A deal has been reached that aims to open Mount Baldy again to skiers in early January. (Richard McGuire photo)
A deal has been reached that could see the Mount Baldy ski resort back in operation on a limited basis as soon as the first week of January.
G-Force Group announced the agreement in a news release on Monday saying the resort “has been rescued from the Insolvency Grinch who stole it from its ski communities just before Christmas last year.”
After the failure of another initiative in October, Fred Johnston of Calgary offered to manage the resort for the current ski season and to acquire it at the end of the season.
To complete the transaction, G. Powroznik Group Inc., a company under the G-Force Group, was appointed as receiver-manager of Mount Baldy Ski Resort Corporation by the Supreme Court of B.C. last Friday.
Johnston’s companies are Baldy Operating Corporation and the related Baldy Capital Corporation. Baldy Capital Corporation arranged interim financing for this year’s operations as a step toward acquiring the assets of Mount Baldy Ski Resort from the receiver-manager.
The resort 35 kilometres east of Oliver was closed during the 2013-14 ski season due to financial difficulties of the previous U.S. owners.
G-Force was appointed as the marketing agent in July by a secured creditor who had received conduct of sale from the B.C. Supreme Court.
Major maintenance and preparatory efforts have been quietly underway in recent weeks to open the ski hill on a limited basis this season, said Baldy Capital Corporation in a separate news release.
Only the Sugarlump quad chair and the Magic Carpet will be open this season. Based on the limited opening, prices for adult passes will be $29, season passes will be $249 and family passes for any number of children will be $449.
Holders of season passes from other ski areas will receive a further 25 per cent discount on these prices by presenting their passes at the ticket office, Baldy Capital Corporation says.
The initial plan is to be open only Friday through Saturday each week this season. The hill will open once the necessary liability insurance can be confirmed.
The deal will see Matt Koenig again serve in his role as mountain manager. Koenig and a small team of former employees have been working in recent weeks to get the hill ready.
Johnston said the 11th hour agreement was only considered viable because of the confidence the company has in the knowledge, experience and persistence of Koenig.
“Matt Koenig has been a real stalwart here,” said Powroznik. “If it hadn’t been for him, this probably would not have happened… He was really committed and hung in there.”
The aim is to have the resort operating while the receivership process and court approval of an asset purchase agreement is completed over the next several months.
Johnston said his company’s priority is to seek input from key stakeholders including the South Okanagan communities, the Osoyoos Indian Band, regional tourism officials and the provincial government.
“Based in large measure on strong community encouragement, the company decided to commit to the substantial effort and money necessary to open and manage the hill this season,” said Johnston.
Powroznik said Community Futures has been involved with helping to arrange the interim financing.
The challenges, said Powroznik, were always to get the right party with the long-term vision to get the hill operating on a sustainable basis and to get the needed funding.
“The funding is always tough in this market after the big recession of 2008,” said Powroznik. “People are pretty cautious and in this industry there are regional hills that don’t do very well, sometimes because they don’t have the right formula. They try to make it too big and they make a big real estate play when you’ve really got to pay attention to the skier visits and experience.”
Powroznik said the resort needs to offer a four-season experience. He also pointed to the impact on the community where hotels and restaurants are slower during the winter months because so much of the tourism focus is on the summer.
The day-to-day operation of Mount Baldy will be carried out by Johnston’s company Baldy Operating Corporation with Koenig managing the resort, Powroznik said.
“We will have very little involvement other than to provide the funding for it that’s been prearranged,” said Powroznik. “We will have a very light touch overseeing it under our legal mandate under the court order.”
“Job one will be to focus on improving ski hill operations and facilities so that people will want to be here and so it can be profitable and sustainable,” said Johnston. “Without that focus, there is no market for the associated real estate development.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Matt Koenig, mountain manager, Mount Baldy Ski Area (Keith Lacey file photo)
