Consumers are sitting on the side­lines, and discretionary spending is down — neither is good news for mountain resorts eyeing the 2008-09 ski season.
  However, there is one variable that could change everything: snow. “Snow trumps all evils,” Ralf Garrison said this week in the Mountain Travel Symposium’s 2008-09 travel-outlook session.
  Despite the gloomy economic […]

 SUMMIT COUNTY — Intrawest, the parent company of Copper Mountain and other ski areas across the West, reached a last-minute deal late Thursday to refinance its $1.7 billion loan that had come due, staving off bank­ruptcy threatened by the global credit freeze.
  The company says it has received unani­mous support from its existing lender group […]

COPPER MOUNTAIN — Local ski-resort executives speaking at the annual chiefs breakfast on Wednesday said they are hoping that a big drop in early season bookings will turn around when the snow starts to fall.
  Industry wide, September book­ing rates were down 19.6 percent, following a 21.3 percent drop in August, said Ralf Garrison, who […]

  Advance reservations in mountain communities for this winter are down 9 percent
 By TANYA CANINO
 SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
  As the stock markets slipped along their rollercoaster track this week, officials at a Mountain Travel Symposium warned desti­nation resort and tourism indus­try professionals of the volatility of today’s travel market.
  “I’m looking through the lens […]

* New opening event Laughs and Lifts Nov. 6 - 8
* AST Winter Dew Tour Dec. 18-21
* Wake up Breckenridge Nov. 6
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. - Breckenridge Ski Resort announced the opening day plan for the upcoming winter season. Breckenridge Ski Resort is planning to open Friday, November 7, with terrain, lifts and services on Peak 8. […]

Breckenridge — In the past, “Timeshare Salesperson” had the same negative connotations as “Used Car Salesperson.” Whether or not used-car salespeople deserve their reputation is debatable but during the early years of the timeshare industry, a few timeshare salespeople certain­ly fit the unsavory reputation.
  During the 1980s some salespeople utilized high-pressure tactics and did not […]

If we just had some extra cash, now would be a great time to get into the stock market, right?” Actually, if you have some extra cash, now is the best time in five or more years to … buy a home.
  Thanks to the concept of “leveraging,” purchasing a home is by far the […]

VAIL — Citing the troubled economy, a Vail Resorts analyst said Thursday he expects fewer skier visits for the company’s mountains this winter.
  Will Marks, stock market ana­lyst for JMP Securities in San Fran­cisco, said he predicts a 9 percent drop in skier visits and a 7 percent fall in mountain revenue for the company […]

The recessionary pressure is also being felt in the local housing market, said Gary Severson, direc­tor of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.
  In Summit County, the avail­able inventory of homes for sale has doubled from a year ago, while the number of sales has dropped by half, he said, citing recent data from the […]

The recessionary pressure is also being felt in the local housing market, said Gary Severson, direc­tor of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments.
  In Summit County, the avail­able inventory of homes for sale has doubled from a year ago, while the number of sales has dropped by half, he said, citing recent data from the […]