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Big Daddy
climber
mammoth
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The town wouldn't be bankrupt if they didn't agree to give the bulk of their property taxes to the county when the incorporated.
The reason they are in this lawsuit is because someone threw away the fax from the FAA. Incompetence is running rampant like someone above stated.
There are plenty of Minnesotans out here. They are good at hockey and generally nice people.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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What exactly was the deal with the airport? The Aspen airport has commercial jet service, and that sucker is basically in a small hole in the mountains. I can't see why building the airport outside of Mammoth is such a big deal, FAA-wise.
Also, Mammoth has traditionally been the Los Angeles ski town. Tahoe is too far, and Mammoth has great skiing.
Bummer. Driving a cat at Mammoth was the best job I ever had. Pay was super low, though. Couldn't live off of it.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Wouldn't the developer have built them where the city permitted them to be built? The city was responsible for staying in compliance with FAA rules. I am no cheerleader for developers, but hard to pin that one on the dirt pimp. As I understand it, the hangars were built for the city by the developer as his part of the deal.
edit - Wan't it the proposed development at the airport that would have been too close to the runway
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tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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This link is not a bad summary of the years of litigation on this issue.
http://mammothtimes.com/content/mammoth-stumbles-its-way-30-million-loss-hot-creek-lawsuit
Other side history about the airport. The original plan for the airport was 747's out of Dallas to connect to the East Coast. That changed along the way to the smaller turboprop planes they use now, for a number of reasons. Long time residents may remember the flight tests, when they actually flew the big planes in.
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zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
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Anybody have the link for Mammoth skier stats? Say 1970 to current by year.
Let the ski resort go? Folks who want to ride down, hike up? It's not unheard of.
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10b4me
Ice climber
dingy room at the Happy boulders hotel
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1. Mammoth Lakes is a remote ski mountain. A five to six hours drive is common from Southern California. Given this fact, Mammoth Lakes will never be like the Colorado resort towns.
I have felt that way for awhile now. Try as it might, snow quality can't compare to that of Colorado or Utah.
I say no to $80 day passes.
try $100
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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mammoth's longterm future as a serious ski resort probably depends on building the airport access and local infrastructure to lure in and support the one percenters and those members of the middle and upper-middle classes that are aspirational.
This the logic that got them into this mess - thinking they can compete
with the big destination resorts of Colorado. Nobody from back east is
going to fly to Mammoth. Verrrry few SoCal people would fly to Mammoth -
the ticket prices would be astronomic and you could damn near drive it in
the same time as going to the airport and having your bunghole probed for
an hour or two.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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i doubt that even with the increased pass and lift fees, the mountain comes anywhere close to making a profit off of operations.
i am curious about the local numbers, though. most places measure "visit," which is not the same as participants.
this is a pretty good explanation of the statistical difficulties:
http://www.mrablog.com/explaining-ski-industry-demographics/
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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If you're flying to a place to ski, why would you choose Mammoth over Utah?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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This the logic that got them into this mess - thinking they can compete
with the big destination resorts of Colorado. Nobody from back east is
going to fly to Mammoth. Verrrry few SoCal people would fly to Mammoth -
the ticket prices would be astronomic
They don't need jillions of folks to fly in, just predictable numbers of the right ones. The need is to rebrand Mammoth as a luxury resort destination then make the dough selling amenities. Is there a doable, magic number? Interwest obviously thinks so, and given the investment, I'd guess that they have proprietary stats and market research not just for Mammoth but for all the available comps.
The only imaginable way Mammoth is going to survive the longterm as what it used to be-- middle-class, family place for folks driving individual cars up from LA --is if gasoline prices stay cheap for the next 20 years and Latinos decide to invest heavily in snowsports.
No smart, longterm business plan is going to count on oil prices staying flat for the next two decades.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
Pebble Wrestling.... Badly lately.
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And if you are going to offer a flight from LA, why in the world would you fly from LAX? I could see flying out of Burbank and/or John Wayne but never would I deal with LAX to get to Mammoth.
Back in the 80s I did fly from Burbank to Mammoth when the wife was already up there with the car. It was a great flight right over the top of the Sierra!
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zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
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Say what? You snooze, you don't lose,
With the 1996 partnership of the Intrawest Corporation with Mammoth Mountain Ski area, Dave's vision is a reality dreams are becoming a reality. The development of three new village areas: The Village at Mammoth, Sierra Star, and Juniper Springs, has brought new life to the resort. The recent acquisition by STarwood Capital group promises to keep the Mammoth vision alive by creating premiere quality hotels and base facilities, helping Mammoth to grow up from a sleepy little town, to a first class destination resort, but most importantly a great place to live as well as an exciting place to vacation.
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Gary
climber
"My god - it's full of stars!"
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The need is to rebrand Mammoth as a luxury resort destination then make the dough selling amenities.
Maybe they could start with just one decent restaurant.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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If you're flying to a place to ski, why would you choose Mammoth over Utah?
I've wondered about that since I first heard about the sale of the mountain. The problems were obvious: redneck brand, minimal amenities, no airport, no nearby urban center.
But there are several obvious upsides: elevation and position mean that Mammoth gets one of the most reliable snow packs in the Sierras. That's a big deal, because we are in the midst of something like a ski resort apocalypse in which the reliable snow line retreats above the base (or even the summit) of once productive ski resorts. Moreover, the models all predict wilder oscillations of storm and drought years, often with major regional variations.
If I were in the planning division of a major corporation with heavy holdings in ski resorts across the Rockies and elsewhere, I might think it was wise to acquire a high-el site in the SIerras as a hedge against drought years in the Rockies. Or Just as the last remaining outlet for SoCal once all the SoCal resorts go under in the next few years.
I don't know anyone at IW, but I've heard folks in recent years talk about this sort of strategy in discussions about economic planning for mountain regions.
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zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
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Let it revert to a sleepy little town.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Mammoth needs a casino.
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Brock
Trad climber
RENO, NV
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So when the Fiscal Cliff hits in December, do I free solo it or repel off?
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