If its open by Easter weekend, I'd fancy a Leavitt jaunt....but that's if my wife takes the kids to Florida :)
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If its open by Easter weekend, I'd fancy a Leavitt jaunt....but that's if my wife takes the kids to Florida :)
^^^^ that sounds nice. I'll be hiding eggs in the back yard instead.
my source is good - word on the highway (through the truck window) is that they are almost to the top - should be there Tuesday - plan is to get the road open by noon on Friday for Easter weekend - 4' along the road up high - get it while you can - I should have a definitive update Thursday afternoonQuote:
Originally Posted by GiBo
plan was to go to KW or BV or both but maybe better to just go to the Pass and camp and rage and ski with Krystal Kartwright and young Owen
Or start your trip to Central OR earller...Quote:
Originally Posted by telemike
Dammit. I might need to carve out time Saturday for a day trip. I could use a good tour.
That's a whole other trip. Solo. No family.Quote:
Originally Posted by telebobski
All are welcome here.
BV is on spring hours. Lift operation times for Monday April 14th thru Friday April 18th will be from 9am to 2:30pm. Polar Express is broken and will not reopen this season. Pooh closes at 2pm. Koala is open from 12-2:30pm. Normal lift times will be in effect for the closing weekend of April19th/20th.
I missed skiing this weekend due to a major tendonitis flare up in my right elbow and associated ulnar nerve compromise. Not fun. Feeling much better. BV tomorrow.
Thanks for the pass update Mike. Probably try to make it over there on Sat if it opens.Quote:
Originally Posted by telemike
Bear Valley Mtn Co-Op
Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 6:00 am | Updated: 8:18 am, Tue Apr 15, 2014.
By Alicia Castro, Calaveras Enterprise
he Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative is now open for business.
The community cooperative hosted two informational meetings near the resort Saturday, April 12, when it announced the co-op is now accepting membership sign-ups and is also in the process of negotiating with the resort’s current ownership group.
“It’s an important nearby recreation destination,” said Steve Troyer, president of the co-op’s interim board. “Hopefully, folks will join us in investing in this business to make it successful.”
Until now, the cooperative has asked interested parties to register their intent to become shareholders. It garnered more than 500 responses from interested potential owners.
Now that the co-op’s legal requirements are complete, it can now begin collecting money and turning that expressed interest into actual membership, Troyer said.
“This is a key milestone, as it allows us to begin raising capital in support of our mission to preserve the unique characteristics of Bear Valley Mountain through community leadership and ownership,” he said.
Bear Valley Mountain Resort was purchased in 2005 with plans to revitalize the resort’s assets, which included a plan to install a chairlift connecting the ski area with the village. The plans are still in place, but the partnership since decided to put the mountain up for sale.
The co-op hopes to carry out those plans with individuals and businesses taking control of the resort. As it stands, membership shares are $2,500 each, which provides the owner with the right to vote, receive member benefits and voice opinions on how the mountain and village are operated.
The co-op currently has seven interim board members guiding the process, including Mike Wallenfels, who has owned a house in Bear Valley for four years. Since Saturday’s announcement, Wallenfels has already started transacting memberships.
“It’s very exciting to see how many people are coming in immediately to sign up for membership,” he said, adding that he could not yet disclose the current number of members signed up. “The momentum is starting, and we’ll be pushing the board out more to provide information that allows people to go in and make their own decisions about membership.”
The co-op is using Mad River Glen – a cooperative-owned resort in Vermont – as its guide for targeted membership acquisition, Wallenfels said.
Troyer said Mad River Glen initially acquired about 1,000 sign-ups in a nine-month period when it first started this alternative ownership model about 20 years ago. But Troyer believes Bear Valley may prove more immediately attractive to a greater number of shareholders.
“We’ve got a lot of community to pull from and we’ve got a bigger mountain,” Troyer said. “I think it’s very doable with the word spread.”
Troyer said the co-op hopes to line up 1,500 members, translating to $3.75 million, before the targeted purchase time this summer. The long-term membership goal is to gather up to 5,000 members for $12.5 million in capital.
Troyer said the interim board has been negotiating with the current ownership for about a week now, but no documents have been signed.
“The process is going fairly smoothly. Nobody is en-trenched in any one point,” he said. “We hope to sign the term sheet this week.”
Earlier this year, a number of potential buyers came through town and checked out the mountain. But Troyer said he isn’t aware of other active offers on the table.
“Before we finalize an actual acquisition of the mountain and village, membership will approve the package,” Wallenfels said. “We’ll communicate and be transparent in the forward-looking business model.”
He said the co-op remains open to backing down for other buyers should they be the right fit for the area. And in that case, co-op members would have their shares fully refunded.
“It all depends on who might be coming in. We would make decisions along the way,” Wallenfels said. “We want to be one of the avenues available. To date, we’re focusing on this as if it will happen.”
He added there is “some urgency, primarily around the time between now and the time we need to start working on mountain improvements and getting going on working on the resort.”
There is work to be done, but key players in the cooperative are excited about the progress thus far and optimistic about the upcoming ski season, regardless of whose name is on the deed.
“I’m told it’s El Niño next season, so we’re looking forward to having a good season next year,” Troyer said.
More information can be found at bvmcoop.org or the co-op’s Facebook page, Bear Valley Resort Community Ownership: Imagine the Possibilities.
Contact Alicia Castro at alicia@calaverasenterprise.com.
© 2014 Calaveras Enterprise. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
'nother post to let folks know that there is now some action on UnofficialBearValley from Shecky.
Attachment 154246
Phil “Powderbear” Davis on the West Ridge, circa 1968
Creamy dreamy snow today at Bear.
Sonora Pass opening tomorrow at noon.
Ebbetts Pass is opened AND Bear Valley was also opened today at the same time (even though it was their last day of the season.)
This was the first time I was able to drive past Topaz Lake, over Monitor Pass and then over Ebbetts Pass to ski Bear Valley. The 59 mile trip only took an hour and a half. (This is much better for me than the 185 mile, 3 hour and 40 minute drive in the winter due to closures.)
I hadn't skied Bear in well over 10 years. I remember it being great on powder days.
Today I found out that it is also great for spring skiing. The mountain has so many different exposures.
Here is a photo from today:
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG196619...9147902oCR.jpg
Pretty good coverage for closing day after a below average winter.
This trip also gave me the opportunity to recon Ebbetts Pass ski possibilities.
The "Saddle Chute" on the east side of Ebbetts Pass:
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG6558cr.jpg
(It is the diagonal chute seen on looker's left)
Looking across Kinney Reservoir:
http://www.patchskiing.com/EP042014panoC.jpg
A closer look a the lines on looker's left:
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG6553cr.jpg
A closer look at the lines on looker's right:
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG6554c.jpg
I definitely plan to return later this week and/or month.
I thought I spotted you. Never seen you ski in pants. Skiing was good. Young Owen 2nd place under 12 Slush Cup.
I might be able to join you this week. I'll be going to Sonora Pass for sure a day or two.
Beautiful day in Underwood Valley today. Went in through Horse and Round Valley, easy skinning the whole way. Like skiing three inches of powder on a groomer, smooth, easy, consistent, and great fun. Got mushy in the pm, but should be back into the corn cycle tomorrow. Sat looking good.
Headed thataway tomorrow
Ended up just doing a few laps at the area.
Maybe we can hook up next week John
How was the snow, Mike? I can't get away during the week next week, but I'm heading back to Underwood Sat morning with some friends if you'd like to join us. NWS says possibly 13" at 7000', should be good.
Snow was ok. Headed to Kirkwood Sat with the family. Have fun!
Kirkwood should be very good, too. Another time then.
Ebbett's Pass is open again. Anyone been over it? Anyone check out how far you can drive into Pacific Valley (Bull Run Peak) or Highlands Lakes (Hirem and Folgers)? Observations on lines at the pass, or Tryon Peak?
Summer Solstice / Owen's birthday party here Sat June 21.
All are welcome.
Keg of IPA. Piñata. BBQ.
Friend reported Tryon was good skiing, but the approach was difficult. Folger looks very good, but the road is blocked by snow at Hwy 4. Pacific Valley road also blocked by snow by Hwy 4.
Please take our Bear Valley Stakeholder Survey
bump bump
Skied Bull Run Peak over the weekend. Bootpacked from Mosquito Lakes, skinned the second half of the hike. Snow on the peak and down to the upper meadow was surprisingly deep and smooth. Snowed hard for the last hour and a half of the hike out. Beautiful day.
Anyone know if the road to Highlands has melted out yet?
GiBo, haven't been by Highlands Lake road in about ten days, but I'd be surprised if you could get very far in. Couldn't even get half way down the paved section above the campground ten days ago, and that usually goes pretty quickly. But it has been a warm last few days.
Thanks hopelesslyadolescent! May check it out.
y'all should be checking out Unofficial Bear Valley
lots of good info on the MRA proposal and some ideas to promote discussion about village and terrain expansion
Was coming here to ask the same question, so please report. The satellite data indicates it's mostly melted, but it's really low res, meaning hard to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by GiBo
more BV news
Calaveras Enterprise May 16, 2014
Bear Valley Mountain is still on the market and being showcased to various investor groups, which have voiced interest, according to the resort.
The resort further contends that several parties are finalizing offers. However, Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative – the grassroots group based on an alternative ownership model – is the only potential buyer that has moved forward with a nonexclusive letter of intent with the current owners, Dundee Resort Development.
The resort has been on the market for years now. According to reports, a deal was in the works to sell it last summer, but the prospective owners backed out at the last minute leaving the current owners to cope with another difficult winter of low snowfall.
The ongoing roller coaster ride inspired a group of local property owners and residents to start Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative, which began to build momentum at a homeowners’ meeting in October. The co-op is based on a model of public shareholders who get to vote, comment and help steer the management and operations of the resort.
Since then, a board has formed and shares are now being sold to the public – one share costs $2,500 – as the co-op tries to generate the necessary capital to make a viable offer to the resort’s current owners.
As part of the effort, the co-op is holding public meetings in Calaveras County to further educate the public on the cooperative’s efforts and unconventional ownership model.
The first meeting will be at V Restaurant, Bar and Bistro in Murphys at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20. Another will follow at the Big Trees Homeowners’ Association rec center at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 24. And a third informational meeting will take place at the Hub in Arnold at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 25.
For more information on Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative, visit bvmcoop.org.
update on the BV Mtn Co-op website
We are ready to purchase the mountain and village!
We have signed a letter of intent to purchase the mountain and village and are entering into our due diligence phase (we look at the property details and financials) and will come out of that process in early summer with the details about the purchase of Bear Valley and a forward looking plan to bring excitement and improvements to the mountain and village. To help in our due diligence efforts to review the Mountain’s operations and develop our operating plan, the Co-op is working with an experienced team that operates both Mountain High Resort near L.A. and Stevens Pass Resort east of Seattle. They have decades of experience in mountain resorts and are already familiar with what Bear Valley has to offer.
About Mountain High / Stevens Pass Resort Team
Mountain High and Stevens Pass resorts are managed by an experienced group of professionals lead by Karl Kapuscinski, Paul Bauer, Michele Roy, and John McCally. Their focus is to review Bear Valley Mountains’ equipment, maintenance needs, and improvements as they work with the Co-op team to develop an actionable plan for Bear Valley Mountain as a year round destination. Some examples of their work include Stevens Pass’ addition of a very successful Mountain Bike program started by Twain Harte native Joel Martinez that was written up in this months Bike magazine. Mountain High and their VP of Marketing, John McCally were also the originators of the Powder Alliance program which shares pass privileges at 12 other resorts across the West.
Both of these resorts get over 3 times the skier visits that we do here at Bear Valley (yes, even with good snow). Steven’s Pass has had back-to-back record years at just over 400k visits and Mountain High has a 10 year average of 445k visits. Of special note, Mountain High is one of the most innovative resorts for terrain parks, youth, and diverse ethnic skier base with Stevens Pass recently winning the NSAA Golden Eagle award for sustainability efforts for resorts with fewer than 500k visits.
We (Mrs. Vets and I) drove down Highland Lakes Road on Saturday. The road was clear until just past the first campground. There was a pretty big snowdrift blocking most of the road. If you had a high clearance monster truck or a Humvee you could attempt going further. We were not in the mood for blasting through with a Subaru, so we skied around Ebbetts Pass. We did have a good view of Folger Peak. Here is a photo:Quote:
Originally Posted by GiBo
http://www.patchskiing.com/IMG6624cr.jpg
Folger Peak, Highland Lakes, Hiram Peak all look like they should be good for a while.
(I should be posting an Ebbetts TR soon.)
Done, Here is a link
Keep up the stoke kids!
I'm out for the rest of the season due to injury.
Don't forget - Summer Solstice party here Sat June 21.
All the higher Sierra passes are closed again.This includes Monitor, Ebbetts, Sonora and Tioga.
Howard Scheckter at http://mammothweather.com/ predicting 6-8" between today and Thurs.
Heal up soon Mike! And thanks for the BV info. Keeping my eye on that.
Thanks for the report Vets.
Visited Highland Lakes on the weekend. Skied Hiram's east bowl and a couple of the north fall lines that go nearly to the top. Had a good corn harvest Saturday evening, and good again Sunday morning. Sorry for no pix, I don't remember how to upload them _and_ make them appear (somebody PM and I'll try. A few months ago I found the thread about posting pics but could not make it work. I could upload to my folder, but not embed.)
Coverage on the mountain is good, but it doesn't seem very deep. Looks like the north faces of the east bowl had some cornice failures/point releases with the midweek warmup. South side of Folger has some patches, but is mostly bare. The cornice line on the ridge is mostly continuous. The road near the lakes is mostly snow. The lakes are mostly frozen over. We were able to ski from Hiram to the campground, though continuous snow is nearly gone crossing the meadow/road between the lakes.
Road conditions. Clear to the first campground. Snow patches between there and the 'ford.' If you a 4wd driving yahoo and quite jacked up (w/big wheels) you might get to the creek. Beyond that... let's just say that on the way out from the lakes, we skied from the low pass all the way to the 'ford.' Snow is 0-3 feet deep on the road, so skiing did involve some walking across dry patches. Maybe in 2-3 weeks you can drive there.
On the way out, we helped free a big 4wd truck that was stuck good, high centered on a snow patch. Protip - OnStar only works near cell towers.
^ Thanks for the Highland Lakes report. An impressive ski mission.
I hope to ski there with easier access in early June.
120, 108 and 4 opened today
Bear Valley Ownership Change
Ownership change to speed Bear sale?
Written by Mike Morris, The Union Democrat May 22, 2014 12:30 pm
Bear Valley Mountain Resort announced Wednesday a change among the partners that own and operate the resort, which could help streamline the sale of the ski area.
Following a “restructuring,” San Jose-based developer Toeniskoetter, Breeding & Halgrimson is no longer a partner, said resort spokeswoman Rosie Sundell.
The resort — off upper Highway 4 in western Alpine County — is now owned by remaining partners Dundee Resort Development USA and Palo Alto-based Radar Partners, a principal investment firm.
The 1,680-acre ski resort has been for sale since January 2013.
“The change in ownership reduces the complexity of current and future negotiations for the ski area and village assets,” said Greg Finch, president of Dundee. “The change has not altered the immediate goal to sell the property. We continue to show it and we have been working with a number of interested parties.”
One of those potential buyers is the Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative.
Here's a better article from today's Calaveras Enterprise
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2014 6:00 am
By Stephen Crane
Move could benefit sale
Bear Valley Mountain just announced an ownership shift that could help facilitate the sale of the resort, which currently has multiple parties who have shown interest in the upcountry destination.
When the resort was purchased in 2005, the ownership group consisted of three distinct partners –Dundee Resort Development out of Edwards, Colo., Radar Partners based in San Jose, and TBH.
“Each of those entities are their own corporations,” explained Rosie Sundell, marketing director for Bear Valley Mountain. “Dundee (is a) large multibillion dollar corporation. Radar (is an) investment ‘venture’ firm and TBH is comprised of three partners that have multiple interests together.”
The owners made a number of improvements at the facility in anticipation of future development and a revitalized resort. They completed the necessary Environmental Impact Report for village development and an Environmental Assessment for the mountain, which paves the way for those improvements. And in December 2012, the group received the necessary approvals for a new master plan, which includes a new ski lift, in addition to resort and village enhancements.
Soon after the master plan was approved, the owners put the resort’s assets on the selling block, and a buyer was reportedly lined up to purchase the resort last summer. But the deal fell through at the last minute, with the potential buyers citing a timeline that had become too short to adequately prepare for the 2013-’14 snow season.
The resort owners maintained business as usual, while battling another year of low snowfall and still hoping to sell the resort.
In the recent ownership shift, TBH – or Toeniskoetter, Breeding and Hallgrimson – opted to sell its share of the resort’s assets to the remaining two partners, which now hold 50 percent each and will continue to operate the resort.
“The change in ownership reduces the complexity of current and future negotiations for the ski area and village assets,” said Greg Finch, president of Dundee.
With only two remaining partners, the change is anticipated to simplify the sometimes arduous negotiating process with potential buyers.
“(It) makes it easier,” said Sundell. “There are a number of entities looking at the property and the new 50-50 partners have flexibility to move forward in whatever manner they feel is best for Bear Valley.”
While multiple potential buyers have reportedly shown interest and been moving forward in the process, only one has gone public with its progress – Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative, a grassroots group of homeowners and residents that wants to take ownership of the mountain and its future through a shareholder program. The group has publicly acknowledged that it has signed a nonexclusive letter of intent to purchase the ski resort – but not the village assets – which gives it access to operational details of the ski resort.
“I don’t expect any of the others (potential buyers) will (go public), until their process is done,” Sundell said. “The co-op is looking for additional people to sign up so they can raise the funds to buy. They are actively marketing the co-op.”
For Bear Valley Mountain, it’s full speed ahead.
“The change has not altered the immediate goal to sell the property.” Finch said. “We continue to show it, and we have been working with a number of interested parties.”
And if no sale goes through this year, the resort will still provide folks with a place to strap on skis and snowboards once the snow starts falling.
“Buyer or no buyer, Bear Valley is planning to remain open this season and beyond,” the resort concluded.
Drove two miles up Highlands Lakes road today before hiking with skis on packs. Word was that snow was continuous a week ago from the bridge up the steep pitch of road. Not so today. Hiked to the Tryon Meadow trailhead, then traversed around to the north side of the ridge, skinned the last half mile or so up into the northfacing bowl of Folger Peak and bootpacked the rest of the way up. Excellent soft snow top to bottom. 3-4 inches of fresh, pre-corn above 8700 ' that skied very well. Beautiful day, nearly still at the top. The drifts on the road are going fast, should be able to get much farther in by next weekend.