Category: Resort Skiing

Crested Butte Mountain Resort Denied on Snodgrass

Posted by Frank – November 10, 2009

The forest service has decided to really throw a wrench in CBMR’s plans to expand onto Snodgrass Mountain. Their letter to CBMR can be found here:

CBMR’s reaction is here:

Update 11.12.09: 2 more articles in the local paper that are well worth reading for those interested…
Official Story
Local Reactions

It will be interesting to see where CBMR goes from here. They will almost certainly appeal, but who knows where that will get them. Snodgrass is the only logical place to go for more intermediate terrain, and the resort could use more intermediate terrain for families. I have a feeling this is far from over…

Soul Sessions and Epic Impressions

Posted by Frank – November 4, 2009

That’s the name of Matchstick Production’s first movie back in 1993. OK, technically they were known as RAF, not MSP back then, and a few people still have a copy of 1991′s “Nachos and Fear”, which wasn’t released, but Soul Sessions is what put MSP on the map. I watched it again for the first time in a long time and remembered just how much I love that movie. It has never been re-released on DVD, and searches on ebay were fruitless. Heck, I couldn’t even find a clip on youtube. Still, if you can find this movie, or know someone who has it, you might want to give it a look and here’s why.

The movie starts with this: “Ski bums are ski bums and always will be. All abandoned establishment lifestyles to recreate all day, every day in the mountains. This movie is dedicated to them.” And the movie starred ski bums. Dave Bluestein, one of the skiers, was washing dishes at The Slogar back in those days. The movie then says this: “1,000 years in the future, archaeologists will excavate ski towns, and their findings, along with the history books, will lead them to the conclusion that skiing was just a sport. They’ll never know that life is skiing and skiing is life.” The voice-overs are rounded out with some Clint Eastwood movie quotes (“Alive or dead, it’s your choice”) and some Kerouac.

I was 19 years old when this movie came out, and I ate that stuff up. Someone else who was 19 at the time of this movie was a Western State College student by the name of Seth Morrison, who made his film debut in this movie. The footage of Seth airing most of “The Edge”, one of Crested Butte’s steepest runs, is timeless. I have yet to see someone try the same thing on modern fat skis. Seth made this movie, and MSP made Seth. To see inbounds runs at places like Crested Butte and Taos actually make a movie, sometimes even in springtime conditions (rather than powder) is virtually non-existent these days. I think that the occasional segment outside of the park at a ski area wouldn’t be a bad thing at all, in fact it would let people understand just what these top-notch athletes are actually doing.

Lots of skiers say that the “Blizzard of Ah’s” had a huge effect on them, but for me “Soul Sessions” probably had an even bigger effect. A lot of things led me to this place called Crested Butte, and this movie is a big part of that. It just seemed like the place to be at the time. I wish I had a clip to show, but I don’t. So seek this movie out, then learn it, love it, and live it :)

EDIT 4-7-2011 MSP finally put a clip on their website! Check it out HERE.

Crested Butte Post-Season 4.19.09

Posted by Frank – May 19, 2009

Sorry for yet another late post– In this case, I was hoping for more photos from the other participants, but that’s OK. I’ll just dedicate this TR to the Denver Nuggets and their first Western Conference Finals playoff game in 24 years :)

A last minute change of plans had Ben, Tom, Rob and me unloading our sleds at the base of the ski area a little over a week after they closed. Why on earth would we go ski our home ski area when we could ski elsewhere, you ask? Well, for one thing, we knew we would be able to ride tandem up all the access roads at the ski area, so we could be lazy and ski laps without any hiking. For another, Ben and I have had our eyes on some permanently closed areas since we each arrived in Crested Butte in 1996. Skiing them after the area is closed is the only way we could ski them.

We weren’t the only ones out that day, but there was still plenty to go around. We started off with a warmup lap on the headwall, which had received a fair bit of snow since the area had closed, which had the effect of eliminating all the bumps which usually clog up the runouts. Ben was the first to go, hitting the “diving board” variation of Angle gully:
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Tom went next, on the McConkey Memorial Spatulas. He chose to boost it off of box rock:

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Rob and I skied the next lap together, so I don’t have any photos of either of us. Next we went to the area we really wanted to get to, the forbidden zone known as “Lookout”. This area was open one season long ago, but patrol had to rope out so many people, they had to shut it down. The dominant route in this area is an exposed diagonal chute that empties back into Spellbound bowl. Ben got first dibs on routefinding. Here he is, safely coming out the bottom:
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To enter the diagonal, we each had to find a line and straighline a short rocky section, and the first turn was crucial, or else we would send it off the large cliff below. Coming through the crux, my tracks are looker’s right and Ben’s are looker’s left:
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Rob was next:
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We had all been standing on an alternate line, and Tom somehow mustered up the courage to give it a go. He nailed it. Here are the photos:
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We made another lap in another closed area, Teo2 bowl to end the day. Hopefully this area will be open as early as next season. It is a fun but short/sweet area that should offer up a lot better skiing than the (what I consider to be) boring Teocalli bowl. I didn’t get any great shots in this area.

Meanwhile, Matchstick Productions were up to their own thing after the area closed. Snowcats had taken all the snow from the park and sculpted a huge booter for their jibber athletes to hit. Coming soon to a Matchstick movie near you (notice how small the snowcat seems in comparison):
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Western State Peak 1.19.09

Posted by Frank – January 20, 2009

Western State Peak 12,779′
Brittany and Frank

Our friends Pete and Jasper did this tour a couple of days before us, and it sounded fun so we decided to follow their tracks and check out an area that doesn’t get visited much. Western State (WS) peak is directly across the East River valley from the ski area, but it’s very much overshadowed by higher peaks such as Whiterock.

We skied down from the Snodgrass trailhead and began following the skintrack towards our goal, which was directly ahead.
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The ridge was a long gentle one that led us deeper and deeper into the Maroon Bells- Snowmass wilderness.
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Near the top, there was a tiny bit of scrambling, but overall it was an easy climb.
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At the top, someone had placed a Frappucino bottle as a makeshift register, where Teresa Gergen signed in that WS Peak finished off her list of climbing CO’s highest 800 peaks. Either very impressive or very obsessive ;)
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We had some great views from the top. Uncompahgre is a 2 hour drive away (maybe 80 miles or so as the bird flies), and yet it was easily visible from the summit (black block-topped peak right of Whetstone mountain).
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Castle and some fun looking terrain off of an unnamed peak:
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Teocalli’s West Face:

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White mountain looks to have a really fun line through this hanging snowfield:
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After taking in the views, we decided it was time to get going so we could catch the East River chair at the resort. It was a little thin up top, but still fun. Brittany:
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Brittany’s camera batteries were dying, so we traded cameras, but got a few less shots. Frank near the top:
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The next section was really fun, carveable recycled powder. Frank:
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Brittany:
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As we got lower, the snow turned to corn- in January! Brittany:
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Here’s a photo of the lower half of the run, and our tracks:
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Gothic from the East River valley (little did we know that we would ski it the following day):
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We got on the East River chair and then the Paradise chair, where I took this photo (WS Peak under the red dot)
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OUr day finally started to come to an end after yet another chair, Painter Boy. We stopped there and enjoyed a well-earned PBR at Camp 4 coffee before skiing back down to the trailhead.
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We skied Gothic the following day and I took a photo of our route from there. The green dots represent a short skin back to the ridge we needed to get to.
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All in all, a great day! Thanks for the tracks, Pete and Jasper!!!

Crested Butte Sold Again

Posted by Frank – December 6, 2008

Not much to say about it right now until we know more, but here is the press release:

(Orlando, FL, Crested Butte, CO) Dec. 5, 2008 – CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on lifestyle properties, announced today its acquisition of the privately held assets of three ski and mountain lifestyle properties: Vermont’s Okemo, Colorado’s Crested Butte and New Hampshire’s Mount Sunapee. CNL Lifestyle Properties is purchasing the resorts from family-owned Triple Peaks, LLC and leasing the properties back to Triple Peaks to manage the ski, golf, hospitality, and conference operations under a long-term lease.

“This transaction provides Triple Peaks the opportunity for immediate enhancement to these popular mountain destinations that will improve the overall skier experience and extend the resorts’ offerings for all four seasons,” said Byron Carlock, president and CEO of CNL Lifestyle Properties. “Tim and Diane Mueller have positioned the properties of Triple Peaks for ongoing success. We are proud to establish a relationship with such seasoned and respected operating partners and enable them to carry out their vision for these properties over the long-term.”

“In this time of economic instability, for CNL to commit sizable dollars to our resorts is a testament to their confidence in us and our entire Team.” said Tim Mueller. “Triple Peaks’ resorts are recognized for operational excellence and success within the ski industry. In today’s environment, there are not a lot of companies able to complete transactions of this nature. This is also indicative of CNL’s financial strength and confidence in our management team and in the ski industry. They are a well capitalized, stable company and we are pleased to be associated with them.” Mueller continued.

“Our focus has been delivering outstanding service and a positive skier experience since we entered this industry with the purchase of Okemo in 1982,” Mueller continues. “We anticipate that this new relationship with CNL Lifestyle Properties will enable us to continue to do what we do best — create a unique and memorable experience at our mountains for our visitors. With the stable capital and long-term focus of this relationship, we are in a stronger position than ever to enhance our resort operations to ensure our long term popularity.”

The new financial structure provides stable long term capital without the short term risk of refinancing every few years. It is referred to as a sale – leaseback. That is, the assets are sold but are leased back to the Muellers for 40 years. The net effect of it is that the Muellers will still be the owners of the operating company, while CNL owns the underlying resort assets, excluding certain primary real estate interests.

Crested Butte, Colorado
Consistently recognized as one of North America’s marquee ski mountains, Crested Butte ranked 20th in the 2008 SKI Magazine readers’ poll of the best North American resorts, based on factors such as snow, grooming and variety of terrain. The resort averages 300 inches of snowfall each season: last season’s total topped 400 inches. Crested Butte is also home to the Adaptive Sports Center, a non-profit organization that provides life-enhancing year-round recreation activities for people with disabilities and their families.

Crested Butte offers 1,167 acres of terrain served by 16 lifts from 121 trails. The mountain is a two-time host of the Winter X Games, the legendary U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships, the U. S. Extreme Freeskiing Telemark Championships, a Randonnee Rally and the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse.

Overall, CNL Lifestyle Properties owns 21 ski and mountain lifestyle properties comprising 13 ski areas and eight village-centered retail developments, along with four additional loans for ski-related enhancements. CNL Lifestyle Properties’ ski and mountain lifestyle portfolio also includes Bretton Woods Mountain Resort (Bretton Woods, N.H.), Mountain High Resort (Wrightwood, Calif.), Northstar-at-Tahoe™ Resort (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Sierra-at-Tahoe® Resort (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.).

About CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc.
CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., formerly CNL Income Properties, Inc., is a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of 115 properties in the United States and Canada in the lifestyle and recreation sectors. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., CNL Lifestyle Properties specializes in the acquisition of ski and mountain lifestyle, attractions, golf and other lifestyle assets. For more information, visit www.CNLLifestyleREIT.com

About Triple Peaks, LLC
Triple Peaks, LLC is one of the leading mountain destination resort companies in the United States. Over the past 25 years Triple Peaks has invested in infrastructure and people while expanding into businesses which complement Resort activities and diversify revenues. Each of three Resorts has maintained their own sense of character and charm while offering a fully integrated spectrum of facilities and services. Triple Peaks is dedicated to creating “The Triple Peaks Difference” for our guests by providing the finest quality resort experiences and friendly guest service in the resort industry at each property.

Crested Butte adds more Terrain next season!

Posted by Frank – June 25, 2008

Crested Butte Mountain Resort just announced via a press release that Teocalli 2 and Teocalli 2 and a half bowls will be open next winter. This terrain lies to the skier’s right of the already open Teocalli bowl. From what I’ve seen of Teo2, it looks like a pretty fun area- probably better than Teocalli, which is not an area that I go to very often. Even if it isn’t that good, new terrain should further thin out the crowds and leave the other areas fresher for longer, so I’m stoked!

We toured into this area in January. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died, so this is the only shot I have of the area:

You can faintly see the ropeline on the upper right hand side of the ridge (this is the current ski area boundary– Teocalli bowl). Now, if they could just give us a gate so we could ski down to Brush Creek, then we would really be talking.

A new lift in the Wasatch?

Posted by Frank – June 10, 2008

First, the background. Go here: TT thread and here: TGR thread

I’ve got to admit, I really have no idea why the Utah folks are so upset about this. The Wasatch front is home to a bunch of ski area, all within a short drive from Salt Lake City. The Wasatch is small, it gets a lot of use, being so near the second largest city in the rocky mountains, but that’s part of the appeal- there are so many lifts and easily accessed backcountry that skiers flock there.

But it is what it is. Folks in WA and BC shouldn’t complain about rain and poor visibility- that’s part of the deal living there. CO people can’t complain about boring terrain (everywhere except Crested Butte and Silverton). Live in Jackson, WY?- go ahead and accept the fact that your ski pass will cost a billion dollars and your season is unbelievably short. The Wasatch has lifts everywhere, one more isn’t going to make it seem like some “wilderness” in the shadow of Salt Lake City has been lost. At least that’s how I see it.

You win some, you lose some

Posted by Frank – February 6, 2008

The rope drop. Few things in ski town life feel as good as nailing a terrain opening after a big storm. On Monday, Brittany and I were waiting with a few other folks at the North Face lift, expecting the lift to open shortly. A patroller came by and said “at least another hour”, so we left and took another run. 10 minutes later, people were loading the lift. We missed it.

The following day, I went straight to the Phoenix and Spellbound bowl rope, expecting it to open shortly. Along with 25 other people, I waited. And waited. And waited some more. In the meantime, part of the frontside opened and then the high lift too. This wasn’t expected, since all the patrollers said Phoenix and Spellbound would be opening first. Eventually patrol came by at 11am and opened it for us, only after threatening not to open it at all. After my two hour wait, I was at least rewarded by being the first down the bowls with 20″ of new.

Today, Wednesday, the stars finally aligned. The Banana and Funnel area was the next area set to open, so Ben and I kept a watch on it. A patroller friend of mine came by and said he was doing one more control route and that both the lower and seldom-used upper entrances should be open in fifteen minutes. Ben and I made a quick lap and headed up to the upper entrance- which was already open. After making our way through the rocky traverse, we looked down the throat of the Banana chute and saw… a fresh powderfield below us, along with a bunch of people (many of them our friends) waiting for the lower entrance to open. We started laughing while we skied untouched powder right in front of our friends who were stuck on the wrong side of the rope. They got theirs a minute or two later, but we were most assuredly first. Sweet redemption.

The best day of your life.

Posted by Frank – January 11, 2008

Every day skiing is a good day, but some days are inherently better than others. And then there was today, the 11th day of January, 2008.

Crested Butte has a lot of good ski terrain. But the best of the best is in Phoenix and Spellbound bowls. This area has been closed since last Friday, and in between, over 5 feet of snow fell. The quantity was astounding, to be sure, but the quality topped it. The first 4-5 feet was dense and heavy snow, much more typical of the Pacific Northwest than Colorado, but it was topped by a foot of fresh, light density snow that Colorado is famous for.

Right off the bat, I dropped into a tiny bowl which funnels into a narrow section known as toilet bowl. As many times as I’ve skied it, I’ve never consciously thought, “Just go straight!!” like I did today. Instantly, I was going 60mph, in a river and cloud of snow of my own making, before I threw my ski bases out and “spread the butter”, as I like to call the effect of fat skis slowing down in fat powder.

I could go on and on about the rest of the day, about the way the right side of “the Edge” is skiing right now as if a 60 degree run had suddenly become a green run, but it’s such an extraordinary year right now that words will never adequately describe it. i wish I had some photos, but today wasn’t a day for that at all.

Happy New Year!! January 1, 2008

Posted by Frank – January 1, 2008

So far, the winter of ’07-’08 looks to be one worth remembering. Another 20″ of snow fell during the last week of ’07, which somewhat delayed the opening of 3rd bowl at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, but it is expected to be open tomorrow, meaning that the ski area will be completely open- the earliest such occurrence since the winter of ’96-’97! A series of strong storms are expected to hit once again this weekend, so it looks like Ullr is continuing to smile upon us. Hopefully some good pics to follow soon!