first workout of the year on snowy roads as I drove into Eagle Ridge where we live. It seems like we are getting snow every week this fall which is quite different that the indian summer we get here in October most years. It has been far wetter this fall than last and last year was the wettest fall in 5 or 6 years.

I don't know about you but I'm hoping that this is a sign!

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Quick break in the 'boat

The Ski Boat, that is. This week has been way too busy so when my friend called this afternoon looking to get out water-skiing I replied that I was far too busy not to go. It's great having friends that work hard to make sure you get out to take advantage of the nice weather and make some turns on the lake. As you can see Mt. Werner is still pretty well covered up high from the storm earleir this week and this is a southern exposure. I have been admiring a nice set of tracks around the corner on Storm Peak that someone left to either make us jealous of inspire others to make their own.
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Ski Season officially begins at A-Basin Oct 13th

A-Basin announced today that they will open Friday October 13th for the season. Winter hasn't been shy about making it's presence felt in the Colorado mountains since early September in Steamboat and abotu a week later across the state. It looks like A-Basin may win the annual competition to be the first ski area to open for the year. We won't know until morning because Loveland could easily pull a fast one by opening earlier in the morning. We will be driving down to Boulder tomorrow for the weekend to see friends. It would be nice to make some early season turns and overlap my ski seasons but my family will be along so I won't test their patience. On the other hand getting in a second day on the slopes this year for Alden could work if we can leave Steamboat early enough...

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Steamboat Seasons

I have at least 12 favorite seasons here in Steamboat: Early Season, Winter, Sunny Winter, Spring Skiing, Spring time to relax and take trips, Early Summer, Late summer, September Snow, Indian Summer, changing leaves, quiet time when we anticipate winter and take trips then it starts over again. I look forward to each season and at the same time I am sad when each passes. The more time you spend here the more time you will appreciate the subtle and not so subtle differences even within the classic four seasons.

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One Steamboat Place in the Robb Report

The Robb Report just added One Steamboat Place to their collection of the most desireable real estate with the following comments "at the end of the run, right in the heart of Mountain Village, a home pretty much unlike anything Steamboat has ever seen. One Steamboat Place. These are private, luxurious residences with picture perfect perspectives of the mountains and the entire valley... only the magnificent interior appointments rival the views. Along with luxurious finishes including heated bathroom floors and true gourmet kitchens are favorite Timbers touches - great game rooms, member gathering areas and one of the greatest mountain spas anywhere. The location, next to the gondola, is incomparable. With fine dining, room service, boutiques, ski valets... One Steamboat Place, and especially its residences, is an unprecedented opportunity."

If you would like to know more about One Steamboat Place feel free to contact Jon Wade @ 970-819-6930. They recently started to accept reservations in priority order so give me a call if you would like a chance at Steamboat's finest new development at the base of the mountain and right next to the gondola.

See the short article in the Robb Report

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Vail says no comment on Steamboat but...

Consolidation is part of their strategic plan where they can add value. I think that next few weeks and months will be very interesting and I hope that any potential buyer comes forward with a plan to improve the mountain while respecting waht makes Steamboat so special.

From the Ft. Collins Coloradoan "He declined to make specific comments about potential acquisitions, including whether the company is interested in the Steamboat Springs ski resort, which American Skiing Co. has put up for sale for a price that has not been publicly disclosed.

"I think we look at consolidation as part of our strategic plan, and we are certainly always on the lookout for resorts that we can buy that we think fit into our strategy, fit our guest profile and where we can bring a lot of the skill sets that we have to improve them," he said."

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Steamboat could go to a private buyer

No, it's not what you think. As you probably know the Steamboat ski area is for sale but I’m pretty sure it’s not possible to make it a private resortsince it sits on public land. It just may be a private buyer that goes the distance. Potential buyers are in town this week and next along with top executives from the current owner American Skiing at the Steamboat Grand for management presentations. The deadline for the first round of bids is tomorrow. Some executives have mentioned around town that they hope to have a contract sometime in October for a December close. Let's hope we get new owner with the resources to invest in the mountain and a heart that knows why Steamboat is special & what not to change.

Selected quotes from the Rocky Mtn News (some editing for length) :
"Colorado's ski industry faces one of its biggest ownership shuffles in years. The latest wave of deals likely will put many areas back into private hands. What has changed? Private buyers tend to be coming to the table with gobs of capital. Before Wall Street arrived, ski-area ownership tended to be a largely local affair.

• Private equity firm and hedge fund giant Fortress Investments buying Canada's Intrawest Corp., the public company that owns Copper Mountain and operates Winter Park.
• Publicly held American Skiing Co. putting its marquee Steamboat Ski Resort - viewed as the seventh biggest nationwide - on the block.

"There's a lot of activity right now; it seems to come in these cycles and waves," said Dave Belin, at RRC Associates, a Boulder- based research firm. "Some of these resorts have been doing really well over the last couple years. It's a sell- high mentality. You buy low, and you sell high." That's particularly the case with Steamboat, whose financial performance has improved steadily in the past few years even as its parent company's stock languishes. Given the huge amounts of capital private equity investors have on their hands, observers say the odds of Steamboat attracting a private buyer are high. Recent buyouts all have been funded by private investors. Only Crested Butte's new owner had other ski areas in his portfolio.

"It's a pretty common perception that ski areas only make their money on the real estate sales," said RRC's Belin. "But would Eldora and the others still be operating their ski resorts after all these years if they weren't making any money?" The private equity model can match well with the need for big capital outlays because private owners tend to be far more comfortable taking on debt than public companies, said Sheila Broughton, who tracks Intrawest."

See the full article in the Rocky Mtn news here

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Indian Summer is back

Today was our second day of sunny & warm fall weather here in Steamboat Springs after our second significant snow this year. My friend Jeff Lampas called about going water-skiing so I couldn't turn down making some more turns on the remnants of last years epic winter along with the first pickings of this winter. That should be good luck right? As you can see the lake I ski at sits just below the mountain so it is a perfect place to pay my regards to the cycle that brings us such a great combination of seasons here in Steamboat. It just occured to me that since we are west of the continental divide and most of our storms come from the west that more of our snow stays local and comes back year after year. Just like most of our guests (or is that locals in training? :)

What will El Nino bring Steamboat?

Several people have asked me about the impact of El Nino on snow in Steamboat recently so I thought it was worth a post. Serious skiers are optimists by nature just like farmers except we plant the seeds of a bountiful powder harvest in our dreams, we study ski ratings in the heat of August, compare stories of powder days & seasons past, watch the latest ski movie releases in the fall, check our gear the first time we see a snowfalke in the air and plan out our strategy for the next season to get out on the best powder days.

Study the forecasts below carefully and start working on your best snow dance. Locals will tend to say that El Nino benefits Steamboat so make sure your are prepared.

Excerpts quoted from From the Vail Daily:
"El Nino has made a surprise appearance across the world in Indonesia, and some say that could mean a wetter winter here in our corner of the Colorado Rockies. But wait. Long-range forecasts released in August by the Western Regional Climate Center non-committally call for equal chances of above-average precipitation, below-average precipitation, or normal precipitation for Western Colorado through December.

No, it will be snowy — the Farmer’s Almanac’s, using its long-trusted “secret formula,” says it will be snowier than normal this winter.
Or not. National Weather Service’s 90-day outlooks call for higher than average precipitation in New Mexico and much of Arizona, but, alas, not Colorado, said Jim Daniels, a meteorologist with the agency’s Grand Junction office. But if El Nino does continue to strengthen during the winter, Colorado could get more moisture later in the season, Daniels said.

When it comes to long-range predictions, you might get some help from meteorologists. Or you might do better to just rely on prayers to the snow gods. The Farmer’s Almanac says winter in the Intermountain region — which includes western Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho — will be colder and snowier than normal.

Last week, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration said El Nino is likely to develop over North America during the upcoming winter. And Daniels said there is some correlation between El Nino and snowfall in western Colorado. “It allows more storms to come across our area,” he said. The snowiest times will be mid-November, mid-January, mid- and late February and early and mid-March, the almanac says. The almanac says it uses a secret formula devised in 1792 to predict the weather. “Our results are almost always very close to our traditional claim of 80 percent,” the almanac says.

Steamboat Ski area sale could fetch $220m plus

A front page article in the Denver Post reports that Steamboat could get $220-275M based on an 8-10X multiple of earnings before interest and taxes. If a ski area is on your Christmas list, Steamboat could be perfect for you. It will be very interesting to see this unfold. The prospect of a capable buyer that will invest in Steamboat is very excited and would likely bode well for the real estate market in Steamboat Springs.

Quote from the Denver Post article:
"The documents, which were distributed to potential buyers, led one industry analyst to value Steamboat at $220 million to $275 million, although the asking price has not been disclosed...Park City, Utah-based American Skiing Co. put the north-central Colorado resort on the block in July...Steamboat drew 1.047 million skiers last winter and generated $74.2 million in revenue in fiscal 2006, up 12.3 percent from 2005...Analyst Will Marks of JMP Securities in San Francisco based his value estimate on a multiplier of 8 to 10 times Steamboat's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, a measure of cash flow. According to the document prepared by Bear Stearns & Co., Steamboat's EBITDA was $27.5 million for fiscal 2006. "Based on today's market conditions and valuations for various real estate and related assets, I think that's a fair multiple," Marks said. "It's impressive that (Steamboat's EBITDA) is that high."...The last major U.S. ski resort to sell was Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California, which was purchased last fall by Starwood Capital Group for $365 million, or approximately 11 times its EBITDA... Included in the sale are 245 acres of property that Steamboat owns, licenses or leases, along with an additional 3,498 acres of mountain terrain that falls under a long-term special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service...Steamboat has identified six parcels of its base area land that are available."
See the full article here in the Denver Post.

One Steamboat Place

The Timbers company is launching their marketing for One Steamboat Place this week for the 38 whole ownership condos ranging in size from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet with an average size of around 3,000 square feet. The have not announced pricing yet but I would anticipate starting prices around $1000 a square foot. One Steamboat Place is the nicest base area development that Steamboat has seen to date. It combines a great location next to the gondola building over 1 acre of new public plaza space, gorgeous views, striking architecture extensive benefits inclduing a private club and the additional perks that comes as part of a Timbers Club development.

They expect to begin construction in the summer of 2007 and be completed about 24 months later. It may be a good opportunity for someone to lock in a very high quality luxury condo now for delivery once Steamboat's transformation is well underway while allowing them to capture the appreciation potential of their existing property until completion. It could also be good for a couple approaching retirement to lock in a luxry condo in Steamboat's highest quality base area development.

Reservations have just begun and as of this morning 4 reservations have been taken. Units will be chosen in the order reservations were taken so contact me, Jon Wade for more details, renderings and info on the changes coming to Steamboat at 970-819-6930. I am an independent Realtor and not affiliated with One Steamboat Place. I follow the market and the new projects very closely to give you the best data and insights from an independent perspective.

Steamboat Ski area sale update

Things have been heating up as the weather cools here in Steamboat. There has been considerable interest in buying the Steamboat ski area since ASC announced it was for sale. Fortress Group who just bought Intrawest is looking, Vail, The Mueller's, likely Starwood and I'm sure others that I don't know about. The current word from top people is that they have several interested parties and are optimistic a sale can be consummated buy mid-December. With ASC it's never done until the deal has closed so don't get too excited until the party in the streets when a sale is final.

A change in ski area owners can bring a significant move in the local real estate market as seen in Crested Butte, it's not something you can count on but it is worth considering as you weigh your options in Steamboat. Steamboat also has several additional changes coming online that have the potential to dramatically enhance the quality of the base area and downtown experience so give Jon a call if you would like to talk about the implications for your current property or a new one you may be considering. You can reach me @ 970-819-6930 or jon@mybrokers.com. See one of my previous posts on the Steamboat Ski area sale.

Aspen vs. Steamboat

I thought I would share an article comparing Aspen to Steamboat from a visitors point of view. Jay visited Aspen and then Steamboat back to back like he often does and responded to an article that appeared in the Aspen Times. Here a are few choice quotes:

"In Steamboat, the people are almost unfailingly friendly ... You'll encounter ranchers in Steamboat ... I'm talking about ranchers with actual cow crap and sheep crap on their actual cowboy boots ... The comment about Steamboat mountain biking ... that was a beauty. Trust me on this, Al, you can get your lungs burned and your legs fried in Steamboat on more killer trails than there are Hummers in Aspen. Next time you ask a Steamboat mountain chick for trail suggestions, don't do it in your $400 Manolos. Leave your Louis Vuitton at Dad's phat condo. Otherwise, said mountain chick might assume you're looking for a ride for, uh, pussies."

"At the end of the day, Aspen and Steamboat are Rocky Mountain jewels gracefully sitting beside their respective rivers like pearls on shimmering necklaces, fashioned from the same hand, but endowed with fascinatingly different personalities and treasures of their own. One is no less beautiful to its denizens for its lack of Hollywood glamor - and outrageous expense - than the other. I can't help but think: As much as I like Aspen, and I do like Aspen very much, I would have LOVED it back in the days when it was more like Steamboat."


The original article he is responding to does have a good section about what is good in Steamboat. For the record I think that Aspen is a gorgeous area and like the skiing there but Steamboat is much more my style. Expect a wave if our paths cross on a bike, skis or just walking.

First Tracks in Steamboat

Alden got out for his first day of the season here in Steamboat and was the second person on the mountain so far this year. It's pretty cool when your 3 year old gets his first powder day of the year in September. He had about 6-8 inches of fresh a day after the storm. There was one set of nice tracks down Heavenly Daze Saturday afternoon, kudos to that person. He had a great time making first tracks and is still talking about it, that's what really counts. Update: picked up his new Dynastars Tuesday night from Steamboat Ski and Bike Kare. They are a great shop that the locals go to with a cool down to earth staff.

More Steamboat first snow shots

Here are 3 more shots I took today to give you a feel for the snow we got here in Steamboat Springs, CO. Back to Indian summer soon.

Buffalo Pass got 1.5 feet of Snow last night and it is still snowing

I just heard from a friend that Buffalo Pass just above Steamboat Springs got 1.5 feet of fresh snow last night. That means that the ski area probably got over a foot on top. As you can see from the picture below the grass on Heavenly Daze is virtually covered which is no small feat because it was pretty tall and standing a couple of days ago. It is still snowing up there and it just started snowing nice sized flakes here at the base of the Steamboat Ski area. The forecast is for more snow tonight so I'll keep you posted. I'm trying to get up the gondola to see it for myself but it is closed due to the weather at the moment.

First Snow on Mount Werner

I woke up this morning to my son Alden yelling “DADDY IT’S a POWDER DAY!!!!” at least 5 times. For me that was one of those moments when you know you have done something right in life. This picture is from our deck I took when I got up. The gondola is running now so I am thinking about going up to see how much it snowed. There is about an inch of slush

Don’t worry if you plan to come up and see the Aspens change, if it's like any other year this will all melt soon and we will have a few more weeks of Indian summer to see the leaves change and get in more summer sports. It’s doesn’t appear that it will take many leaves off of the trees.

Fall Aspen in Steamboat Springs

Here's a shot from lunchtime today at the lake looking up towards the Sundown area (and some of my favorite tree skiing) on Mount Werner. I never get tired of the progression of colors every day as the Aspens prepare their tribute to the Snow Gods. I hope that you can get out to see all of fall colors for yourself. It's been really spectacular to see everything from the grasses, hay, cat tails and various scrub brush to the Aspens show their diverse palette colors as I've driven around the Yampa Valley and Steamboat Springs this week. It's also fun to see everyone re-doubling their efforts to get their fill of warm weather sports before the valley is filled with snow.

Fall in Steamboat Springs

Once we hit Labor Day here in Steamboat Springs it is like a big switch is thrown and it is suddenly fall. I saw a large grove of golden Aspen trees right away as I started a mountain bike ride this morning with 3 friends from Dumont Lake on Rabbit Ears Pass to the Mountain View trail up the back of the Steamboat ski area and down into town. It is a little less than 30 miles with quite a bit of up and down and a big climb up the back of Storm Peak at the end.

As we came back down Cathy's on the mountain on the left side of the Sunshine chair we went through several groves of Aspens that were starting to change. It's hard to let summer go but fall is wonderful here and winter definately has it's charms. See my earlier post on Steamboat Springs seasons.