Still pining for Mary, I needed something else besides bites from my veggie omelet to distract me.
The Mammoth avalanche my son told me scattered future “Rustys” at the bottom of Chair 5’s lift.
Or, how an omelet cured my unrequited love for Mary.
Well, almost.
De j’ vu all over again?
Did we fall off the weather wagon again?
Is this the new drought-normal?
Or, did we not end the multiple years of no rain, no snow, and no snow pack melting on its way down slope into the Los Angeles Aqueduct courtesy of the Owens Valley, after all?
This was supposed to be Anette and Steve’s awesome, empty-nest and family reunion adventure.
C’mon. February!
Always snow.
WTF?
Anette’s Norwegian family had been skiing at Mammoth for decades.
It was in their blood, kinda.
We’d almost always receive a surprise dump of snow at Mammoth.
Even on vacation in the High Sierra’s during lean snow pack years over the President’s Day weekend.
But not this year.
Not on this first day.
So we went bowling.
Then it happened.
Overnight snow dusting.
Dusting.
Not dump.
Enough accumulating by 10:30 am to cover the ground.
Enough to excite the boarders and skiers in the family.
They headed for the lifts, at least for half day runs.
I headed for “The Stove” on Old Mammoth Road for a veggie omelet, but without falling for Mary again.
Burned twice in the past,
I finally learned my lesson.
Oh, ok.
Still pining for Mary, I needed something else besides bites from my veggie omelet to distract me.
I noticed this free newspaper, “The Sheet”, on my way in, next to the turquoise stove on the enclosed porch .
Absent minded (which is my natural state according to Anette), I began flipping through its pages between bites and sips of coffee.
I checked out announcements “every Saturday – South Tufa walks at Mono Lake.”
Hmm. Mono Lake.
That could be fun if the snow continues to flakes out on us,
What else?
- And, Mammoth Film Festival at Minaret Cinemas, Village.
- Other issues – Mammoth Airport vs. Bishop.
- Or, fewer than normal back country permits for packers.
But one headline caught my eye.
Ouch.
Rusty Gregory ran Mammoth Mountain operations.
All those decades after founder Dave McCoy started it from scratch.
Or from dirt.
Apparently Gregory had risen up the Mammoth Mountain ranks starting as a lift operator.
Now Gregory assumed a new CEO role for Alterra Mountain Company.
Who or what?
Reading the article between bites of green pepper, mushrooms and cheese, here’s what commanded my attention … KSL Capital Partners LLC.
A name I associated with Highlights and Headlines during a 5-Year Time Frame some time between 2009 to 2014.
I looked it up later in the condo at Aspen Creek.
In the Squaw chapter described in Book Five, “California Mountain Resorts: Play and Invest in the Golden State.”
It was in the fall of 2011, but associated with the Lake Tahoe area, not Mammoth at all.
Alpine Valley.
Squaw Valley.
But, the first pieces of the connections didn’t materialize until when we had returned home a couple of weeks later.
And, a freak atmospheric river aka the “Pineapple Expressed” swiped tropical Hawaiian moisture and dumped so much snow it triggered avalanches at Mammoth and Lake Tahoe.
After our February President’s Holiday vacation!
The Mammoth avalanche my son told me scattered future “Rustys” at the bottom of Chair 5’s lift.
Tossed on my home office desk that paper copy of the 2/10/18 issue of “The Sheet: news, views and culture of the Eastern Sierra” – laying in wait, tempted me to Google for more information, almost as much as Mary had captured my imagination.
I dug into The Sheet’s archives, ahem, following my own recommended steps (see below) and discovered KSL-Aspen announced its new name: Alterra Mountain Company.
Winter 2018 (Jan 12)
“Enter Alterra
On Thursday, January 11, Mammoth Resorts’ parent company, which had previously called itself the joint venture of affiliates KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company, announced its new name: Alterra Mountain Company.
Affiliates of KSL Capital Partners (owners of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows), and Henry Crown and Company (owners of Aspen Skiing Company) purchased Intrawest, Mammoth Resorts, and Utah’s Deer Valley Resort in 2017.
KSL-Aspen’s acquisition of Intrawest and Mammoth Resorts was finalized on July 31, 2017.
Alterra Mountain Company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and is comprised of Mammoth and June Mountains, Big Bear, Snow Summit, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado, Stratton Mountain in Vermont, Snowshoe in West Virginia, Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Blue Mountain in Ontario, and Deer Valley.
Alterra Mountain Company also owns CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures in British Columbia.”
Steps:
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
31) Do your due diligence so you don’t regret your decision after it is too late. If you plan to move, invest in real estate, work, start a business or retire affordably, you are making a longer-term commitment. Drill down with city-data.com.
32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.