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Show A-18 The InTermounTaIn advanTage... Them One Underwriter + One Lender + Strict Rules = Multiple Underwriters + One Loan Product Option us Multiple Lenders + Customized Packages = Many Loan Product Options Intermountain Mortgage has longstanding relationships with multiple local and national lending sources and the ability to find the best loan for each scenario. Options are good. M The Park Record Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 20-23, 2016 ountain town news A Roundup of News from Other Western Ski Resort Communities By ALLEN BEST Mountain Town News Vail expects growth at Whistler. But can it? WHISTLER, B.C. –The price Vail Resorts has agreed to pay for Whistler Blackcomb is substantially higher than the industry average. It reflects an assumption of growth. In Whistler, there’s a range of opinions about whether that’s good. Last week, Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden pointed out that Whistler was built to be a destination resort. “We’re hovering around 60 percent occupancy levels, and we’re certainly built to handle more,” she said. Even before the purchase, Whistler Blackcomb had unveiled plans for a $345 million investment plan called Renaissance to upgrade the mountain infrastructure, expand the mountain bike park, and build real estate. The centerpiece, though, is a year-round water park to provide a non-skiing alternative—and draw more visitors. When that announcement was made, Pique newsmagazine pointed to the need for housing to keep up with the expanded commercial activity. And the plan, the newspaper pointed out, exceeded the community’s growth cap. Of particular concern is whether the workforce hous- BE A LOCAL HERO ing will be sufficient. Unlike so many resorts, there is very little down-valley commuting. About 80 percent of people who work in Whistler live in Whistler. Will Vail meet its end of the deal? From Colorado come reports that the company has sometimes fallen short in delivering workforce housing to its I-70 resorts. “Considering the real challenges we have had with getting employees here, finding them a place to live, keeping them here on a living wage, traffic woes and even just the perception that we are out-of-control busy, some hard questions need to be asked about our future,” editor Clare Ogilvie wrote in Pique. Vail Resorts, she noted, has recently committed $30 million to workforce housing across its properties in Colorado, California, and Utah. “Could we see the same commitment here?” Roger McCarthy knows Vail Resorts inside and out. He ran Breckenridge Ski Resort for Vail early in the last decade and helped advise the Russians on creating Sochi. He has also been on the municipal council in Whistler. “I would tell you that Vail Resorts is not afraid to reinvest,” he told Pique. “They’re not afraid to put the money into the operation, and that’s different from some other big conglomerates I’ve seen where they’re trying to suck it dry and the money keeps going down the road and out of the valley.” A key component to this deal is Whistler’s opportunity to become a destination-ofchoice for the growing number of Chinese skiers. Bob Falle, ski resort management expert and chair of Selkirk College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism, told Pique that the domestic markets in the United States and Canada have plateaued. Ski areas must look off-shore if they seek to grow their volume. He sees synergy between Whistler, already the conti- nent’s busiest resort, and the resources of Vail Resorts. “I think this is an opportunity that is going to put Whistler Blackcomb, but by extension Western Canada, into new markets,” he said. “The growth of the industry is dependent on generating and attracting new skiers into Western Canada.” Not everybody in Whistler is happy. A columnist for Pique had nothing nice to say about Vail, the town, the interstate that goes through it, or the intermediate-heavy terrain of Vail Mountain. But more, he rejects the idea of growth. “There are tangible limits to growth based on the carrying capacity of this valley,” said G.D. Maxwell. For students of history, Whistler should perhaps best be understood as a creation of Colorado ski areas. Yes, there were skiers there before, but key figures from Vail had a seminal influence in the design of Whistler base area in the 1970s and 1980s. In a sense, they took the successes – and failures – of Vail and tried to do it better at Whistler. Then, there’s Blackcomb, which was created by the Aspen Skiing Co. And finally, there’s the current ownership of the ski area, KSL Capital Partners, which is made up of former Vail executives, and owns 24 percent of Whistler Blackcomb. Ice at Icebox to get boost of artificial refrigeration FRASER, Colo. – This story out of Fraser rather drips, shall we say, with irony. The town where President Dwight Eisenhower camped out in the 1950s while trout fishing is known for its extreme cold during winter. For a long time, it sat secure in its claim of being “icebox of the nation.” Of late, the town has become site of an ice rink suitable for organized hockey. It’s called the Icebox Ice Rink. But the cold just isn’t reliable enough for this icebox. The Sky-Hi News explains that the recreation district that sponsors the ice rink plans to install a refrigeration system. The fundraising is expected to take some time, organizers tell the newspaper. Republicans in Aspen blame politicians, media ASPEN, Colo. – You think that Aspen has only Democrats? You’re wrong. The Lincoln Day Dinner was held there recently, and it drew Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president. She lost to Donald Trump of course, and Trump is none too fond of Fiorina’s looks. Rolling Stone accompanied Trump on a flight last year, and when Fiorina came on a TV news report, he was recorded saying: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?” Republicans at the meeting in Aspen talked their usual lines: personal responsibility, freedom, liberty, allowing government to do only what it has do to and only be as big as it needs to be to serve the people, in the words of one local Republican officer-seeker. Messengers were blamed for the Republic disarray. “Don’t believe the noise or the polls,” said Darryl Glenn, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado this year. Fiorina urged the bums be tossed. “Politics is way too important to leave to the politicians, no matter how good they are.” Laura Glendenning, who covered the event for The Aspen Times, noted one curiosity at this very Republican affair: the name Trump was rarely mentioned. But Trump himself will be in Aspen later this month, if only to meet with those who pay $2,700 for the privilege. Photos cost $10,000, and couples “do- Please see Mountain Town, A-19 Volunteer for a local non-profit PARK CITY SOCCER CLUB YOUTH ACADEMY Develop a child’s love of the game • HAVE FUN Provide a transition between recreational soccer and club soccer Introduce technical development • Build a foundation of basic skills Fall Developmental Training Programs for Girls & Boys ages 6 - 10 September 7 - December 7 • Willow Creek Park & Basin Rec Field House $275.00 Two days per wk / 12 wk session $150.00 One day per wk / 12 wk session A complement to Fall Rec League soccer Girls Academy Mondays & Wednesdays (Sept 7 - Oct 19) Wednesdays & Fridays (Oct 26 - Dec 7) Questions? Contact Girls Director Mara Rabin Discoe 435.901.1062 or mararachelrabin@yahoo.com Boys Academy Wednesdays & Fridays (Sept 7 - Dec 2) Questions? Contact Boys Director Matt Terwillegar 435.602.9401 or mattpc94@gmail.com Visit www.parkcitysoccer.org to register Scholarships are available/ Becas disponibles * For scholarship information, contact parkcitysoccerclub@gmail.com Para español, contacto Carmela Foote al 801.910.7337 o carmela.foote@gmail.com www.parkcitysoccer.org |