http://www.dcski.com/lostareas/viewlostprofile.php?id=107
:(
Laurel Mountain spent some time in DCSki Lost Ski Areas but ultimately bounced back. Hopefully the same will happen here.
Damn shame -- so much potential at T-line, especially with Corridor H now within 15 miles. It'd be nice if one of the big companies could buy it and put in some 21st century equipment.
Scott, Quite surprised by this move on the day that bids are due for the auction of TL. Why now?
MorganB aka The Colonel
From what I have read, the bid date was delayed until Nov 19 and the minimum bid was lowered to $1.5 million.
To be listed in DCSki Resort Profiles, a resort has to be operational. At this point there does not appear to be any way that Timberline will be functioning as a ski resort this winter. It is unclear whether Timberline will function as a ski resort in subsequent winters, but if those prospects change, Timberline will slide back over from Lost Ski Areas to the active Resort Profiles section. I hope that will be the case, but we likely won't know for some time. Remember that it took many years for Laurel Mountain to re-establish itself as a functioning ski resort -- a journey that was covered extensively by DCSki. Laurel Hill Crazie could probably speak to that bumpy road.
It's a challenging competitive environment. The recent consolidation we've seen in the ski resort industry has generally involved deep-pocketed companies purchasing smooth-running operations -- ski areas that have a history of making a profit, have a well-maintained infrastructure, are fully staffed with experienced and content employees, and have a good relationship with their customer base. In other words, turn-key resorts. (How many of those boxes Timberline has checked is left as an exercise for the reader...)
The Mid-Atlantic is a crowded market and companies like Alterra and Vail Resorts have already established a foothold here, primarily as a way to create feeder resorts to their western properties -- not as a way to expand further in this region. Smaller operators might not feel that they can compete effectively with the larger players in this market, especially in an area that is likely to be impacted negatively by climate change in the coming years. I'm hopeful that there's a path that leads to Timberline prospering as a ski resort in the future, but I think area skiers need to be prepared for the possibility that a future buyer may not see that potential in the property and may have other ideas for the land. We should have a better idea in the coming months.
Such a shame in so many ways what happened to Timberline, but feel the worst for the people in the valley that relied on it for employment (either directly or indirectly) and those homeowners in the area that have surely seen tons of rental income lost as well as property values dropping a great deal. I keep hoping a miracle will happen and it will return better than ever, but know that is most likely not going to happen.
The Colonel wrote:
Scott, Quite surprised by this move on the day that bids are due for the auction of TL. Why now?
MorganB aka The Colonel
I have to agree with Morgan on this one.
Whatever. People know where to go for T-Line, CVR and Whitegrass info.
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Said several wise guys I know.
The Colonel wrote:
Scott, Quite surprised by this move on the day that bids are due for the auction of TL. Why now?
MorganB aka The Colonel
Couldn't wait 72 hours to see what happened today? Talk about spreading rumors, err i guess it is just the opinion of DCSKi.
From your article
As of November 16, 2019, a buyer had not been identified, and it is unclear how the situation will ultimately resolve. Potential buyers may not have an interest in operating the property as a ski resort ”” or they may view the potential to create a year-round resort that competes favorably with other Mid-Atlantic ski resorts. That drama will play out in the coming months, but in the meantime, Timberline lands in DCSki’s Lost Ski Areas. DCSki will provide updates if there are any changes to Timberline’s continued prospects as a ski resort.
JohnL, jimmy: Not sure what you're talking about. I've spent the past few weekends updating DCSki Resort Profiles (as I do every Fall), a guide that skiers use to plan their ski trips to Mid-Atlantic Resorts. The only resorts listed in DCSki Resort Profiles are resorts that are in business and under normal operating conditions. With ski resorts starting to open now, I waited as long as I could to see if there was any chance that Timberline would be open for skiing this winter, and it's clear it will not. Do you disagree?
Whatever happens with the auction has no bearing on whether Timberline is listed in DCSki Resort Profiles this winter. (And stating that it's too early to know how that will play out is not spreading rumors.) If and when it is clear that Timberline will re-open as a ski resort, DCSki Resort Profiles will be updated accordingly. In the meantime, you don't list a closed business in the Yellow Pages unless you're trying to confuse and inconvenience customers.
According to PUG SKI, Timberline was sold to Perfect North for $2.2 MM
What do we know about Perfect North? Do they have pockets deep enough to address the many deficiencies at TL?
NO Scott i just felt that your speculation that it may never be a ski area again was premature. I understood why you took it off the active list.
Snowsmith, Google? Here let me do it for you.
looks like the owners have some interesting ideas about child labor laws.
snowsmith wrote:
What do we know about Perfect North? Do they have pockets deep enough to address the many deficiencies at TL?
Don't know anything about the owners of Perfect North. But the founder of Peak Resorts started out with a golf course in the midwest and the founder of Boyne Resorts started out with a hill in northern Michigan. What they had in common was a strong interest in snowmaking from the start.
I remember reading about Perfect North on SkiSE maybe 10 years ago. I think the comments were from someone who lived in central TN so driving north to Indiana made some sense.
Looks like Perfect North was founded in 1980. Apparently took a long time before they allowed snowboarders, not until 2002.
jimmy wrote:
NO Scott i just felt that your speculation that it may never be a ski area again was premature. I understood why you took it off the active list.
Snowsmith, Google? Here let me do it for you.
Thanks jimmy. I wasn't weighting the prospects one way or another, just trying to stress that it will be some time before we all know how this will play out. I spent years covering multiple efforts to restart Laurel Mountain -- it went through several buyers before it was ultimately able to re-open as a ski area.
Now that a buyer has been identified, we'll need to see what their vision is for the resort and follow the concrete steps they take to pursue that vision. There is a lot of work that has to happen to the infrastructure of Timberline to make it competitive as a ski area. There are also a lot of parties that want to see that happen successfully.
It's good news that a ski area operator with a legit track record like Perfect North will be taking over at Timberline. Yet, it's kind of hard to believe that an entity from Wash DC didn't make a play to acquire the resort? That's where I thought most of Timberline's customers come from, and where there could be a lot of deep-pocketed potential investors? But I'm happy with this outcome. Timberline is a fine mtn and I look forward to a return to good times!
JimK wrote:
It's good news that a ski area operator with a legit track record like Perfect North will be taking over at Timberline. Yet, it's kind of hard to believe that an entity from Wash DC didn't make a play to acquire the resort? That's where I thought most of Timberline's customers come from, and where there could be a lot of deep-pocketed potential investors? But I'm happy with this outcome. Timberline is a fine mtn and I look forward to a return to good times!
Is the full set of bidders something that is in the public domain, or just the winning bidder?
Perfect North has been an independent, family-run resort for some time. There aren't many ski area operators left like that.
Hopefully "Happy Days Will Be Here Again" at TL. Looking forward to seeing the new owner's (Perfect North Ski Area) long and short range plans for TL and wish them well re the future. Hopefully they are going to build a ski resort rather than a snowmobiler paradise...?!! Would love to see Perfect North resurrect the "Snowy Luau" celebration to end the ski year!
MorganB aka The Colonel
Ski Southeast interviewed the new owner. He says he intends to keep it as a ski resort.
https://www.skisoutheast.com/its-official-timberline-resort-is-sold-to-perfect-north-slopes/
Thanks for sharing that link snowyslope92
Scott wrote:
Perfect North has been an independent, family-run resort for some time. There aren't many ski area operators left like that.
There is a full timeline with notes for every year since 1980 on the Perfect North website. Can easily get a sense of the steady improvements over the four decades. Definitely take full advantage of buying used lifts or groomers or whatever.
https://www.perfectnorth.com/Timeline/
Chip Perfect told SkiSE that he's been interested in Timberline for 15-20 years. Perfect North and Tline has about the same acreage. Perfect North has 400 ft vertical, compared to 1000 ft vertical for Tline.
Does this news mean Tucker is allowed back on DCSKI? :)
I think it's only fair that we give this thread some credit for hastening the resolution of the Timberline situation:-)
I agree! And as Scott said, TL was moved out of the list of operating Ski areas to the closed/lost ski area list because it is not operating this season! Next year it moves back, out of the "lost" list!.
MorganB aka The Colonel
