The key thing being the "buckets of cash". I really don't see much, if any, of my little flight of fancy coming to fruition. Least likely, IMHO, is the trail pod above Inverness. SB North simply doesn't have the skier density to support that. I suppose it's a possibility for the long range future if SB were to be successful in growing its skier days in a meaningful way, but I highly doubt it. It's too bad as well, b/c as Treeskier mentioned, that area of the mountain would not only be great skiing, but would also linger in the sun far longer than anywhere else at North. It would be similar in aspect, yet significantly bigger than the North Lynx pod at South.

As for the lift out of the basin between MRG and SBN, that is also unlikely to ever happen, IMHO. MRG has a significant capital expenditure ahead of it in the form of the Single refurb/replacement. $1.7MM is a lot of money for the Co-op and I think it will take quite some time before they get back on a more solid financial footing. If Mr. MRG or any shareholder has information that would dispel this notion, I'd love to hear about it. Buying that parcel from Betsy Pratt would take quite a bit of cash. Given the strategy described previously in this thread whereby the Co-op would sell off housing lots along Rt. 17 to pay for the purchase, then perhaps the financial commitment isn't as big as it would seem. Still, this would be a massive undertaking requiring at the very least some sort of bridge loan and there is no guarantee that those lots would fetch enough to pay for the entire amount. Then there is the matter of the mgmt attention it would require throughout the purchase, loan, and lot sale process.

Maybe it could be thought about in 6-8 years or so when the Co-op has begun to rebuild its warchest. I tend to think any terrain expansion would be accomplished in a manner such that the 19th/20th would semi-offifically be brought onto the map and expanded under the watchful eye of guys like Jay Appleton. String some sort of low capacity lift to get you back to Antelope and that's all you need. It would fit right into MRG's ethos on both the environment (low impact) and the quality of their product (low lift capacity to limit skier density). If it did happen, it would constitute the single most important terrain expansion in New England for a generation or more.

Tin Woodsman wrote:

The key thing being the "buckets of cash". I really don't see much, if any, of my little flight of fancy coming to fruition. Least likely, IMHO, is the trail pod above Inverness. SB North simply doesn't have the skier density to support that. I suppose it's a possibility for the long range future if SB were to be successful in growing its skier days in a meaningful way, but I highly doubt it. It's too bad as well, b/c as Treeskier mentioned, that area of the mountain would not only be great skiing, but would also linger in the sun far longer than anywhere else at North. It would be similar in aspect, yet significantly bigger than the North Lynx pod at South. As for the lift out of the basin between MRG and SBN, that is also unlikely to ever happen, IMHO. MRG has a significant capital expenditure ahead of it in the form of the Single refurb/replacement. $1.7MM is a lot of money for the Co-op and I think it will take quite some time before they get back on a more solid financial footing. If Mr. MRG or any shareholder has information that would dispel this notion, I'd love to hear about it. Buying that parcel from Betsy Pratt would take quite a bit of cash. Given the strategy described previously in this thread whereby the Co-op would sell off housing lots along Rt. 17 to pay for the purchase, then perhaps the financial commitment isn't as big as it would seem. Still, this would be a massive undertaking requiring at the very least some sort of bridge loan and there is no guarantee that those lots would fetch enough to pay for the entire amount. Then there is the matter of the mgmt attention it would require throughout the purchase, loan, and lot sale process. Maybe it could be thought about in 6-8 years or so when the Co-op has begun to rebuild its warchest. I tend to think any terrain expansion would be accomplished in a manner such that the 19th/20th would semi-offifically be brought onto the map and expanded under the watchful eye of guys like Jay Appleton. String some sort of low capacity lift to get you back to Antelope and that's all you need. It would fit right into MRG's ethos on both the environment (low impact) and the quality of their product (low lift capacity to limit skier density). If it did happen, it would constitute the single most important terrain expansion in New England for a generation or more.

....that I'm only one Powerball Lotto ticket away from having a hottub full of cash.....

The last paragraph above sounds like, as you say, the best possibility which includes reality as part of the equation. God, I hate reality......