Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Mountain Town News


By ALLEN BEST - MTN TOWN NEWS SERVICE

Despite summer crowds, Jackson Hole crime low

JACKSON, Wyo.—The crime rate in Jackson and surrounding Teton County remains well below what it was a year ago. The jail that serves both jurisdictions shows an average daily inmate population during June and July that was 30 percent less than the previous year.

Teton County Sheriff Jim Whalen, when quizzed by the Jackson Hole News&Guide, offered a simple theory: "I think it's the economy. Some of the jobs have dried up and people have moved on. That's the long and short of it."

He suspects that the people most prone to crime have left. Historically, white men between 24 and 35 have been responsible for the largest amount of crime.

The News&Guide notes that the rentals section of its classified advertising section has six times as many rentals available as last year. The tourism business, meanwhile, has been only a little slower this summer than last year, with 82 percent of lodging units spoken for on the first weekend of August, compared to 95 percent on the corresponding weekend last year, reports the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce.

Vail Resorts taking aim at ski school, restaurants

VAIL, Colo.—This coming winter, Vail Resorts intends to do a better job of parting money from its customers.

With its new low-cost Epic season pass, the company's attendance at its five resorts held up reasonably well, sagging just 5 percent. But business at ski school -- a major revenue center for the company -- plunged 20 percent, reports Rob Katz, the company's chief executive, in a recent meeting in Vail.

With this in mind, Katz told an audience, company officials have been working on plans to more aggressively market both ski schools and mountain restaurants.

Like Aspen Skiing, Vail Resorts will make a point of holding onto staff, the better to deliver service. Katz, however, has declared mandates for reduced energy and paper use.

"The last year taught us that standing still is not an option," he said. "Absolutely everything has to be thrown on the table."

Intrawest sells some of its assets in French Alps

VANCOUVER, B.C.—What will Intrawest dispose of? That's been the lingering question in the ski industry since April, when Intrawest chief executive Bill Jensen told the Summit Daily News that the company was examining "all options" to reduce its debt.

Part of that answer has been delivered, reports Whistler's Pique Newsmagazine. Intrawest has sold lodging and commercial operations at two resorts in France in a deal scheduled to close Oct. 1. This will be in advance of the scheduled refinancing of Intrawest's debt.

Pierre et Vacance, a French company, is to get 655 apartments at Arc 1950 Resort, plus two restaurants, a bar and two commercial spaces. The French company will also get 138 apartments and opera operations at Flaine Montsoleil Resort.

Intrawest was purchased by Fortress in 2006 for $2.8 billion. Fortress assumed $1.7 billion in debt at the time, and had to scramble in October 2008 to refinance.

Anonymous Armstrong cruises in mountain race

ASPEN, Colo.—For a guy who prefers to be "fairly anonymous" when he's in Aspen, Lance Armstrong is doing all the wrong things. The Aspen Times says he plopped himself on a mountain bike only three weeks after placing third in the Tour de France and then proceeded to cruise to first place in a major mountain bike race at Snowmass Village.

Armstrong covered the 23 miles and 4,700 vertical feet in one hour and 51 minutes. His closest competitor, Brad Henry of Avon, was more than three minutes behind.

Armstrong had been the center of controversy this summer in Aspen when a city official proposed that a day be designated in his honor. Some thought he deserved special recognition, but to others, he's just another second-home owner.

Armstrong, speaking with The Aspen Times, defused the controversy, saying that he loves being in Aspen and being "fairly anonymous. "That's the reason I didn't go to New York and do morning shows ... and late-night shows," he said. "I like to be the dude who lives in the West End (an Aspen neighborhood) that nobody knows about."




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