Mt. Waterman and Snowcrest/Kratka Ridge

Tom,

All I can say is "thank you" to you, the Metcalfs and all others that are working hard to get Waterman open.

What you are saying about getting things up and running after 5 years is absolutely true; essentially 5+ years of damage/wear/neglect are being undone in a very short period of time. It's clear to me that already so much has been accomplished with the Metcalfs than with previous ownership, and the mt. opening is now a foreseeable reality. Heck, there's even a nice lookin' web site!

Thank you for facing the major challenges (and criticism) head-on. I've never skiied Waterman, but it's been my dream for over 7 years to ski at this historic place, and it looks like it might come true soon. :D

Hang in there!

--cranbo
 
Tom

Thanks for all the hard work. I grew up skiing Mt Waterman in the 70's and 80's. I never thought I would get a chance to ski there again. Currently I live in Dallas but, I will be there with my kids when you open.
 
cranbo":2ue4pg02 said:
Any further updates on the Waterman opening?

<fingers>

--cranbo
Click to expand...


was up the the closed gate (3-points area)
road is dry and plowed.
gate is locked.
saw several cars with keys to gate and snowboards going in out.

guess they're have a great time at their private resort.
 
Waterman will open next Saturday. If the kitchen issues are not done we will have a licensed caterer to provide food. Those people going through the gate were employees and ski patrol coming up to dig out the lifts, lift training for employees, patrol setting tower pads, and so on as well as members of the Buckhorn Ski Club who have keys to get to their club.

As for SkierX, if you come up I hope you identify yourself so we can ask you to leave! We don't need you or your negativity towards the process we have had to go through up here. If it were not for the Metcalfs and everyone associated with them the Forest Service would be pulling the lifts out now and razing the buildings and Waterman/Kratka would be gone. If you had ponied up the $500K they have you could have been able to make a few turns before everyone else also.
 
I was told that they were working this weekend, and could take a few turns. They do work a lot, most of the day, digging, roping, etc. The owner is nice enough to let them ski as well. I appreciate that. They would let guests in if they could.I am sure that they would get in Big Fat Trouble for operating to the public without the place in order. Sometimes the workers have to ski from place to place on the mountain, or board there to do the work. I did. Sorry. Join patrol and come lend a hand. http://www.nsp.org



skierX":2sauo4s1 said:
cranbo":2sauo4s1 said:
Any further updates on the Waterman opening?

<fingers>

--cranbo
Click to expand...


was up the the closed gate (3-points area)
road is dry and plowed.
gate is locked.
saw several cars with keys to gate and snowboards going in out.

guess they're have a great time at their private resort.
Click to expand...
 
As for SkierX, if you come up I hope you identify yourself so we can ask you to leave!
Click to expand...
This wasn't very well thought out, if you're trying to rebut the notion of a private whatever. I don't think the agencies want permittees to arbitrarily ask the public to leave public land.
 
ShiftyRider":17icwykg said:
I don't think the agencies want permittees to arbitrarily ask the public to leave public land.
Click to expand...

It's a private entity operating via a public land lease. The lease clause certainly allows the business owner to refuse service just as a bar or restaurant could do so in a leased building. Just as you don't have the right to set up camp in your county courthouse ("but this is a public building!") or build a campfire during fire restrictions, you can't arbitrarily dictate how you'll use public land. The lessee is permitted to place reasonable restrictions on their clientele's use of the premises.

Tom may not have approached the situation as diplomatically as possible, but given the effort being expended I can understand why he'd be offended by SkierX's accusations. Hell, I was offended by them and I'm not even involved!
 
The lessee is permitted to place reasonable restrictions on their clientele's use of the premises.
Click to expand...
No doubt. But introducing oneself is fairly normal, I do it all the time. Why would a reasonable permittee consider restricting that?

Posting to a forum isn't "use of the premises" so it couldn't be that.
 
Yes, this Saturday (Feb 16th) is a go. We seem to have the OK from Forest Service and Health Dept. for the Caterer to handle Food Service for now. You would not believe the list of demands I just got back from Health Dept. Plan Check for our kitchen. They think we are located on Main St. USA or something.

And YES! We do reserve the right to refuse service to anyone!

All I'm trying to do is make a point that we are not trying to be a Private Club and don't want to be. The Metcalfs want to be open ASAP and see a ROI on their investment so more money can be put into the 2 ski areas. If someone is so pissed off at us because they can't ski/ride our mountain for reasons beyond our control, then please don't come up and give us your money. We are going to have a great reopening this weekend and we don't need negative people ruining the party.

It sounds like SkierX has been up there at the road closure and is probably the one that has been giving CalTrans grief which has created problems for us with our relationship with Caltrans.
 
Tom, the measure of whether it's open to the public is very simple. Saturday it will be. Done.

SkierX, as best I can tell, has no action items. He's just using a forum for its purpose (and it's pretty obvious, wants to use the National Forest for one of its purposes too). We'd all like to understand CalTrans. We love the snowplayers but sometimes they make us impatient. The Forest Service is kinda weird. And the NSPs that have been riding Waterman lifts for many of the last several years, well, there's a story there, too.

I think the stories are pretty interesting, there's love (Newcomb) and heartbreak (Stubblefield). Let's start a new thread after Saturday. There will be some new stories.
 
I do think patience is called for before we pass judgment. I'll still be interested in the early reviews as I probably have a choice of Waterman vs. Baldy for Feb. 23 or 24. Waterman may get the nod if weather stays warm and there is no major snafu this weekend.

I would hope the new owners would get Waterman running smoothly with a dependable base of customers before trying to do anything with Kratka. Given the hoops they have had to jump through so far, it will surely be worse at Kratka where they have to replace a lodge and chairlift. More potential investment with less potential return, it seems to me.
 
Tom is Waterman for sure opening this weekend? If so we'll be there with about 20 Waterman die hards and friends to celebrate your hard work. Maybe update the web site and we'll help spread the word.

waterman_001.jpg


BT
 
Looking forward to your opening Saturday.As mentioned,please post up if you will be open.There are quite a few of us lurkers that will be there if it is a yes. :D
 
I would say 90% sure at this point for Saturday. We got our new (to us) Piston Bully SnowCats up to the hill yesterday. We got them from Mammoth and one is a boom WinchCat and hope to have everything groomed out with beautiful corderoy for this weekend.

Please stop by Newcomb's for dinner after skiing, we have an incredible new chef and a full on dinner menu starting this weekend with reasonable pricing. Things like Pasta's, Chicken Marsala or Picatta, Seafood and Steaks topped with an incredible Truffle Oil demiglaze.
 
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