West Mountain Ski Center files bankruptcy

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Wow. I guess I could say something, but, thinking about it, I lived in Saratoga Springs for three years and never even thought of skiing there. So, there you go.

West is a cool place and could be a real asset to capital area skiers. I had a blast on my trip there, and was hoping to get back there again this season. I hope management can figure this out or find someone that can operate it properly to right the ship. The infrastructure could use some upgrades but there's enough there to warrant more visitors.

http://nyskiblog.com/go-west-mountain-young-man/

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This is a shame.  I had some dealings with Brandt, and he was a real work of art. In terms of Barbone, I am not familiar with him. I hate to see businesses in trouble, particularly in an industry that I enjoy. Let's hope for the best, as the debt is not that substantial.

There is an opportunity here for a profitable operation.  If you build it they will come applies.  Imagine a very well maintained terrain park and a pipe with its own high quality lift.  This would be well received by families, of which there are a huge number in the area.  The parents can ski on the rest of the mountain if they like, again with a nice high speed lift, or hang out in a nice lodge.  If you imagine the changes that took place at Jimminy Peak over the past 30 years you will get the picture.  Many, many people ski at that resort for the reasons outlined above, and these could be easily brought back to NY.  West is much easier to get to, but the infrastructure as it currently stands stinks.  What I am proposing would take millions, but it could be as profitable as the 6 Flags Water Park if done correctly, especially if real estate were developed.  

In the right hands West would do well.  They have very good family terrain and the tree skiing could be nice if you didn't get hassled all the time by the Patrol.  The Mach is a great racing trail and the Cure is a legitimate expert trail.  The Bar/Restaurant is fabulous and mountain biking is really good during the off season.  As it was the last few years, if I didn't get my pass for free, it was just 2.50 for a 16oz Pabst and HS Race watching (and occasionally  gatekeeping) for me.

Wonder how much of that debt was tied into that ticketing system that never worked right then was abandoned.  

They did have a competitive terrain park for a few years. IT was beating out gore and competing with other mountains. Barbone helped to run that into the ground, and push any good park employees away.

That place is set up to succeed. You have a small urban environment, lots of school programs, a very loyal fan base, and a night skiing mountain right in the heart with no competition in the immediate area.

It really is a shame to see that mountain waste away but honestly it needs to be bought up and overhauled. With the current management in place that mountain has no chance to succeed.

The list of negatives at that place right now is massive. Another ski area with a lot of potential living up to none of it. New management or bust, only way  that place will bounce back.

From the Post Star:

New operator of West Mountain has big plans for ski center

Higlights:

 - Apex Capital officially became the new operator of West Mountain Ski Center on Thursday, and the new operators hope to have the reorganization plan hammered out and approved by December to get the ski center open for the season.

“Our intent is to be open this winter,” Apex owner Spencer Montgomery said Saturday.

From a West Mountain management and operational stand point, Apex Capital “parted ways” with former ski center owner Mike Barbone when the company took over, Montgomery said.

 - He has prioritized some upgrades to the ski center, and would like to make some minor renovations this year. Eventually, he’d like to replace one specific chair lift that’s outdated, revamp the snow-making system and refurbish or replace the other lifts.

Montgomery estimated the changes he’d like to make will cost somewhere between $3 million to $8 million.

“It needs investment,” he said.

Good news for the Glens Falls region !  West certainly has potential ,given active management and alternative revenue streams for off season activity should help the mountain sustain .

Gotta hand it to the new breed of owner who invests in little areas with no RE game attached. They'll never get rich doing this.

I certainly hope they can get things ironed out.  I work in Queensbury... not even 15 minute drive to West... and really enjoyed the night skiing for the past 2 years and lunch specials this last year.  I don't care about the old lifts, just the snow,  so I hope they make lots of it and expand and upgrade their equipment.  If they open this winter... I'll be there pretty regularly....

If you've never been there before and are hesitant... look for the daily/nightly specials... you'll get a nice taste and wont break your wallet.

JerryC wrote

I certainly hope they can get things ironed out.  I work in Queensbury... not even 15 minute drive to West... and really enjoyed the night skiing for the past 2 years and lunch specials this last year.  I don't care about the old lifts, just the snow,  so I hope they make lots of it and expand and upgrade their equipment.  If they open this winter... I'll be there pretty regularly....

If you've never been there before and are hesitant... look for the daily/nightly specials... you'll get a nice taste and wont break your wallet.

JerryC you got some nice passion for West Mountain!

Could I convince you to submit a profile for the West Mountain in the directory?



Welcome.

Great lodge there.... I could possibly see a small RE play if they own the all the land. It could make some money. And you get guaranteed ticket sales through it provided you're open. I'm disappointed to hear that the old creaky lift might be a thing of the past. I'd like to see it refurbed, that chair has character!

Two mountains that I live within 20 minutes of seem to be having similar issues.

Snoloco,

Thanks for the Tux Ridge update. I walked the area last week on the way back from a trip to Warwick, NY. Way blast from the past, as I started skiing there 42 yrs ago at age 13. I left the area wondering what the heck was going on there. I haven't skied there in many decades! I have pics, have to resize them, then will post. I was trying to do this last week, but had to bail to get some pressing work done.

Here are the pics...



Not much has changed since I was last there eons ago.

The Post Star ran this front page story yesterday (Sunday) morning:  Apex Capital gets to work as operator of West Mountain

It's a pretty lengthy (unnecessarily so) description of the complexity of West Mountain's business structure (numerous LLCs complicating the bankruptcy process and scaring off potential outside investors).  Here's the Cliff Notes, all copied & pasted from the original article.

One other thing, a couple posters in this thread mentioned "no real estate" associated with West Mountain, however there has been a potential development ("Mont Luzerne") on 2400 acres for as long as I can remember (a good 20 years).  It always seemed like a half-baked pipe dream to me.  In any case, that potential development is mentioned below, and it is a critical piece for West's new operator/owner.

Spencer Montgomery believes he’s heard enough rejections to know what it’s going to take to save West Mountain Ski Center. While the business began operations last week under the auspice of Apex Capital LLC, complications with the owner’s bankruptcy case have resulted in a five-and-a-half-year lease agreement, rather than the previously planned ownership transfer.

Montgomery said the lease would not have to go the full term, and the ultimate goal is still for Apex to take ownership of the business.

Montgomery, who was named director of new business development for the ski center a year ago, initially set out to find investors willing to help bail out the ski center. He said the “loose” position appointment came out of an August 2012 meeting with longtime owner Mike Brandt, when it became clear the business “was in extreme financial trouble.”

But all efforts to garner investment hit the same wall.  “In very short order, I realized that was not going to happen because no one was going to put money in, the way things stood.”  Specifically, the business had as many as 19 subsidiary limited liability companies, with seven or eight active when Montgomery came on board. Montgomery said this week he didn’t know why so many divisions were set up, but their presence raised red flags for investors. “I think it’s a fairly complicated situation,” Montgomery said. “I realized fairly early on in the process through talking to people in the ski industry who were interested in coming in as investing partners — and I got this without exception — that they were not interested unless it were cleaned up.”

In the 1990s, Montgomery estimated, the ski center was separated from the land at the top of the mountain, for which the Mont Luzerne resort has been proposed. Apex Capital has managed to secure about 1,400 acres of that land and is working to secure the remaining 1,000-acre parcel from a Texas bank that has begun foreclosure proceedings.

With progress toward bringing the land at the top of the mountain back under the same umbrella as the ski center, Montgomery thinks investors will find the project more attractive, provided the bankruptcy issues can be worked out.  “If the top of that mountain was lost, I can’t imagine anyone, including ourselves (Apex Capital), investing in the ski center,” he said.

Montgomery said he envisions a possible sub-contracting situation with the property, where a developer or developers with the right qualifications would be selected to take portions of the property and build condos, high-end homes or ski-in, ski-out properties.

For now, the lease agreement means Apex Capital, of which Montgomery is an owner, will make lease payments to East Slope Holdings, of which Montgomery is the manager, Montgomery said.  The money will go into a debtor-in-possession account, from which East Slope will pay the bills necessary to get the ski center up and running for the coming season, he said.

Despite its shaky financial history, Montgomery said there’s reason to believe the ski center can become profitable again. Among those he spoke with in an effort to garner investment in the business last year were people who had been successful at turning around other struggling ski centers, he said.  “One guy has turned around two or three ski centers, and he thought simply with a new quad-chair and snowmaking, the ski center’s profitable,” Montgomery said. “He thought that would roughly increase the revenues twofold and not increase the fixed costs at the same rate.”