ELK MEADOWS

[stefan]

http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/lo...lkmeadows.html

OPERATION DATES: 1972 - 1999, 2001 - 2002
AREA STATS:
* Elevations: Top: 10,400', Base: 9,100', Vertical: 1,300'
* LIFTS: 1 Yan Double, 1 Heron-Poma Double, 1 Poma Double, 1 Poma
Triple, 1 CTEC-Garaventa Quad

HISTORY:
Mount Holly Ski Area opened in 1972 in the Tusher Mountains of
Southern Utah. The ski area consisted of a Heron-Poma double chair
and T-bar. Mount Holly catered to skiers from southern Utah, Las
Vegas, southern California and Phoenix.

By 1985, the Elk Meadows Ski Area was developed on the slopes above
Mount Holly. Elk Meadows operated as an independent area and
installed a Poma triple chair, Poma double and platter lift. By 1988, the
two ski areas were marketed together and a shuttle bus connected them.
Skiers from the upper Elk Meadows also had the option to ski back to
Mount Holly via a trail which tunneled beneath the access road.

The ski areas were owned by Henry Jung of Canada by 1994. Elk
Meadows boasted a vertical drop of 1,300 feet with a summit elevation of
10,400 feet. An article in the Salt Lake Tribune describes the area's
business as, "Even on the busiest of holiday weekends, the resort is
seldom crowded. That fact, coupled with an excellent ski school
program, makes it ideal for newcomers to skis."

Accommodations were later added to Elk Meadows. By 1994, the area
hosted over 320 beds, with more hotels in nearby Beaver. Financial
problems arose at the area by the mid 1990's. The owners sought
bankruptcy protection and the ski resort was sold in 1997 to a group from
Portland, Oregon called Schmitt Industries. Lift tickets that year cost
thirty dollars. Initially, Schmitt Industries made improvements to the
resort, which new CTEC-Garaventa quad chair called the Lake View
chair and a used Yan double chair to replace the Village T-bar at Mount
Holly. The West Village Lodge also saw an addition to add more seating
capacity.

Schmitt Industries proposed a major expansion for the ski area during the
late 1990's, which would have included more hotels, condos, and a golf
course. Difficulties between the county and ski area officials over a water
treatment plant and water rights led to the area's initial closing. Wayne
Case, from Schmitt Industries, said in 2000, "Elk Meadows is closed and
it's going to stay down until there is a clear direction from the Department
of Environmental Quality." Based on engineers estimates, the proposed
water treatment plant's output would be about 99.9% pure. The
reclaimed water then is used for snowmaking and irrigation needs.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Wayne Case and John Rupp from
Schmitt spent over 15 million dollars on the failed resort by 2000. The ski
area did not open for the 2000-2001 winter but reopened the following
winter. Skier visits topped at about 20,000 that winter, while the ski area
continued to struggle financially.

Elk Meadows closed after the 2002 season running out of operating cash.
The ski area was recently sold to Craig Burton of Development LC
hoping to reopen the ski area a private resort. Their business plan is
similar to that of the Yellowstone Club in Montana and is estimated to
cost over 3.5 billion dollars. Improvements include a gated resort
community, lifts connecting the two ski areas, and a Jack Nicklaus golf
course.

note: see end of the following link for photos of proposed expansion
http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/lo...lkmeadows.html

[stefan]

http://industryreport.mountainnews.c.../post_20.shtml

October 02, 2006
Battle Of Elk Meadows Heating Up


It'll have it all: iron gates, mega condos, a golf course blessed by Mssr. Nicklaus and your own personal Utah ski slopes - pristine and closed to all but mega-millionaires like yourself.

When it is completed, a defunct ski property will have risen from the ashes and a $3.5 billion uber cool resort patterned after Montana's Yellowstone Club will stand in its place. That is, if the locals can't find a way to stop it.

Residents of Elk Meadows, a 450-acre area outside Salt Lake and a fair piece away from better-known Wasatch resorts, know they're in Craig Burton sights. Burton, managing partner of CPB Development LC of Holladay, Utah, wants to develop the area, razing some existing 70s-era condos and building luxury homes in their place - 1,200 homes to be precise, many with deep pockets buyers waiting in the wings.

When he gets the green light, Burton said, those buyers will be able to acquire his multi-million dollar ski homes and enjoy unparalleled views of the nearby Tushar mountain range, where volcanic peaks reach 12,000 feet. Membership dues will support restaurants, a spa.

Burton said Elk Meadows will become "one of the finest ski and golf resorts in the world." He is scheduled to close on the ski area and 1,200 acres of adjoining property today.

About 200 property owners living in those 70s-era condos met Saturday to discuss a course of action.

"I think this is gonna be a disaster for the mountain and the community," resident Gary Kantor told a local newspaper. "Someone's gonna make a huge amount of money and then walk away. It's disgusting."

Since the land is currently under bankruptcy, Kantor said he and other owners will have to sell their homes at "fair market value," trade their property for other land on the mountain owned by the developer, or exchange the value of their property for membership into the club.

Burton said he would buy out Kantor and the others, clear the land and build his homes and high-speed lifts. He acknowledged he won't be able to demolish any condos unless he secures all the units in a building.

"A lot of them will choose not to sell, and we respect that," he said. "We would expect them to respect our ownership rights, and then we'll work through the issues."

[stefan]

Elk Meadows Figure Arraigned on Fraud
Tuesday January 9, 10:41 am ET
By Paul Foy, AP Business Writer
Man Trying to Redevelop Bankrupt Ski Area Charged With Securities Violations

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- One of the players behind the redevelopment of a defunct ski area in southern Utah was arraigned Monday on charges of securities fraud and racketeering for unrelated business deals.

Marc Jenson's partners insist he has no ownership interest in the former Elk Meadows ski area, which they plan to turn into an exclusive resort. They said Jenson remains in charge of attracting wealthy buyers to the Mt. Holly Club, a proposed gated ski resort community.

Jenson pleaded not guilty in 4th District Court, where his lawyers said they planned to challenge a judge's decision binding the businessman over for trial on six felony counts. The lawyers were given until March 8 to file the court papers.

It isn't Jenson's first brush with the law.

He spent six months in federal prison in 1992 for bank fraud and failure to file income tax returns, state prosecutors said. In addition, he is a target of several civil suits filed by private investors who say they lost money dealing with the 46-year-old Holladay man. Jenson filed for personal bankruptcy in 1990.

One of the securities charges involves Jenson's failure to tell investors of his checkered past and debts while raising millions of dollars for various deals, including an attempted takeover of the Mongoose bicycle division of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp.

Prosecutor Charlene Barlow said Jenson was still raising money for the deal even after Brunswick sold Mongoose to Madison, Wisc.-based Pacific Cycle Inc., which calls itself North America's largest bicycle manufacturer and also owns the Schwinn brand. Pacific Cycle is a division of Dorel Industries Inc.

Jenson, a principal of Nimbus Capital Partners, is in the business of supplying "hard-money" loans at high interest rates before business ventures can secure more conventional financing. He faces charges of misappropriating millions of dollars from two other Utah investors for so-called bridge loans.

"Marc is a very smart, successful businessman, but he's also a lender, and lenders aren't always the most popular people" when they call in a loan, said one of his defense lawyers, Rebecca Hyde. "There are a lot of people who think highly of him and, despite this problem, can continue to do business with him."

Count Mt. Holly Club principals among the believers.

"Marc is definitely helping as a marketing consultant," said Bill Quick, a public-relations executive for Mt. Holly Partners.

Jenson at one time had an ownership interest but lost it as the ski area slid into bankruptcy, according to other lenders, government officials and public documents. His stake in the operation Monday could not be independently verified, but Quick said his brother Stephen Jenson was one of three members of Mt. Holly Partners, the development group listed in a recent change on tax records as owner of the 1,400-acre Elk Meadows ski area.

The group also has snapped up private land around nearby Puffer Lake to add to the ski area, which sits inside a national forest in the shadow of 12,000-foot Mt. Holly, 18 miles east of Beaver in the Tushar mountain range

They plan to expand the tiny ski area into a larger club with a Jack Nicklaus-commissioned golf course and other development totaling $3.5 billion -- seven times the total property value of rural Beaver County.

To join the club, buyers will have to pay a one-time $250,000 fee and dues of $10,000 a year plus millions of dollars for a mountain home.


Quick said Mt. Holly Partners also consisted of Craig Burton through his CPB Development, a neighbor of Jenson's Nimbus Capital Partners in Holladay, and New York investor Rob O'Neill through his Delaware corporation, MHU Holdings.

Jenson was in the picture several years ago when Nimbus offered a $3.6 million loan at 18 percent interest to Elk Meadows' former operator, Oregon businessman Wayne Case.

Case couldn't turn a profit, tried unsuccessfully to sell resort to a bigger outfit, filed for bankruptcy and finally gave up control. Nimbus foreclosed on the ski area, then had to sign over the deed to Litchfield Capital LLC, an Arizona investment firm that had provided Nimbus the $3.6 million for the loan.

Nimbus repaid the loan, plus interest, last year, Craig Campbell, one of two Phoenix lawyers who run Litchfield, said Monday.

Jenson didn't answer a message left Monday by The Associated Press, referring it to his lawyers and public-relations consultants. Case has refused for years to return calls and didn't return another message left on Monday.

[offpiste]

Here we are building Elk Meadows......too bad they can't keep it open great backcountry there!

[stefan]

wow! you were part of that? those are great photographs. thanks for posting them.

i'd be interested in hearing any of your stories or the history of the area. your impressions of building a ski area down there? what was the atmosphere like during that time? do you think it was a necessary impact?

personally, i'd really hate to see the area get corrupted into a private club.

thanks!

[offpiste]

The area is one of my most favorite in Utah. The locals were Pissed to say the least when Liesure sports started building on the Holly side. It ruined some prime hunting grounds for them.

The road is the biggest hang up for the resort. Narrow and winding! We got caught with a boulder blocking the road for about 12 hours, people that came up were scared to travel it. I wish they could just fix the road and make it available to all. As it is the road stops the average weekender from Vegas or Southern Cali to travel up there in the winter. That is the main support of Brian Head.

To make it private would be a crime! To take that area away from people would be a shame, especially PUFFER LAKE! But Nicholaus was in on the original planning team in 85 so I don't know what new he will bring to it. We had very few clients that first year and they sold out before the summer of the second season, but I was already gone and teaching by then.

The atmosphere was still trying to make it an elitest area but really no solid backing for it. There was a crew of 6-8 of us that really stayed with it and finished it start to finish, not counting the Cat operating company. We cut the lines, set the towers and lori's ran the cable and all.

It was an awesome experience! Not many can say they built a ski resort.

[offpiste]

Puffer Lake

[stefan]

The area is one of my most favorite in Utah. The locals were Pissed to say the least when Liesure sports started building on the Holly side. It ruined some prime hunting grounds for them.

i bet they were pissed.

To make it private would be a crime! To take that area away from people would be a shame, especially PUFFER LAKE! But Nicholaus was in on the original planning team in 85 so I don't know what new he will bring to it. We had very few clients that first year and they sold out before the summer of the second season, but I was already gone and teaching by then.

how did you get hooked up with the whole thing? where did you go teach?

The atmosphere was still trying to make it an elitest area but really no solid backing for it. There was a crew of 6-8 of us that really stayed with it and finished it start to finish, not counting the Cat operating company. We cut the lines, set the towers and lori's ran the cable and all.

It was an awesome experience! Not many can say they built a ski resort.

must have been quite the experience. how many people came that first year?

the lake is gorgeous, btw

[offpiste]

"how did you get hooked up with the whole thing? where did you go teach?"

I was a patroller at BH for a few years while finishing school at SUU. My friend knew the guy who was spearheading the build out of Cedar City and hooked me up, right place right time.
I went to Roosevelt and taught at the Jr. High......This is where I fell in love with Steam Boat 1 hr further than the front so we went to the Boat everyother weekend.

As for people we had probably 1500 tourist not counting what few locals actually came up, crying shame they had a beautiful resort in their backyard and wouldn't even support it.

I know my friend actually returned and tried to get it going again with the last owner he was a realestate salesman for the resort. Same deal though wanting gold for bronze accomodations.

It still has some of the best backcountry in the state, if they make it private it will be hard to get to!

[stefan]

nice shot

thanks for sharing the info, really interesting.

[stefan]

damn i guesst they're going/gone through with this

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...se,67235.shtml

Gold Medalist Ted Ligety to Direct Mt. Holly Club Skiing Operations
Posted on : Wed, 28 Feb 2007 13:05:00 GMT | Author : Mt. Holly Club


MT. HOLLY, Utah, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Mt. Holly Club, the world's finest private luxury ski and golf resort, today announced that Ted Ligety, Olympic gold medal skier and World Cup champion, will serve as the club's director of skiing operations. Ligety will oversee growth of this unique ski-in/ski-out private resort -- the mirror image of the golf-in/golf-out capability members enjoy in the summer playing the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Golf Club golf course.

"In creating the world's premier ski and golf club resort, we needed a premier, world-class skier directing our skiing operations," said Stephen Jenson, owner and partner of Mt Holly Club. "Ted Ligety is precisely the right person. We couldn't be happier."

No stranger to Utah powder, Park City native Ted Ligety strapped on his first pair of skis at age two and was racing by the time he was 11. Through hard work and bone-chilling speed, Ligety earned a spot on the U.S. Ski Team in 2005, and won an Olympic gold medal the following year in Turin, Italy in the combined event. It was the first gold medal for an American skier since Tommy Moe in 1994. In 2006 Ligety won the national titles in slalom and combined at the U.S. National Championships, repeating the feat he accomplished in 2005. He is currently skiing on the world cup circuit.

"Even with all the skiing opportunities I have around the world, I can't wait to get back to Utah to the greatest snow on earth -- and some of the greatest terrain as well," said Ligety. "Working to create a one-of-a-kind resort like this is an exciting prospect. We have gleaned ideas from many of the best ski resorts globally and implemented them in a way that will make this area rival the top luxury resorts worldwide, adding ski-in/ski-out access to your own private resort."

The Mt. Holly Club ski area will become a centerpiece of the innovative ski-in/ski-out, golf-in/golf out design that sets Mt. Holly Club apart from all other luxury resorts in the world. Many of the 1,200 luxury home sites are arranged to provide literal back yard access to the ski slopes. In summer, members' ski-in/ski-out homes become "on the course" golf-in/golf-out backdoors to some of the finest golfing in the world on the club's prestigious Jack Nicklaus Club golf course -- one of only 25 in the world.

"Working with Ted on the design and operation of this resort has been an exciting experience," said Jenson. "Like everything else at Mt. Holly Club, the elements of terrain, flow, challenge, convenience, and beauty have all come together in a way that is superbly world-class."



An ABOMINATION!!!!



Mt. Holly Club Information Sheet
http://www.mthollyclub.com/index.asp

Mt. Holly Club, the world

[offpiste]

Well there goes some great backcountry skiing terrain for all.

THAT SUCKS!!!!

[stefan]

i know!! but from another article i read, i suggesting that it's not necessarily a done deal. one can always hope, i guess

[offpiste]

yep, also thinking about it I wonder how far up the canyon they can really block the road with a gate since its a state road?

[stefan]

ugg ...


Mt. Holly Club Selected as Prestigious Jack Nicklaus Golf Club
New Course Is Centerpiece of World's Only Ski-in/Ski-out, Golf-in/Golf-out
Private Luxury Resort

MT. HOLLY, Utah, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Mt. Holly Club, the world's
finest private luxury ski and golf resort, today announced its selection as
a Jack Nicklaus Golf Club -- the most exclusive designation granted by the
Nicklaus organization. This prestigious designation is reserved for only 25
Jack Nicklaus Signature courses worldwide (5 in the U.S.) and includes an
exclusive reciprocity program with other Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs located
in unique settings around the world. The Mt. Holly Club course is the only
mountain course to receive the designation.

"Nicklaus Design is far and away the top golf course design group in
the world," said Stephen Jenson, owner and partner of Mt. Holly Club. "To
receive this elite designation and Jack's personal involvement in the
project is a thrill for our company and a testament to the incredible
beauty and uniqueness of the site. Jack's vision and creativity in bringing
this mountain course to life cements its position among the elite luxury
clubs in the world and ensure our members a one-of-a-kind resort
experience."

Located on 2,000 acres in one of the world's most spectacular alpine
settings, Mt. Holly Club is a self-contained private village at 10,000
feet, surrounded by more than 750,000 acres of national forest land. It is
the first and only private community in the world to offer a
ski-in/ski-out, golf-in/golf-out experience in a luxury resort.

From his first visit to the Mt. Holly Club site, Jack Nicklaus was
taken with the prospects of developing a truly spectacular course.
"Typically, when I survey a potential course site, I'll think through 1-2
holes if I'm not particularly impressed -- 4-5 holes if I really like it,"
said Nicklaus. "When I walked Mt. Holly Club, I was so captured by its
potential I thought through all 18 holes. In fact, I have been so impressed
with the club and its management team that I became a founding charter
member."

The Mt. Holly Club course will become a centerpiece of the innovative
ski-in/ski-out, golf-in/golf out design that sets the area apart from all
other luxury resorts in the world. Many of the 1,200 luxury home sites are
arranged to provide literal back yard access to the golf course. In winter,
members' "on the course" golf-in/golf-out homes become ski-in/ski-out back doors to some of the finest Utah powder skiing in the world under the
direction of Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety, Director of Skiing.

Thirty-five Mt. Holly Club Charter Members will be eligible to enjoy an
exclusive reciprocity program with other Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs
throughout the world, with all the clubs' amenities at their disposal.
Additionally, a beautiful new home where Jack stays when he visits each
location is available to JNGC Members.

To date Jack Nicklaus has 250 Signature courses open for play
worldwide. Of those, and others to be built in the future, only a total of
25 will be designated as Jack Nicklaus Clubs, and will include some of the
world's most sought-after destinations. Current JNGC sites include New
Zealand, Royal Island (Bahamas), St. Lucia and Anguilla in the Eastern
Caribbean, Ucluelet British Columbia, and the Patagonia region of
Argentina.

Construction of the course will begin in early 2007 and the front nine
holes will be open in summer 2008. The back nine holes are scheduled to
open in summer 2009.

About Mt. Holly Club

Mt. Holly Club, the world's finest private ski and golf resort, is a
self-contained luxury village at 10,000 feet -- the first and only private
community in the world to offer a ski-in/ski-out, golf-in/golf-out
experience. Located just 22 jet minutes north of Las Vegas in Mt. Holly,
Utah, the club enjoys one of the world's most spectacular alpine settings
-- providing world class amenities, services and adventure on 2,000 acres
of unique mountain real estate surrounded by 750,000 acres of pristine
national forest. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course has the rare
distinction of being selected as one of only 25 worldwide (only 5 in the
U.S.) to be designated as a Jack Nicklaus Club. Olympic gold medal skier
Ted Ligety directs the club's world class private ski resort, featuring
access to 48 runs of world famous Utah Powder via 10 high-speed quad lifts spanning 1,500 vertical feet. Club membership is limited to 1,200, and
requires real estate ownership. Mt. Holly Club is privately owned by Mt.
Holly Partners LLC. For more information visit http://www.mthollyclub.com.

[stefan]

let the tensions begin ...



Residents Torn over Multibillion-dollar Resort

BEAVER, Utah (AP) -- Developers hoping to build a multibillion-dollar resort here have riled some residents by posting no-trespassing signs on roads leading to several lakes just before a county meeting on the project.

Some in Beaver County are looking forward to the ritzy Mount Holly Club for its economic boon, while others have concerns over public access and snobbish attitudes.

"It's all Hollywood money, and we don't need them coming in here with their Hollywood drugs and pornography," said resident Margaret Wellman.

But not everyone in this southeastern Utah community opposes Salt Lake City developer CPB's plan to redevelop the now-defunct Elk Meadows ski resort with extravagant homes and a posh club.

"Our elementary school here is in real trouble," said Scott Robinson, who owns Beaver Drug in Beaver. "We need a new school and more teachers. So if the environmental concerns are addressed and laws and ordinances are followed, then I look at the project as something that could benefit the county."

Either way, the proposed resort is the talk of this county of 6,400 people.

"It's the biggest issue in the county that I can remember," Robinson said.

The issue is expected to draw a crowd Wednesday night, when the county Planning Commission considers zoning changes and a development agreement for the $3.5 billion project.

The gated ski resort community would include 1,200 houses and town houses along with a 250,000-square-foot clubhouse to be built on 2,000 acres. The club also would include a private ski resort with 36 runs and an 18-hole private golf course. The project is expected to take 10 years to complete.

Among residents' chief concerns are water rights and public access to areas like Puffer Lake. The group bought land near the lake to add to the ski area and recently no-trespassing signs were posted on roads leading to that lake and several others.

At least two of the signs have been removed and Bill Quick, a spokesman for Mount Holly, blames the markers on an overzealous employee.

Terry Krasco, head ranger at the Fishlake National Forest office in Beaver, explained that the agency has decades-old easements for roads that cross the private land now owned by Mount Holly and lead to public areas.

Krasco would not comment about the signs other than to say the Forest Service "plans to assert our rights of way."

Quick maintains that the developers are committed to adhering to the approval process and building public trust.

"It's important that we do this right," Quick said. "There is nothing secretive about what we are doing. We want to be forthright."

[bruce from bryce]

Last year my wife and I took the drive up from Junction up to the top of the mountain, across to Puffer Lake and then up to Big John Flat. Hiked up into the mountains to see the wildflowers and spent the night on the flat, the only negative being the dirt bikes and ATVs running till 11pm.

The next day we hike up to the top of Mt Holly and in doing so tracked down a huge herd of Mt. Goats. I climbed above them to get a few photos and spooked them where they passed within a few feet of my wife who had stayed below. All in all we saw close to 150 of them.

If this resort actually comes to fuition I wonder if it will still be possible for me to do this route?

[stefan]

Planners back Beaver resort project
County Commission plans hearing, possible vote on Monday
By Mark Havnes
The Salt Lake Tribune


BEAVER - It's big. It's plush. It's divisive. And it's one step closer to being built.

The Beaver County Planning Commission has voted to recommend approval of a development agreement for the proposed Mount Holly Club, which plans to plop hundreds of multimillion-dollar homes, along with an 18-hole golf course, on thousands of acres at a now-defunct ski resort in southwestern Utah.

On Monday, the County Commission will hold a public hearing and consider whether to approve the development deal.

Many residents oppose the plan, fearing the $3.5 billion development at the former Elk Meadows ski area would drain resources, ruin the rural atmosphere and deprive them of access to ski runs and other recreational retreats.

Others back the proposal by Salt Lake City-based CPB, LLC and point to the revenue the ritzy resort 18 miles east of Beaver would bring to private businesses and public coffers.

The Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation came late Wednesday night after the panel tweaked a number of terms in the proposed development accord.

For instance, the deal now calls for those with 30 percent ownership in Elk Meadows property to have continued access to the ski resort. Developers had wanted to limit access to those with at least a 50 percent stake.

County Commissioner Chad Johnson, who attended this week's Planning Commission meeting, is reserving comment on the proposed agreement until after Monday's hearing.

If commissioners endorse the deal, developers still would need to secure preliminary and final plat approvals before construction could begin.

[offpiste]

WOW same sales pitch 20 some years ago. The people won't even stop in Beaver, except to get off and on the plane, that's if they can land their planes at the airport there.
Like I said if goes through it will block access to some great country.

[stefan]

Feds skeptical of posh resort's ads
HUD investigator seeks facts about Mt. Holly plan
By Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune


BEAVER - An investigator has been in this central Utah city on a "fact-finding inquiry" into whether developers of a proposed $3.5 billion mountain resort are in compliance with federal laws governing real estate advertising.

Beaver County Attorney Von Christiansen said this week that the investigator, G. Wesley Dunlap of Fairfax, Va., told him he was under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Dunlap also talked to other county officials about the Mt. Holly Club, which plans the deluxe resort on the site of the former Elk Meadows ski area in the Tushar Mountains 18 miles east of Beaver.

Christiansen said Dunlap told him he was looking into whether Mt. Holly Club and its developers had violated the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and whether HUD had jurisdiction on such a case.

Christiansen said the inquiry was spurred by the possibility the club had produced misleading advertising. Dunlap said "it would likely be some time before HUD took action," Christiansen said.

Mt. Holly Club issued a written statement Friday saying no one from HUD has contacted the resort and that the club is not subject to HUD registration.

"We are still awaiting county approval before selling lots," the statement said. "And our marketing is consistent with HUD regulations. Mt. Holly has been working with sophisticated counsel from Washington, D.C., for months with respect to all issues of HUD compliance and we will continue to do so."

A HUD spokesman in Washington, D.C., said the agency could not confirm an investigation is under way. Dunlap, however, also went to Beaver County's planning office, where he left a business card and a letter from HUD saying the federal agency had contracted him to conduct fact finding.

The developer, CPB Development of Salt Lake City, want to convert the ski resort into a private, exclusive community. Under the plan, the existing ski runs would be complemented by a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and luxury housing.

Public reaction has been mixed. Some Beaver County residents have praised the idea as an alternative to failed efforts to run Elk Meadows as an open-to-the-public resort. Others have said the plan is too lofty to succeed and will burden the county financially. Questions also have arisen about whether the expanded community would siphon water from the town of Beaver and whether current condo owners would be allowed access to Mt. Holly Club amenities.

On April 16, the Beaver County Commission will consider whether to approve a development agreement with the club.

HUD's attention might have been caught initially by U.S. Forest Service objections to a full-page advertisement that appeared in the Dec. 1 Wall Street Journal .

The ad said the resort could run ski lifts and snow cats up to 12,000-foot-high Mount Holly. However, the peak is on national forest land where motorized equipment is restricted, and the Forest Service asked the club to stop the advertisements.

The club's Web site, www.mthollyclub.com, contains photographs of scenery that does not appear to be at the resort. Mt. Holly Club spokesman Bill Quick said Friday he did not know where the photo was taken. There is also a sentence on the site saying: "Mt. Holly Club is the only private resort that offers ski-in, ski-out wintertime amenities and a signature Jack Nicklaus championship course all in a convenient golf cart community."

The golf course is not operational and Web site visitors need to click on a subhead to read a fact sheet that says the course is under construction. Visitors must click on the contact page to find a sentence reading: "This is not an offer."

The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act gives HUD authority over large residential real estate projects. The act also prohibits anyone selling or leasing a property from issuing advertising that is untrue or omits "material fact." The act carries possible civil penalties or criminal penalties of up to 5 years in prison.

The HUD investigator also called on Lynn Kitchen, district conservationist for the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service. Kitchen said Dunlap wanted to know much snow annually falls on Mount Holly and Elk Meadows. Kitchen said he supplied data.

On Friday morning, a fact sheet on Mt. Holly Club's Web site claimed the club "receives an average of 450 inches of fresh powder each year." When The Tribune reviewed the fact sheet again in the afternoon, the amount was lowered to 400 inches.

Kitchen said the area received 415 inches in 2005 - one of the heaviest years on record. A more typical annual figure is 200 to 300 inches, he said. But Kitchen added: "If people measure in a big snow drift, you could get about any figure you want."

Mt. Holly Club spokesman Quick said previous owners of Elk Meadows and publications have reported the resort receives 400 to 450 inches of snowfall per year. The fact sheet was amended Friday to reflect the lower end of that range, and because Mt. Holly Club talked with the conservation service to learn more about how resorts measure their snowfall, he said.