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Show MARCH 1995 wolf mountain By Christopher Smart Kenny. Griswold had the fleet of snowmobiles at Wolf Mountain painted to mimic endangered species. It's this type of flair that leave many in Park City and the Wasatch-area development community thinking the colorful, longhaired Griswold won't succeed at his newest endeavor — Wolf Mountain ski resort. Wolf Mountain, known for the last 25 years as ParkWest, has been the downtrodden cousin of the fashionable Park City Ski Area and the elite Deer Valley ski resort. And for the past decade, the once promising resort has been the focus of a number of debacles and false starts For the past three ski seasons, no one knew for sure whether or not ParkWest would even open for business Not surprisingly, skier traffic has continued to fall off and off and off. So, when Griswold says it's a whole new ball game at ParkWest — make that Wolf Mountain — it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many look askance at the 41-year-old would-be tycoon. But on the cocktail circuit of Park City’s inner circle of movers and shakers, the criticisms of Griswold are much more harsh. He is seen as something of a brash, fast-talking hippie, who fell out of Hollywood to find himself in Utah’s mountains, mining for money, Park Citystyle. But the easy-going and personable California transplant shakes off the criticism like a retriever shaking off marsh water. He says he has no time for negativism and wants only to look forward ‘There are some people who think your failures are important,” Griswold says from behind his spacious desk at Wolf Mountain. “I say I've accomplished here, was to solve an unsolvable My me on what original plan [| was told was problem And from all Griswold is on the Mountain a During judge what going the appearances, verge of Kenny making Wolf concern first week of February, Griswold and his partner, Park City finan cial attorney Michael Baker, finalized real estate transactions that effectively triple the size of the ski area, Now huge tracks of ski terrain on three mountains, cover ing 2,900 acres between the Bear Hollow Winter Sports Par and White Pine Canyon are under one ownership Lack of unified ownership was the death knell for ParkWest. When former ParkWest owner Jack Roberts ran into real estate and finance problems 10 years ago, he lost the base facilities of the resort. Businessman Jerry Giloman found himself as part owner of ParkWest and knee-deep in a feud with Roberts, that would make the Clampets and been saved from extinction? McCoys look like tame stuff. The acriSnowboarder gets big air at Snowboard Park at Wolf Mountain. mony continued to the point where the resort was effectively paralyzed — the owner of the mountain would not cooperate with the owner of the base facilities Chicago and New York might not find marketable at such high prices. and vice versa. reassuring. “The manner in which a ski area is Griswold, who knew a good thing ' But the pricetag of a new chairlift developed can make a dramatic impact when he saw it, rounded up Baker, as a these days is about $1 million by the on real estate,” Wells said. major investor, and the Wolf Mountain time it is installed. And Wolf Mountain To all this, however, the unconvenpartnership bought both halves. has seven of them. tional Griswold, says he is not bound by As important as the coup that reunit“We reconditioned all the lifts,” says what has come before him in the ed the ski area, was Griswold and Griswold in his own defense, between Wasatch Mountains. Having rubbed Baker's suecessful strategy to consolidate phone calls and the rush-rush of signing shoulder-to-shoulder with a lot of money 104 separate parcels of land between checks and documents at the resort for 10 years in Hollywood, Griswold Wolf Mountain’s base lodge and Utah nerve center. “We painted all the chairs seems quite casual about the whole Highway 224 — about 200 acres of and buildings We wanted Wolf thing. prime development real estate that could Mountain, at least to clean itself up, so it “Most people think of finance in be the stake to a young fortune. was a clean environment.” typical ways . . The best way to fund But all this might not be as easy as Investments that might not be seen, this (ski resort improvements) is just it looks. It took the business acumen and like additional snow-making facilities cash,” he says, as though there was financial strength of Nick Badami, who and restaurant improvements “don’t get someone flying in from L.A. with a bag made his fortune as the “B” in BVD us any points, but they’re there,” of money any minute. underwear, to build Park City Ski Area Griswold noted. into what it is today. As the Wolf Mountain THE GAMBLE Likewise, it was the Although seven lifts now serve one president and CEO, Bob Wells monetary might of Griswold says he of three mountains at Wolf Mountain Edgar Stern, the largest wants to keep the ski resort, about one dozen more will be ml Mite die) Matea s stockholder in the Sears needed to ski the entire area. resort and the real dynasty, to bring off the development, where estate development In order for the real estate developposh Deer Valley Resort ise MC malas “separate. But that may ment to become profitable, the public, in with all its trappings. be practically impossigeneral, and high-brow tourist, specifiand real estate develNow, upstart ble, according to the cally, must believe that Wolf Mountain is opment... people Kenny Griswold, and a stable concern as well as a first-class financial wizards with teh Ma (-t¢ mele M El corporate merger speproven track records resort. There arewnany opportunities for cialist Michael Baker, real estate activity at resort development. the wealthy to buy primary or second are sitting, apparently, homes in Park City x Deer Valley, ati Mitts) years is Bob Wells, who in the catbird seat at provided navigation where the ski resorts are a proven comretold sled tl) go LL Wolf Mountain. Almost for Badami at Park modity (gta dm) everything is in place City and Stern at Deer But unless someone really is on the profitable.” for a dramatic and huge Valley, says in practiplane from L.A. with a big sack of success story The cally all cases, ski money, Griswold and Baker, in all likeliquestion On everyone's resorts and the surhood, will need profits from real estate mind: Can Kenny pull it off? rounding development real estate are development to make millions in resort inextricably linked. Real estate sales pay improvements and to whittle down the THE GAME the bills until a ski resort becomes pop$19 million debt they have accrued durAlthough Griswold and Baker have ular enough to emerge from red ink, ing the consolidation of their properties. poured more than $1 million into “In this kind of resort development, And as Griswold explains, there is improvements of its facilities, Wolf where there is a ski resort and real estate shortterm development in the works. Mountain has a long way to go to get development ... people have relied on “We already have 506 units approved for into the league with its resort neighbors the real estate activity until the point is development,” he said with a wave of up the road, reached where the (resort) operation is the hand, referring to planning approvals Reminiscent of the 1960s at Alta or profitable,” Wells said in a telephone from Summit County. Brighton, Wolf Mountain may be the best interview from his Deer Valley Real Several large development firms are kept secret in Utah skiing. Sections of Estate Administration office. interested, he says. “There is a responsithe resort offer great pitch and snow In the case of Deer Valley, Wells bility to outline a cohesive community protected by north-facing slopes. And it explained, it took almost nine years plan... I want to see’a development that is uncrowded! But the ski lifts are old before the ski resort could stand on its is progressive in nature.” and give the impression that perhaps it own, But it was the fact that ski lifts and The initial trick, then, could be to really is the 1960s - a feeling high-rolling lodges were built on the mountainside finance a first round of development, ski tourists from California, Texas, that made the surrounding real estate then pour the profits back into the ski PAGE 10 |
