Eldora, CO 2025-26

[EMSC]

Sorry no skiing yet. But thought I'd start a thread for this year as I had reason to be up at the mountain today anyway.

I think they have enough snow made to open, though it would be just barely. Not to mention super warm temps Sun-today (supposed to cool off finally sometime tomorrow). It was 55F this afternoon and they are keeping the piles as whales to keep the thermal mass. Though the Mtn biking has been good when I can sneak it in.

Otherwise hot and dry...

The other not exactly ski related news is the big fire that destroyed literally ~half the businesses in the town of Nederland a few weeks ago (population ~1500). All I know is that knowing some folks that live right behind the grocery who woke up and took pics before even the fire dept was there is that the fire started somewhere on the 2nd story of the only big plaza in town. The only good news was that there was no wind that night so the next door grocery store for example was saved. No idea if the story made it beyond Denver area though.

Sample news stories:
CBS
Colorado Sun Article

Pics of it almost a month later:

 

[EMSC]

I doubt I'll have too many updates this year, but thought I'd add a few just to keep track.

This update is about the huge winds in Colo last week. For the first time ever Xcel Enery pulled the same stuff as the california utilities - pre-emptive power shut offs. Mostly in the foothills and immediate plains at the base. That said winds were pretty huge (over 100mph gusts) on wed and fri of last week with fairly slow power restoration due to various damage.

At my house 12 miles from the base of the foothills we lost power 4 times. Twice for an hour on Wed and Thurs, for 5 hours on Fri and a short 15 minute outage on Sat. By far the longest outages ever in 14 years at this house.

Eldora itself was in the preemptive shut off area and was closed Wed-Fri. While they re-opened on Sat 21st they still did not have power and ran the 6pack on back-up diesel power with no other lifts operable, and no services or food and beverage. They finally got power back on Sat at approx 6pm, making Sunday at least normal-ish, though with very limited food options.

So we can add this story to the very unusual start to the western ski season.

 

[ChrisC]

I forgot to ask about this, but what do you think will happen with Eldora when Nederland, CO completes its acquisition?

I assume they will need the same management team and will need to pay everyone to stay in place. And I do not think Nederland can abolish many of its taxes, and rely upon profits from Eldora. How long (years) until this purchase goes south?

Town of Nederland, Colorado to Buy Eldora

The Colorado town located closest to unincorporated Eldora Mountain Resort plans to purchase the mountain from Powdr Corporation by October. A signed term sheet comes after months of negotiation an…

liftblog.com

Nederland eyes Eldora Mountain Resort purchase with final stages of approval expected soon

Nederland could purchase Eldora Mountain Resort for up to $120 million before year-end, with town trustees reviewing final documents Tuesday.

www.denver7.com

 

[EMSC]

I give it this season and next before it starts to fall apart. Nothing the town can change for this season and next they try to replicate a normal season as they have no idea what they are doing yet. After that they will want to start pulling $$ out of the resort to fund the town and I think top employees will want to move on and avoid the town BS cycle.

This is a town that cant even agree on sidewalks and lost its only big festival (frozen dead guy days) to nearby Estes Park due to incompetence and infighting. While there are some very competent people that live in Ned and work in Boulder, they are far from a majority and none are in the town government. For the most part the townsfolk are pretty "off" from normal IMO.

 

[ChrisC]

After that they will want to start pulling $$ out of the resort to fund the town

Who sold them on this idea?

I don't think Powdr would really promote this as a logical outcome of ski ownership? Possibly bankers? Or someone who might act as an advisor, knowing that with Nederland ownership, it will be a forever job until further notice?

Or did Powdr Corp think - Nederland can issue municipal bonds and pay whatever price we claim? No need to negotiate much, like with Vail or Alterra. I am not sure how much of an appetite either of those has for acquisitions now - they seem more focused on partnerships.

 

[EMSC]

Hah, this is extreme liberal politician country in Boulder County. They view all businesses as something that should be heavily taxed and sucked dry. Powdr Corp doesn't much care about Neds plan; they just want max price to walk away with.

You did nail it though. Once they had the idea and knew they could issue muni bonds to buy it, price was very secondary. They didn't care if it was going to be 75M or 125M. Obviously private biz operators certainly care what the price is. I heard Boyne was one of the most interested private players but backed out late in the process. That would have been a much preferable outcome.

And oh boy are there plenty of "advisors" in Boulder to 'help'.

 

[EMSC]

Here is the latest update from today. Just remember the town is already months behind plan for closing the deal. Hints of future competence level for thier ownership.

https://archive.is/zreer

 

[jamesdeluxe]

And oh boy are there plenty of "advisors" in Boulder to 'help'.

During my tour of duty there 40 years ago, Boulder had already developed into a satire-ready enclave of (as someone at a party described it) "capitalism with a performative conscience and a detailed spreadsheet." I may have mentioned how French grad students at CU used to refer to the town as Bol d'Air (bowl of air).

 

[EMSC]

Now for the town to figure out how to market and issue bonds, get a special use permit from the USFS, beg Ikon to keep the current deal going, figure out how to transition employees en-mass to being town EE's (total town population is only ~1,500 so current number of town EE's is TINY), etc..., etc...

Interestingly, given how bad the season is going they might want to hold off as long as possible to close the deal and let Powdr take the financial hits for a few more months.

Nederland's governing body votes to approve $120M purchase of Eldora Mountain Resort

The Board of Trustees in Nederland, a Boulder County mountain community of about 1,500 people, on Tuesday voted to approve the purchase of the neighboring Eldora ski area for roughly $120 million.

www.denver7.com

 

[ChrisC]

Now for the town to figure out how to market and issue bonds

......

beg Ikon to keep the current deal going, figure out how to transition employees en-mass to being town EE's (total town population is only ~1,500 so current number of town EE's is TINY), etc..., etc...

There will be a permanent management/consultant layer on the Eldora payroll that was not present under Powdr ownership.

Will all benefits increase well above current levels, transitioning everyone to municipal employee status?

Interestingly, given how bad the season is going they might want to hold off as long as possible to close the deal and let Powdr take the financial hits for a few more months.

Perhaps a beneficial unintended outcome. Is this an Unknown-Unknown?

 

[EMSC]

Will all benefits increase well above current levels, transitioning everyone to municipal employee status?

I currently have no idea on this, but I know I will hear from many up there about the change when it gets close to happening and they spell out the official town benefits for them (which has not happened yet).

There will be a permanent management/consultant layer on the Eldora payroll that was not present under Powdr ownership.

Most likely.

 

[EMSC]

Just to point out just how bad it is this season, below is a map showing the open terrain at Eldora as of today Jan 9th. This is usually about where the map is for open terrain by about Thanksgiving to early December-ish in a more typical year.

I'm sue they've been blowing snow the past couple of days with another short cold snap but as I've not been up I'm not sure where they are focusing (more beginner terrain? Terrain Park? Over and back from Corona lift to pretend the backside is open?). I'm also very curious just how long into the season they will keep making snow. The latest I can recall in most years is roughly Mid-Jan as they finish up a final trail or two in a more 'typical' warm early season.