June Mountain, CA to shut down for 2012-13

[Skiace]

http://www.mammothtimes.com/content/jun ... eason-gone

June 21, 2012

BY TIMES STAFF REPORT
news@mammothtimes.com
June Mountain Ski Area on Thursday suspended its operations for the foreseeable future, according to a Mammoth Mountain press release.

Edited to remove copy/paste of article out of respect for copyright. Click link above to read the story on the Mammoth Times website. - Admin

Considering the 26 straight years of operation at a loss, this sure sounds like the death-knell for June. It's certainly unfortunate, as June provided a great relief valve. When weather at Mammoth during a storm was too much to run lifts on any interesting terrain, many people could find short lift lines and free powder refills at June. But it doesn't surprise me that the hill has been losing money for so long, considering that the vast majority of people who ride there are using a Mammoth pass.

 

[Tony Crocker]

It doesn't surprise me either, and especially with the other events at Mammoth this year demonstrating that there is little margin between revenue and debt service under Starwood. I had heard rumors of June going to 4 days a week but not of a complete shutdown.

Mammoth will be working with its partner the U.S. Forest Service....

Recall from the Berthoud Pass example that if a ski area is shuttered for several years, the Forest Service will take the lifts out. Mt. Waterman narrowly avoided the same fate.

It's certainly unfortunate, as June provided a great relief valve. When weather at Mammoth during a storm was too much to run lifts on any interesting terrain, many people could find short lift lines and free powder refills at June.

It's a great theory but rarely executed in practice. On the days when weather is that severe the drive time to June is lengthened. People have to figure it out when they get up in the morning, be convinced that the Mammoth mid-mountain lifts (3, 5 & 22) are going to be down all day and have an appropriate vehicle. Usually they take the line of least resistance, get on the mountain at Mammoth and by the time they realize it was a mistake half the day is gone.

I have had 295 ski days at Mammoth and 6 at June. Skiace has had 277 days at Mammoth and 5 at June. In both my and skiace's experience I believe we've used this strategy only when it was reinforced by crowd considerations at Christmas or President's weekend, making the decision more obvious.

 

[Staley]

It's sad, but understandable. June didn't get many destination visitors itself; most of its skiers stayed/lived in Mammoth and had passes.

June could be pretty great though. J1 opened at 7:30 (nobody ever knew them, they thought it was 8:30 like every other lift), so it was a private mountain for the first hour. I remember one day in particular with 2 feet of blower and just 2 other people on J1 for the first hour. Of course you didn't get many laps due to the slow lift, but it was a nice change of pace from the mad rush of Mammoth.

 

[soulskier]

June would make a great community owned ski area. And the sidecountry access to the Negatives and Carson Pass is really good.

 

[Skidog]

June would make a great community owned ski area. And the sidecountry access to the Negatives and Carson Pass is really good.

FTO co-op? Lol


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[Admin]

June would make a great community owned ski area. And the sidecountry access to the Negatives and Carson Pass is really good.

FTO co-op? Lol

I know a certain little boutique ski manufacturer that could partner with us on that one. :lol:

Here's our own story on the issue:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2012/0 ... -ski-area/

 

[Tony Crocker]

June could be pretty great though. J1 opened at 7:30....

for transport up to the lodge where most of the facilities (food, rentals, etc.) are. With likely mid-mountain average of 250 inches the steep lower face of June is not reliable for snow. I wonder how many days it was open this past season. The reality is that June is one of the best beginner areas I've ever seen, particularly the 2 1/2 mile Silverado run from the top of J6. The entire mid-mountain area is beginner-friendly also. We constantly hear about the high cost of entry and how hard it is to retain beginners. Mammoth should be marketing to its strength there, aggressively subsidizing lessons at June, perhaps even including transport over there during peak holidays. The more positive learning environment at June vs. the more intense ambience at Mammoth might result in a higher retention rate that will grow Mammoth's skier/rider base in the long term.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Much pain being felt by the June locals:
http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewt ... 13&t=13693

 

[soulskier]

Tony, now that you are getting into backcountry skiing, you will appreciate the access to the Negatives and Carson Peak provided from June Mountain. I've have several amazing top to bottom powder runs, close to 4,000 vertical and due north facing, all the way down to the highway.

 

[Tony Crocker]

On my finest ever powder day at Mammoth April 9, 1999 backcountry guide Doug Nidever was skiing off the back of June Mt. From my perspective losing lift access makes June a less attractive back/sidecountry destination.

June's steep terrain is limited to the unreliable lower face and the top 500-700 vertical of J7. That's why most of us don't consider going there on powder days unless the middle as well as upper lifts at Mammoth will be closed. Climbing 2,600 to get that 700 is a poor grunt/reward ratio IMHO.

MRA should be looking to back June locals to see if reviving the mountain as a Bogus/Bridger type non-profit is possible. Most of the local businesses in June are going to be in big trouble with the mountain shut down and one would think the sale price would be a pittance given the history and that Kirkwood only sold for $12 million.

 

[soulskier]

On my finest ever powder day at Mammoth April 9, 1999 backcountry guide Doug Nidever was skiing off the back of June Mt. From my perspective losing lift access makes June a less attractive back/sidecountry destination.

June's steep terrain is limited to the unreliable lower face and the top 500-700 vertical of J7. That's why most of us don't consider going there on powder days unless the middle as well as upper lifts at Mammoth will be closed. Climbing 2,600 to get that 700 is a poor grunt/reward ratio IMHO.

MRA should be looking to back June locals to see if reviving the mountain as a Bogus/Bridger type non-profit is possible. Most of the local businesses in June are going to be in big trouble with the mountain shut down and one would think the sale price would be a pittance given the history and that Kirkwood only sold for $12 million.

I'm not suggesting that the lifts closing is a good thing, I think it's bad for the community and the Eastern Sierra. And the reason why side country skiing is so attractive is you get much of the vertical out of the way quickly. Take the Negatives, it's about a 50 minute skin after a short traverse from J7. Then it's close to 4K back to the road. Without lifts, it is a good 4 hour skin.

MRA has put the structure in place to help communities take ownership and sustain their mountain playgrounds.

 

[soulskier]

Kirkwood was sold for $18 million. The next owners would need to invest in infrastructure improvements and clean energy to make it financially sustainable.

 

[Tony Crocker]

As in most of these situations operating costs need to be kept to a minimum. The only new infrastructure I think June needs is to upgrade capacity on J1. And I would be buying a used lift (Tamarack???) for that.

We've been over the clean energy issue before. The only way that works is with government subsidy. Mammoth has investigated it, and it doesn't work for them because in order to gain the benefit of government credits you need consistent taxable income. Which Mammoth doesn't have thanks to the leverage that has put it in its current situation.

 

[soulskier]

We've been over the clean energy issue before. The only way that works is with government subsidy. Mammoth has investigated it, and it doesn't work for them because in order to gain the benefit of government credits you need consistent taxable income. Which Mammoth doesn't have thanks to the leverage that has put it in its current situation.

I look forward to dispelling that myth in the near future.

 

[snowave]

very sad to hear, but not in the least bit a shock. I enjoyed many great days on the mountain and in town. I wish the best for my friends who still live and play there.

 

[soulskier]

June Lake, California-A Community Threatening to Become Extinct

http://www.mrablog.com/june-lake-califo ... extinct-2/

 

[Tony Crocker]

IMHO that article is rabidly biased with conspiracy theories that are not supported by long term history of the area. June Mt. would have died during the sustained stretch of low snow years from 1987-1992 had Dave McCoy not bought the area in 1986 and upgraded lift and snowmaking facilities.

Has June been neglected during the Intrawest/Starwood years? Yes, but what would be the justification of sinking any more $ into it given the visitation? We don't know how season pass revenue is allocated, but the best guess is that it's in the same proportion as total visitation, which is at a Mammoth-to-June ratio of about 25 to 1. The only constructive idea I can think of is to market more aggressively to beginners and families.

The most plausible explanation for the current situation is the same as for the February layoffs. Mammoth has excessive debt service from the Starwood purchase and thus has little margin for the revenue dips that will occur periodically in Sierra low snow years. Cutting a recurring loss gives Mammoth more breathing room to service that debt. Logically they should have tried 3,4 or 5 day-a-week operation before a complete shutdown. The fact that they didn't reinforces my view that the abrupt decision was due to the abrupt decline in revenue of the 2011-12 season.

I suspect Rusty would be delighted if some local group would step up and take June Mt. off his hands. Mammoth would get rid of the annual red ink and it would be someone else's problem to keep the area going and not be responsible for turning June Lake into a ghost town.

 

[Skiace]

IMHO that article is rabidly biased with conspiracy theories that are not supported by long term history of the area. June Mt. would have died during the sustained stretch of low snow years from 1987-1992 had Dave McCoy not bought the area in 1986 and upgraded lift and snowmaking facilities.

Has June been neglected during the Intrawest/Starwood years? Yes, but what would be the justification of sinking any more $ into it given the visitation? We don't know how season pass revenue is allocated, but the best guess is that it's in the same proportion as total visitation, which is at a Mammoth-to-June ratio of about 25 to 1. The only constructive idea I can think of is to market more aggressively to beginners and families.

The most plausible explanation for the current situation is the same as for the February layoffs. Mammoth has excessive debt service from the Starwood purchase and thus has little margin for the revenue dips that will occur periodically in Sierra low snow years. Cutting a recurring loss gives Mammoth more breathing room to service that debt. Logically they should have tried 3,4 or 5 day-a-week operation before a complete shutdown. The fact that they didn't reinforces my view that the abrupt decision was due to the abrupt decline in revenue of the 2011-12 season.

I suspect Rusty would be delighted if some local group would step up and take June Mt. off his hands. Mammoth would get rid of the annual red ink and it would be someone else's problem to keep the area going and not be responsible for turning June Lake into a ghost town.

I think it's an issue of collateral damage and ownership priorities. I agree that it's unlikely the June shutdown and permanent employee layoffs were planed, but that's not really relevant. The key issue is clearly the debt service, which is a result of corporate ownership over the last ~15 years. Debt was taken on during boom years to construct and sell real estate (with mountain improvements being used as a loss leader). This was done because of the short-term profit focus of corporate ownership, and it is a recipe we've seen repeated all over the ski world. Now the boom is over and the debt remains, so cuts will come indiscriminately. A more long-term oriented ownership group would not have taken on so much debt in the first place, and thus might be in a position to retain long term employees and keep June open (at least on a limited basis).

 

[soulskier]

I think it's an issue of collateral damage and ownership priorities. I agree that it's unlikely the June shutdown and permanent employee layoffs were planed, but that's not really relevant. The key issue is clearly the debt service, which is a result of corporate ownership over the last ~15 years. Debt was taken on during boom years to construct and sell real estate (with mountain improvements being used as a loss leader). This was done because of the short-term profit focus of corporate ownership, and it is a recipe we've seen repeated all over the ski world. Now the boom is over and the debt remains, so cuts will come indiscriminately. A more long-term oriented ownership group would not have taken on so much debt in the first place, and thus might be in a position to retain long term employees and keep June open (at least on a limited basis).

That's the smartest post I've read on this forum in sometime.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Capsule summary of Rusty's comments at June Lake meeting yesterday:

Rusty stressed air service and 1,000 more beds. He doesn't have a plan but is expecting the community of June to come up with a plan that he can present to the bank and investors. He said that June was closed as a result of various loans going into default if certain things weren't done. One of which was to close June.

He said he would sell June but didn't say for how much. He did say that there hasn't been an offer so far. Rusty said that he would be willing to let the community run the mountain if we can come up with a plan.

Rusty is willing to meet with the community again in two weeks. Many of the people that spoke, including Tim Alpers were adamant about getting June open this coming winter. There were many passionate speakers tonight, everyone that spoke had something constructive to say.

I came away with the feeling that June will be open again. Possibly this coming winter. I'm being optimistic and will stay positive.

This is kind of a summary, I wish you all could have attended. I think SnowNBeachAddict can add more, she was sitting next to me tonight.

BTW, the Rodeo Grounds has a sold sign on it. But MMSA has the right to 1st refusal. I think that's the term for it.

Also:

One comment from Gregory during the meeting - he said there were 33 applicants to buy MMSA the last time around, and about half specified that they were not interested in June as part of their purchase.

More here: http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewt ... &start=570

Further confirmation that the excessive debt taken on at the time of the Starwood purchase is the fundamental problem.