from the wall street journal...
In Idaho, Ski Resort's Promise Fades

problems in park city, too. even the yellowstone club?!
Mortgage crisis spooking high-end developments

Getting there may be a part of their ailments. And then there's the real estate financing situation. Even the big boys will be hurting.

Unless mother nature plays a cruel game with us in the East, we'll have a very good year in the Mid Atlantic. Most of the West is accessible primarily by plane unless one wants to spend an inordinate amount of time in a car. With airfares going through the roof and airlines charging for each peanut besides each piece of luggage, getting to out-of-the way places may be a problem. Sure, Big Sky's snow and conditions and vertical are much better than Snowshoe, HV or Seven Springs, or even Stowe or Attitash, but when you want to give your family a quick vacation, it all counts.

The "don't build real estate" model is looking much more viable at the moment, isn't it Lou! More seriously, Wolf Creek (or the Friends of Wolf Creek) have been fighting for over a decade to prevent a new 1,600+ unit village from being built around the base area. This real estate bust has probably done more to doom that project than all the lawsuits in the world... I hope. Whatever it takes to shut that thing down.



I'm 90% in agreement, except... the resorts out west still want vacationers. There's a reasonable chance that if you're right (and if the folks I heard talking about "stay"cations were right- thanks for using that by the way Lou! I giggled when I saw it), the western resorts will offer deep discounts to bring people out there. Take, for instance, the lodging situation. You've got timeshares and second homes, and the owners are starting to ask a lot of questions, so it might behoove the resort developers- particularly ones that are still building- to offer amazing ski deals just to get some occupancy and try to keep some of the units from going into default. It's just like chairlifts and airline seats: selling a ride for $1 is better than selling it for $0.

So the flip side is, if the resorts are really worried, they might have some FANTASTIC packages this winter. On the other hand, there may be enough demand going local out west (L.A., San Diego, Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, Salt Lake, Seattle, San Fran, Las Vegas, etc) that they won't be too affected. Who knows.

I don't know about you folks, but as a resort real estate owner, my concern is not this real estate down turn, but the long term effect of high energy prices and eventually ...possible shortages in oil and gasoline. During the 70's, our first energy crisis, the resorts in this area suffured a significant downturn in visits. I had hoped to keep my resort property around for retirement, but after reading numerous articles about the disaster we are heading for with oil suplly and demand, I am getting scared, and may consider selling my unit while I still can. Once the shortages hit, the price goes through the roof and no one wants resort real estate, we're going be stuck with these properties. Sounds like a very pessimistic outlook, doesn't it.

Naahh.... I'm on a long-term plan. The same was with the S&L 30 years ago. Having said that, high energy prices will turn out to be a long-term good deal if it indeed it lasts, which looks like it is. People will stay away from gas guzzlers, smaller cars will make a comeback, we will finally get on a national mass transportation network, and we will seriously embark on an alternative energy kick, and all that in turn will allow for (more or less) stabilizing the transportation costs, albeit much higher than they are now.

The worst that can happen to our country is to go back to cheap oil. Alternative fuel and alternative energy projects are predicated on a break even point that demands a relatively high fossil fuel cost. If you have the time, wait.

Three years ago in Europe, I was surprised to ride around the Bavarian countryside and see dozens of wind generators surrounding quaint bavarian villages. I can't empiricize it, but I bet many of these villages get a lot of their power from wind or solar. We haven't done that here because there is no need, as we are so addicted to cheap oil and big guzzlers. Time for the party to end.

Yeah Roger, you may get your 20-acre state within walking distance of a high-speed quad.

I understand many of the Mid Atlantic resorts, such as Snowshoe, may be offering the equivalent of a gas tank with a three-day reservation. Good marketing strategy.