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Roundup of ski towns’ news

Compiled by Lauren Glendenning
lglendenning@cmnm.org

PARK CITY, Utah

Subpoenas begin in Park City resort lease dispute



Attorneys for the Talisker Corporation issued subpoenas in the high-profile lease dispute between the firm and Park City Mountain Resort.

In April, a document was filed in district court pointing toward the possibility of a trial in the spring of 2014. The PCMR attorney, though, recently said the timeline could be extended. Talisker Corporation declined to comment about the subpoenas through a Vail Resorts spokesperson. Vail Resorts is handling the lawsuit as a part of a recent lease agreement of Canyons Resort with the Talisker Corporation. The lease could be expanded to include the PCMR terrain depending on the outcome of the lawsuit. The lead attorney for PCMR, Alan Sullivan, also declined to comment about the subpoenas.



The subpoenas seek information about PCMR’s land leases and whether those leases were renewed in 2011, among other information.

PCMR has said from the outset of the lawsuit that it could be forced to close if it does not prevail in the litigation.

— Park City Record

KILLINGTON, Vt.

Vermont ski town gets first police chief

The Vermont ski town of Killington is getting its first police chief.

Long-time constable Whit Montgomery was named chief last month by town officials. In March, the Killington select board approved the creation of a town police force. The town says Montgomery will manage two part-time special officers and oversee contractual services for animal control and other special details as needed.

Montgomery is a 14-year law enforcement veteran, graduating from the Vermont Police Academy in 1999. He served as second constable until he was elected first constable this year. He also helped found Killington Search and Rescue, a nonprofit organization that specializes in back-country rescues.

The Vermont State Police will continue to patrol the town when the department’s officers are not on duty.

— Associated Press

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif.

Squaw Valley works on updated expansion proposal

Squaw Valley is reworking its proposed 101.5-acre capital improvement plan for an expanded village.

The updated plan will take into account comments received at more than 200 meetings Squaw officials have held with local organizations, groups and individuals, said Chevis Hosea, vice president of development for Squaw Valley.

Further, feedback has been received from more than 1,500 people who have visited the expansion model set up at the resort’s village. There is no release date for an updated plan, a Squaw spokesman said this week, and specific changes were not revealed.

The current plan, which outlines the addition of 1,093 lodging units, 47,000 square feet in commercial space and new amenities at the west end of Squaw Valley, has drawn criticism.

Sierra Watch recently came out against the proposal, citing concerns with its size and scope.

“It clearly doesn’t fit into Squaw Valley,” said Tom Mooers, executive director of the regional conservation organization based in Nevada City. Hosea countered that 95 percent of the proposed development would be on already “significantly disturbed areas,” most of which are surface parking lots.

“We find it surprising that Sierra Watch would voice its opposition to a sustainable, community-wide planning effort that would redevelop paved-over brownfields,” he said.

— Tahoe Daily Tribune

CHAMONIX, France

Man sets new Mont Blanc summit record

Kilian Jornet summitted Mont Blanc with a record-smashing time of just under five hours last week. This record time includes the dangerous descent back down the mountain.

Jornet destroyed the previous speed record, set 23 years ago by Swiss Pierre-André Gobet, by 14 minutes.

Departing at 4:46 a.m. with Matheo Jacquemoud as the first light of day fell over St. Michel, the church in Chamonix that marks the start and end point of all Mont-Blanc summit attempts, the intrepid duo took the route frequently used in winter and spring by ski-mountaineers, via the Grand Mulets hut.

After leaving Chamonix, they ran along the road to the entrance of the Mont Blanc tunnel. There, they left the road and took the steep track that climbs through the forest and out onto the high alpine terrain of rock and ice, via the Grand Mulets refuge, the Petit and Grand Plateau and the steep climb to the Bosses Ridge, past the Valot refuge and onto the long final slope up to the summit of Mont Blanc.

They reached the summit in 3 hours 33 minutes, covering a vertical distance of 12,500 feet and a flat earth distance of 26,000 feet. Their average ascent speed exceeded 3,280 feet per hour.

— Chamonix News

JACKSON, Wyo.

Occupancy declines in Jackson Hole

Advance bookings show valley occupancy is down about 6 percent in just about every area compared to this time last year.

Projected occupancy was at 81 percent Saturday night, compared to 86 percent on the same day last year.

Lodging numbers took similar dips in every area of Jackson Hole.

The largest decrease came in vacation rentals, at 63 percent occupancy. They were 72 percent full last year.

Teton Village and the national parks had dips of 8 and 7 percent, respectively.

Village hotels projects 79 percent occupancy, down from 86 percent. The national parks and Moran project 82 percent occupancy, down from 88 percent last year.

In the town of Jackson, numbers were down by smaller margins. In downtown Jackson, hotels project 88 percent occupancy, down from 92 percent last year.

Outlying areas of Jackson are at 87 percent occupancy based on advance bookings, down from 90 percent.

— Jackson Hole Daily


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