wrote:
As a spin-off of the thread on Salmon Hills, purely out of curiosity,
- is running a XC ski center a viable business model at all? What %
of XC ski start-ups make it through the first ~5 years? The 2 places
I've skied at (and love skiing at) that on the surface looked like
successful businesses are Royal Gorge, CA (which rumors say was
supposed to have been sold to a housing developer had it not been for
the current housing crisis) and Lapland Lake, NY.

My understanding is that RG *is* now owned by Foster City Group. I don't
know precisely when they were drawn up, but I have seen the subdivision
maps for RG land along Soda Springs Rd (potentially eliminating
Switchback trail). FCG probably isn't selling or building on the lots
until the real estate market improves, but I'm sure they still intend to.

Bear in mind that RG includes several thousand acres owned outright and
many more thousands of government land with lease rights to ski
operations. That means that RG can co-exist with gradual housing
development for many years. FCG may even see RG as a "draw" and keep it
operating even at a loss if it makes the overall value of the property
higher. Who knows? We can hope...

That said, I noticed an immediate drop in grooming after the sale.
AFAICT they operate only a single groomer at a time, now. There are
several trails that were never groomed the last season or two and I
doubt will be ever again. There also appears to have been a 100%
turnover of the staff post sale. The new crew isn't bad, but it seems
the "aussie pipeline" is no longer supplying RG.

See you at TDXC and TXC,
Bob