[Transcend]

So who wants to float me a loan for 2 million usd so that i can buy a ski resort in southern vermont and make it a bike mecca???

2 lifts, 1 t bar, 1 tube carpet. Snow guns, cats included, as well as a 16 000' sq 3 story lodge.

http://www.vermont-commercial.com/ski.htm

 

[Acadian]

maybe when I get my next paycheck?

 

[Transcend]

maybe when I get my next paycheck?

sweet! if work wants to match it, we can have a sponsored by "acadian's company" tag on all flyers.


Seriously tho, so much damn potential!

 

[Incubus]

It's hard to believe any ski resort isn't an absolute cash cow given they charge you $7 for a burger and then hit you for another $4 for fries. Surely it's not for sale because it couldn't stay afloat.

 

[MMike]

I blew all my cash on my move.......

 

[MMike]

It's hard to believe any ski resort isn't an absolute cash cow given they charge you $7 for a burger and then hit you for another $4 for fries. Surely it's not for sale because it couldn't stay afloat.

It couldn't stay afloat, and don't call me Shirley.


(Oh come on. If i hadn't done it, someone else would have......)

 

[Transcend]

It's hard to believe any ski resort isn't an absolute cash cow given they charge you $7 for a burger and then hit you for another $4 for fries. Surely it's not for sale because it couldn't stay afloat.

a lot of smaller east coast resorts (older family run places) can't stay afloat for ski season. That one is very close to mt snow / haystack. Why go there when you can go to an american ski company resort?

A few in NY closed for the same reason..proximity to whiteface. It simply doesn't make sense for these small mom and pop joints to stay up and running. Of course, some of the best skiing i have ever done in colorado is at these places..(Abasin, berthoud pass etc).

I would envision running this place as a summer MTB resort. Maybe running a Tbar over the winter to service a terrain park/pipe, and let the rest stay natural for people to hike or something.

 

[AZRacerX]

maybe when I get my next paycheck?

Just cash in a few of your stock options

 

[Full Trucker]

So who wants to float me a loan for 2 million...

Sorry man, I blew all my cash trying to finance a NORBA National...

 

[Transcend]

Sorry man, I blew all my cash trying to finance a NORBA National...

well that was a boneheaded move wasn't it now?? neaky:

 

[Acadian]

Just cash in a few of your stock options

pfft..if only I had some!

 

[Fury]

Wow... compared to Toronto real estate thats a great deal!

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

friend of mine lives 2 min from there. i know a guy wanted to bulldoze and put up condos, i guess not anymore.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

2 mil is cheap, looks like a sh*ty resort though as far as terrain goes, plus 400 acers is very small in the ski world. Got to remember you need very sucessful winters to stay afloat in the summer.

 

[Ian F]

2 mil is cheap, looks like a sh*ty resort though as far as terrain goes, plus 400 acers is very small in the ski world. Got to remember you need very sucessful winters to stay afloat in the summer.

True, and while the past couple haven't been bad, I remember there being a dry spell that probably put the current owners into serious debt...

One very important piece of info I couldn't find in the ad: what's the vertical? The lifts are listed at 3000' and 4000' long, but how hi do they go?

 

[buildyourown]

A T-bar on a bike. Now that would be interesting. The place I learned to ski had 300' of vert. I'm not sure how they stayed in business. They got so little stow they had to mow the grass so it wouldn't poke through.

 

[Transcend]

A T-bar on a bike. Now that would be interesting. The place I learned to ski had 300' of vert. I'm not sure how they stayed in business. They got so little stow they had to mow the grass so it wouldn't poke through.

The quebec championships this year used a T bar at this tiny little mountain. It was actually pretty damn easy (hook t under seat, steer, relax!). I was pretty bent outta shape tho as the lift was a POS t bar that kept breaking. Besides that, a good solution!

 

[Transcend]

2 mil is cheap, looks like a sh*ty resort though as far as terrain goes, plus 400 acers is very small in the ski world. Got to remember you need very sucessful winters to stay afloat in the summer.

Well it is a very ****ty resort, that is the point. You could easily turn it into a summer only type of place and not open at all during the winter losing money. That along with the fact that if you do that, you can sell off most fo the stuff (snowguns, snowcats, rental fleet etc) and then sell off some land to developers to help pay for it. I am pretty sure with a decent business plan it could happen.

A friend of mine is looking into the local real estate market and such as we speak. It would be awesome to make that happen. Not to mention an investment like that would help me secure a work visa, ha.

 

[OGRipper]

I've heard that insurance costs and property taxes are killing a lot of the smaller resorts. It's unreal what they need to pay for insurance to get started, and as the claims pile up, it only gets worse. People need to take responsibility for their own actions - liability waivers should be more effective and common. And property taxes can be huge too. It sucks but the combination of lawsuits, insurance, taxes, and all the other overhead and headaches, combined with the fact that property values are pretty good, means lots of long-time owners of small resorts are bailing or selling to the big guys, who then close or sell to developers to minimize competition.

 

[lux]

I am pretty sure with a decent business plan it could happen.

A friend of mine is looking into the local real estate market and such as we speak. It would be awesome to make that happen. Not to mention an investment like that would help me secure a work visa, ha.

I'll help.

I used to race cars at Virginia International Raceway. I never was a member, just did the Skip Barber school there and ran a few SCCA events.

The deal there was they sold memberships -- just like a county club. If the venture could do that, and charge non-members to use the park, it definately could work. Hell, you might even get rich off of it.lol

 

[Ian F]

The deal there was they sold memberships -- just like a county club. If the venture could do that, and charge non-members to use the park, it definately could work. Hell, you might even get rich off of it.lol

Hmm... sounds kinda like the Mad River Glen Co-op.

Anyone find out the vertical? Ski resorts can suk for DH if they don't have enough vertical... anyone here remember Bear Creek in PA?

 

[Transcend]

Hmm... sounds kinda like the Mad River Glen Co-op.

Anyone find out the vertical? Ski resorts can suk for DH if they don't have enough vertical... anyone here remember Bear Creek in PA?

I haven't actually. but i was thining about it last night. We did the quebec championships at a hill this year that has ONLY a Tbar (lame, i know). It was oen of the best courses I have ridden all year. I would be more interested in seeing the terrain then I would be in the vertical

Sometimes it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog..as they say.

I'd be all about selling off all the stuff except for 1 or 2 snowcats and a gun or 2. They would be to get around during the winter and possibly run a snowpark with runnign only the Tbar to save $ in the winter. With mt snow around the corner, an epic snowpark would be the only way to go.

 

[Rockland]

There was a rumor floating about this spring about some rider working on buying a defunct ski mtn in New Hampshire. Dunno if it was for real or what..
As a side websites like this http://www.nelsap.org make you start thinking what if I had the money tp buy my own hill

 

[buildyourown]

I could see this model as being the future of lift access riding. Instead of winter business subsidizing poorly run summer ops, have a dedicated summer lift. A lot of the smaller mountains have older, slow lifts. This isn't a bad thing since they run them at half speed to load bikes anyways. Also, the lower elevation of smaller hills means you get less snow so you can open sooner and close later for the summer season. If you could get over the liability issue, you might have a winner.

I'm just thinking out load, but if you had to be a member of the club and the membership bought you a small piece of the co-op, you would be part owner. Therefor you would be partially responsible for trail maintenance. Who would you sue when you got hurt? This might limit liability.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Well it is a very ****ty resort, that is the point. You could easily turn it into a summer only type of place and not open at all during the winter losing money. That along with the fact that if you do that, you can sell off most fo the stuff (snowguns, snowcats, rental fleet etc) and then sell off some land to developers to help pay for it. I am pretty sure with a decent business plan it could happen.

A friend of mine is looking into the local real estate market and such as we speak. It would be awesome to make that happen. Not to mention an investment like that would help me secure a work visa, ha.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but you wont make dick having it open just during the summer. There are only a select few that like to ride these places while skiing will attract all kinds of age groups. As far as selling the land, you would have to find out if its even subdividable.

 

[Transcend]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but you wont make dick having it open just during the summer. There are only a select few that like to ride these places while skiing will attract all kinds of age groups. As far as selling the land, you would have to find out if its even subdividable.

winter the idea would be to use the tbar to run a terrain park, with maybe 1 regular lift going to the top to service the park. This particular place is known as a teaching hill with deals with all of the local school boards for PE class type things.