Schif Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 No, of course not. They have a comprehensive business plan that covers years...but now that it appears they are about to be the new owners, it's our duty to keep them focused on what our priorites are. Once the closing papers are signed, the cheerleading is over. The Sno Mountain principles are good guys, but we're spending a lot of money, too. Exactly. We have to get on top of this from day one and make our presence known. Not in a negative way, but so that they know what we're thinking. It seems to me that this company would actually listen to a large group of its locals. Not that we would influence anything completely, but they would probobly take everything into concideration. Quote
riderossi Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 I personally would have liked to have seen the initial deadline extended a week or two for Snow Time. As the paper stated, there clearly was a bidding process going on. And given the extra time, i think snow time could have put together a proposal more suited to the county's liking. There shouldn't be a question in anyone's mind that Snow Time would be a better owner of the mountain than Sno Mountain. I think Snow Time would have been better for us, as they have the experience, and they were willing to sink more money into the mountain for the winter season (if i remember correctly, i could be wrong). Quote
Papasteeze Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 Mr. Cordaro originally entertained an offer from Sno Mountain of $4.1 million, along with the company Quote
riderossi Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 sorry to break the news guys...but i think sno mountain is going to have another lawsuit on their hands. I went for a warm cup of hot cocoa this morning and when i reached for a mug, i grabbed this: Property of the Avon company...and this mug is older than i, surely Sno Mountain completely ripped the moose from them. Get ready for another 2 months of delay, sorry but i have to inform Avon. I sure hope Washo isn't reading this...i may give him enough for another suit Quote
Ski Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 I personally would have liked to have seen the initial deadline extended a week or two for Snow Time. As the paper stated, there clearly was a bidding process going on. And given the extra time, i think snow time could have put together a proposal more suited to the county's liking. There shouldn't be a question in anyone's mind that Snow Time would be a better owner of the mountain than Sno Mountain. I think Snow Time would have been better for us, as they have the experience, and they were willing to sink more money into the mountain for the winter season (if i remember correctly, i could be wrong). Snow Time just wasn't all that interested. They came around when Montage was initially offered at a $9.6 million price tag and made this offer: "We'll take it over, run it, but won't pay money for it." They also said that the $9.6 million was about twice the worth of the ski area. When they were rejected, they walked away. If they wanted to buy Montage, they had two years to come up with an offer. Consider that they knew Montage was losing money and that the county wanted to sell...and their reaction was to walk away from it. Make no plans. Make no offers. Then they had the balls to bitch when Sno Mountain LLC barged onto the scene with a million dollar background research and very deep pockets. The founder of Elk was at the Montage public meeting and I'll paraphrase what he said: Owning a ski area is a losing proposition. The way to make money and have a thriving business is to create a year round operation, especially when you are on the far side of the hills and customers have closer options. Snow Time bought, improved, then sold Windham. They would have been good short term owners. But the only people that would have benefitted from a bidding war would have been Lackawanna County. The vendors for the jail would have been paid on time, for once. Pot hole repair work would have picked up. To be honest, I couldn't give a rat's ass about that. I wanted the new owners to get a great bargain and feel welcomed. NOT TO BE SUED. One great thing that the Sno Mountain people showed us was their ability to find the right people to do the work. People that run a business can go two ways: their egos can make them always feel like they need to decide what is best; or, they understand that experts in each field are available for a price and they rely on them. I was blown away by Mr. Carlson's plan. They spent a year interviewing just about everyone and the input was used at every level. Hard to beat that tactic. Oh, and, hey, what's to stop Snow Time from making an offer to Sno Mountain next week? Why does Snow Time seem to need permission to pursue something they want? sorry to break the news guys...but i think sno mountain is going to have another lawsuit on their hands. I went for a warm cup of hot cocoa this morning and when i reached for a mug, i grabbed this: Property of the Avon company...and this mug is older than i, surely Sno Mountain completely ripped the moose from them. Get ready for another 2 months of delay, sorry but i have to inform Avon. I sure hope Washo isn't reading this...i may give him enough for another suit Ha, their moose also looks like it's from the children's book: "If You Give a Moose a Muffin". If they want a goofy cartoon character and have to lose the moose, maybe Rob will offer his likeness. JK, Rob. Quote
Papasteeze Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 I hope they get the deal now! Yeah they investigated every department and queried every expert except, the marketing and association of a brand/logo. a freakin moose? egad! Quote
Sno Mountain Skier Posted September 28, 2006 Report Posted September 28, 2006 I highly doubt Speicher will appeal. Like .5% out of 100. But it looks like SNO doesnt give a shit what Speicher does because this is straight from there website,"Snow Guns are ordered, installation guaranteed to be completed by the start of the season. Sn Quote
Ski Posted September 29, 2006 Report Posted September 29, 2006 I highly doubt Speicher will appeal. Like .5% out of 100. But it looks like SNO doesnt give a shit what Speicher does because this is straight from there website,"Snow Guns are ordered, installation guaranteed to be completed by the start of the season. Sn Quote
riderossi Posted September 30, 2006 Report Posted September 30, 2006 (edited) And the saga continues... Dunmore real estate developer Chris Speicher may not be able to block the sale of Montage Ski Area to Sno Mountain LLC, but apparently he isn Edited September 30, 2006 by riderossi Quote
Ski Posted September 30, 2006 Report Posted September 30, 2006 Speicher is in panic mode, filing a baseless lawsuit in an attempt to get Sno Mountain to drop their lawsuit. What the heck did Sno Mountain LLC ever do to Speicher? They don't know or care about him, other than that he slandered them. Good luck, Speicher. You are acting like a shithead. Sue me! Quote
trackbiker Posted October 3, 2006 Report Posted October 3, 2006 Montage Cleared For Sale Sounds like Speicher is just a whiny loser. His deal for $5 mil. plus a $5 mil mortgage would likely have left the mountain bankrupt in a few years. Like ski said, Sno Mountain has Real Money and will make a $20 million investment in the mountain. A much better deal for the county and it citizens! Quote
Ski Posted October 3, 2006 Report Posted October 3, 2006 Ah, great story. Happy ending for everyone but Washo, Speicher, and the T-T editorial staff. So we get the snow guns, but the lodge renovations and water park may be on hold until spring...NO SWEAT! Quote
Sno Mountain Skier Posted October 3, 2006 Report Posted October 3, 2006 Ah, great story. Happy ending for everyone but Washo, Speicher, and the T-T editorial staff. So we get the snow guns, but the lodge renovations and water park may be on hold until spring...NO SWEAT! I would have loved having the new lodge up. It would be so much easier chilling at the northface lodge. Quote
Ski Posted October 4, 2006 Report Posted October 4, 2006 I would have loved having the new lodge up. It would be so much easier chilling at the northface lodge. Gonna be scamming on the snowtubing hotties? Hmmmm, never thought of that... Quote
bigdaddyk Posted October 6, 2006 Report Posted October 6, 2006 The website says that SMI guarantees that 193 new snowmaking guns will be complete by the beginning of the season...man they are going to have to bust there ass to get that done. Does anybody know if these are the fans, or just tower guns? They have pictures of fans, but I know SMI has other types. Quote
Ski Posted October 6, 2006 Report Posted October 6, 2006 The rep from the Michigan company spoke at the public meeting at the mountain...if I recall correctly, most were the tower mounted guns, which are cost effective and put out a ton of snow at higher temps. They are also less labor intensive, since they don't need to be constantly repositioned. Ha, it'd look like a war zone if almost 200 fan guns arrived on flatbed trucks. I imagine they are strategically lining certain slopes with the tower guns, then having fan guns for the wide open spots around the lodges and lifts. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the IT guy running the website and what's actually going on at the mountain. For instance, they are looking for menu input, yet haven't decided on actual operating hours? That's kind of odd IMO. Quote
trackbiker Posted October 6, 2006 Report Posted October 6, 2006 There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the IT guy running the website and what's actually going on at the mountain. For instance, they are looking for menu input, yet haven't decided on actual operating hours? That's kind of odd IMO. Under the "Ticket Prices" the hours are listed as 8:30am to 10:00pm. Don't know if that is accurate; or maybe the 8:30 opening is just for weekends and holidays? Quote
Sno Mountain Skier Posted October 6, 2006 Report Posted October 6, 2006 Under the "Ticket Prices" the hours are listed as 8:30am to 10:00pm. Don't know if that is accurate; or maybe the 8:30 opening is just for weekends and holidays? Probally is accurate. Only reason Montage wasnt open till noon was to save money. Quote
Ski Posted October 6, 2006 Report Posted October 6, 2006 Probally is accurate. Only reason Montage wasnt open till noon was to save money. I was talking to a longtime employee this morning who felt they'd really struggle with early season passes and vacation package bookings for the XMas holiday because everyone is confused about the sale and what's going on at Sno Mountain. He said the owners were prepared and expect a slow start---and maybe even a 'write-off' season---because of all the bullshit. He said to enjoy the perfect season of lots of snow and less traffic than ever for one more year, then the hype will hit the masses. Quote
bigdaddyk Posted October 7, 2006 Report Posted October 7, 2006 ...if I recall correctly, most were the tower mounted guns, which are cost effective and put out a ton of snow at higher temps. They are also less labor intensive, since they don't need to be constantly repositioned. The tower fans that BB put in actually oscilate...at least the ones at the top of the mountain that I saw running. I actually thought the fans were supposed to be more efficient, since they don't require air to be pumped to them . Quote
Ski Posted October 8, 2006 Report Posted October 8, 2006 The tower fans that BB put in actually oscilate...at least the ones at the top of the mountain that I saw running. I actually thought the fans were supposed to be more efficient, since they don't require air to be pumped to them . Yeah, mounted one's can pivot, but unless you move the whole tower... Montage snowmakers have been forced to drag those fan guns around behind ATV's...and more than half are broken. Our resident snowmaking gurus know more than me, but the tower guns are efficient because they disperse the mix high in the air and they line the slopes. The fan guns are good for creating huge piles in specific spots. It just seems to me that each has an ideal use, but that lining slopes with tower guns would be ideal. Quote
bigdaddyk Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Yeah, mounted one's can pivot, but unless you move the whole tower... Montage snowmakers have been forced to drag those fan guns around behind ATV's...and more than half are broken. Our resident snowmaking gurus know more than me, but the tower guns are efficient because they disperse the mix high in the air and they line the slopes. The fan guns are good for creating huge piles in specific spots. It just seems to me that each has an ideal use, but that lining slopes with tower guns would be ideal. I saw a few of the new SMI fans that BB has mounted on poles pivot automatically on their own and swivel back and forth, sort of like a floor fan, that way the snow spreads out and doesn't pile. I don't know if all of them can do this, or if only a few of them do. Quote
Tyler Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 bear creeks swivel like that. I hate snowboarding on the snow thats just being made because you will be cruisin and then all of the sudden you will hit the new patch and stick. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.