Show Standard-Examire- Sunday November 27 1988 r 13C Utah Snowy weather brightens season for resorts SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Y'ou could almost hear the cheers echoing along the unexpectedly n white ski runs when storms recently blanketed the Wasatch Mountains breaking the back of a stubborn ndge that had shunted early season precipitation away from northern Utah For the first time since 1985 the state’s ski resorts could look forward not only to cashing m on the Thanksgiving weekend but retaking a run at the 1985-8- 6 cord for ski lift ticket sales “The first two weeks of November sure have been good to us" said Bill Alder chief meteorologist at the Salt Lake National Weather Service office “Snow at this time of year is just like gold to the resorts” November’s snow came as a surprise following a dry October that had fueled fears Utah may be in for a third straight slow start on the ski season "The ndge was so strong in October that all the storms were being shucked north of Utah" Alder said “But things really changed around the first part of this month and we’ve been in a snow-lade- ‘The first two weeks of November sure have been good to us’ —Bill Alder runs fresh and deep Park City invested another $15 million to upgrade its snowmaking gear this year and can if needed pump some 4 million gallons of water through the system m a period — roughly twice last year’s capabili24-ho- ur favorable pattern for storms since" 2 44 The early storms left from 18 inches to three feet of new snow on northern Utah's mountains and another good snowfall or two were forecast for the Thanksgiving weekend Alder said “Things look brighter than they have since ’85" said Bob Bailey president of the Utah Ski Association “We have more snow on the ground than a lot of areas had when they opened last year in December “The snow seems to be coming in close to normal amounts and as long as that continues we’re going to have a great year" Bailey said “We would really be 6 levels hopeful of reaching this year" a record 249 milIn 1985-8- 6 lion lift tickets were sold at Utah's resorts But with lean snowfall the next two seasons — was unchallenged ’85-'8- million in 1986-8- 7 and 236 million last season — the mark This month’s snowfall not only gives resort owners the chance to cash in on holiday traffic and a shot at the lift ticket sales record but guaranteed excellent snow coverage for the America's Opening men’s and women’s pro skiat the ing competition Nov 24-2- 7 Park City Ski Area Park City spokesman Mark Menlove unabashedly predicts a record year for his resort with a normal winter — perhaps 500 000 lift ticket sales up from 1987-88415000 And he says ’s that despite the resort’s snowmaking ability the storms are welcome Park City which used its machinery to keep its slopes covered during the dry years will now have the luxury of utilizing artificial snow to keep its snow-makin- g ty “It's an insurance policy" Menlove explained Kent Hoopingarner Snowbird’s general manager said the bountiful snowfall dusting his Little Cottonwood Canyon resort may allow full use of the deluxe Cliff Lodge for the first time since it opened in 1986 “It looks very good" he said “There’s real decent cover right Hoopingarner hopes that Snowbird which recorded a disappointing 273000 ticket sales last season will rise to more than 400000 this year For Solitude Ski Resort located in Big Cottonwood Canyon plentiful snowfalls couldn’t have returned at a better time Solitude has built the state's only new chairlift this year linking its two base areas and has done extensive trail improvements With no overnight lodging the resort depends on local skiers who tend to be picky about snow cover Last year Solitude had to wait until Dec 19 to open This year it opened nearly a month earlier now" Hoopingarner acknowledges that after an especially dry Octo- this past Wednesday “The way the snow’s starting out we hope to have a record around” president of mountain operations I had “It's a tremendous relief visions of an even worse start this year than last" Snowbasin m extreme northern Utah’s Ogden Canyon area also welcomed the snow that blanketed its slopes — on the third largest vertical mountain m ber seems to threaten continuation of Utah’s drought into the third winter November’s storms pleasantly surprised him “They say you’re not supposed to worry about things you have no control over but I was worried" he said “But it looks like things have Finally turned year" said Michael Gore vice the state General Manager Reiner Kolb which also opened Wednesday a full month ahead of last year said all five lifts are open The resort’s owner Sun Valley Co does not reveal specifics on its operations but Kolb acknowledged Snowbasin “had two difficult snow sears" m terms of ticket sales He said that the good snowfall portends “a very big increase” in the resort’s business this season Bailey meantime says he sees “more people more excited about skiing than I'se ever seen before" and he cites several big events as reasons for that enthusiasm In addition to this week's America's Openng the Utah Winter Games are scheduled for Jan at several resorts a state The the throughout Cup has scheduled its run of “citizen-typ- e races” Jan 4 at eight resorts with championships set for Park City Further both Park City and Alta are celebrating anniversaries — Park City its 25th Alta its said Snowbasin Coca-Col- 50th Drug probe continues RICHFIELD (AP) — The Sevier County attorney’s office is its case against two California men after a judge ordered more than $11 million m alleged drug money returned to them “We are continuing to investigate it from a criminal stand- point" said County Attorney R Don Brown who added he believes circumstantial evidence points to the men's involvement in drug trafficking But in a forfeiture hearing this week 6th District Judge Don V Tibbs ruled there was no evidence to link the money to drug deals and ordered the cash returned A criminal charge of conspiracy to possess drugs remains pend- ing against Ken Lee Medlock 40 ' and Mark D Budaska 36 both of Manna Del Ray Calif The money’s return is uncertain until the Internal Revenue Service determines whether taxes have been paid on the cash “They are in the process of placing a lien against that cash or about half of it” said US Attorney Brent Ward “That money hasn’t moved anywhere and before it does we expect a lien against at least half of it" The percentage is based on an approximation of liability if the money has not been taxed he said The two men were arrested Sept 21 on Interstate 70 after $1137658 was discovered hidden m the 1988 Chevrolet pickup they were driving A Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped the truck for having no license plates and through a subsequent search discovered the money “They had built in a plywood and frame inside the bed of the truck surrounded by one of those fiberglass liners" ‘ $ Brown said At the forfeiture hearing de- fense witness Shimon Yanay of Los Angeles said he hired the two men to safely transport the money which he claimed was the proceeds from a diamond sale from New York to California “They had a story I don’t think it was a good one" Brown said “The judge thought it was" “It was and is my position that (hidden compartment) only served one purpose and that was the hiding of contraband" he said While he concedes no direct physical evidence or witness testi- mony links the men and money to drug trafficking Brown said circumstantial evidence indicates otherwise g He said a dog “alerted" on the truck and compartment though no traces of drugs were detected “We could place them in Iowa where they told a witness they were police officers" he said “They used a false name and address when getting service on their vehicle” Although unhappy with Tibbs’ ruling the county attorney said “the probability of an appeal is not great” “We have and are looking at that however the real (legal) issue is whether there’s a (factual) 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