ELK MEADOWS

[offpiste]

Thanks folks! Just got a free day pass to Eagle Point up for grabs.

[blueeyes]

If you are offering it up I will take it!

[Dr. Nebz]

Thanks folks! Just got a free day pass to Eagle Point up for grabs.

I wanted to head down there this year pick me!

[offpiste]

Sorry Doc, blueeyes chimed in first but if she chooses not to take it, it's yours. I truly wish they were opening sooner, I would use it.

[blueeyes]

I would definitely like it! I sent you and e-mail through yahoo.

Not sure yet when the kids and I will go but anyone is welcome to join us.

[offpiste]

replied

[Dr. Nebz]

Sorry Doc, blueeyes chimed in first but if she chooses not to take it, it's yours. I truly wish they were opening sooner, I would use it.

No worries, just was piping in if you had no takers on it. Have fun blueeyes, and I would love to see a report on your trip.

[jman]

offpiste, Did you know a guy by the name of Kelly John who use to work at Elk Meadows? I met him yesterday, and he mentioned that he was employed by them when Elk Meadows was in full bloom. Now, he is in a permanent wheelchair due to a bad car accident, but he still goes skiing in a modified wheelchair of some sort. Pretty cool.

Anywho, Kelly John was saying that Eagle Point and Brian Head should have some sort of mutual agreement and a person can spend $10 more for a pass and they would receive a 1-day pass to Brian Head AND Eagle Point. That way, it would increase visitation and make Brian Head less crowded. It's a interesting idea...

[offpiste]

I don't recall his name. Interesting thought on the ticket idea. Personally I would ski Eagle Point over BH any day, and I skied BH F/T for 3 years. More terrain at Eagle Point and no crowds.

[stefan]

..

Eagle Point ski area makes it debut
BY MIKE GORRELL
The Salt Lake Tribune
Dec 16, 2010


Beaver • Engulfed in controversy for much of the eight years it was closed, the old Elk Meadows ski area reopened Wednesday as Eagle Point — Utah’s 14th active resort.

Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty and one of his marketing organization’s bloggers, Thomas Cooke, were given the honors of taking the first lift ride, gliding up the two-seat Skyline chairlift as light snow fell on the 1,200-acre resort in the Tushar Mountains, 18 miles east of Beaver.

“It was an honor to be part of the reawakening of something that has been dormant for eight years,” Rafferty said. “It’s just fun to welcome another resort into our quiver. More variety will help southern Utah.”

Situated almost evenly between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Eagle Point will primarily target customers from southern Nevada and Southern California, said Shane Gadbaw, one of three Wall Street financiers who purchased the resort in December 2009 out of bankruptcy.

Gadbaw, who celebrated his 36th birthday with the resort’s opening to a sparse crowd, is CEO of XE Capital. It is a hedge fund that initially invested in the grandiose plans of Mount Holly Partners LLC to transform the sleepy little ski area into a $3.5 billion development, with a private ski area and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

But it didn’t take long for Gadbaw and his partners from XE Capital, Joe Clough and Terry Leighton, to determine that Mount Holly’s divisive proposal – which sparked objections from numerous residents who were concerned about its exclusive nature and the impact on local water resources – wasn’t working.

So even though they had never been in the ski business before and hadn’t given it much thought, the trio set out to bring the resort back to life.

The financiers paid off all the debts left by their predecessors.

Gadbaw’s father came to Beaver last summer and supervised the remodeling of Canyonside Lodge, construction of The Lookout warming cabin on a ridge offering views of the Tushar Mountains, and the many other fix-up projects necessary after eight years of being idle.

They brought in seasoned resort people to help them get past their inexperience. Steve Bills, a fixture at Snowbird’s ski school for decades and a well-known instructor, was hired to build the snow-sports program. Jodi Holmgren was hired to handle public relations, a job she did last winter at Snowbasin, above Ogden.

The all-important responsibility for preparing food was placed in the hands of Craig Haslebacher, who beat out Bobby Flay in an “Iron Chef” competition in January.

The new owners also set out to mend fences with Beaver residents.

A job fair recruited many local people to fill the 135 jobs at the resort.

Area contractors were retained to do much of the work during the summer and fall. Package deals were organized with Beaver hotels to provide accommodations for out-of-town visitors.

Entreaties were made to Beaver schools to arrange lesson programs for students.

“They seem to be taking a more practical, down-to-earth approach to the resort, so there is a lot of positive feedback,” said Phil Jolley, who owns Beaver’s Best Western Paradise Inn and also dabbles in ranching and real estate.

“There’s still a lot of pessimism about whether they’ll succeed because so many people have tried it. So people are fairly skeptical,” Jolley added. “But it seems to me these guys are probably the best shot this resort has seen in a long time.”

Carol McCulley, who led the Save Beaver County Committee that strenuously objected to the Mount Holly Partners’ plan, said she still has concerns about the possibility of a golf course on the property.

“We’re watching and waiting and looking for things in black and white, which we haven’t seen yet,” she said. “But the ski resort being public is good. We want to see it succeed for the good of Beaver County and employment.”

Job prospects were important to Beaver Mayor Mark Yardley, who wielded oversize scissors Wednesday to cut a ribbon, symbolically confirming the resort’s open status.

“It’s extremely touching to see some Beaver folks with jobs up here,” he said, noting that he was going to check out lessons for his children before returning to town. “We’re just excited to have a place to ski, the jobs and the chance to have people visit our community.”

Snowboarder Brady Fox, 37, of Provo, was one of those visitors.

He has had a condo in the area for eight years and spent many summer afternoons on a mountain bike, checking out the idle ski lifts.

“I’ve just been daydreaming about the day they’re turned on,” Fox said, proud of being at a resort on its first day of operation.

That’s the kind of response part-owner Clough was hoping to hear.

“We want to take the time to build a loyal customer base,” he said. “We want people to come back next season.”

for the eagle point ski area's webpage see:
http://www.skieaglepoint.com/

as of today they have a 70" base with 170" so far this season, calling for up to 17" wed/thurs

[offpiste]

On the mend, 3 weeks out and no more numbness or stabbing pains running down the legs!!! Doc says everything looks good. Now I just need to get over the affect of the surgery itself. Keep the reports coming! I am missing an epic season so keep the powder shots coming!!!!

[stefan]

On the mend, 3 weeks out and no more numbness or stabbing pains running down the legs!!! Doc says everything looks good. Now I just need to get over the affect of the surgery itself. Keep the reports coming! I am missing an epic season so keep the powder shots coming!!!!

congrats, man!! happy new year

[Dr. Nebz]

On the mend, 3 weeks out and no more numbness or stabbing pains running down the legs!!! Doc says everything looks good. Now I just need to get over the affect of the surgery itself.

This is the kind of news I like to hear.

[blueeyes]

:-)

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G using Tapatalk

[offpiste]

Thanks and Happy New year to everyone! Blueeyes did you get the letter?

[blueeyes]

Yes I did! I will post a report as soon as I go. Thx a ton!!! I just got word today from my sister that she scored me a free pass to Powder Mountain with one ride up to Lightening Ridge. For being down South I don't think I am doing to bad. So far

Canyons
Snowbird
Snowbasin

Will have trip reports soon.

[offpiste]

[stefan]

Trip report by blueeyes (Feb 27, 2011):
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthre...th-Eagle-Point

[stefan]

forgot to post these the other day ...

Utah ski resort promoter headed for prison
By Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune

The law came down hard Tuesday on Marc Sessions Jenson, a key figure in a failed attempt to transform little Elk Meadows ski area into a $3.5 billion resort.

In the morning, the 51-year-old former Holladay resident was handcuffed in 3rd District Court and taken to Salt Lake County Jail after Judge Robin Reese determined he had failed to pay $4.1 million in restitution to two victims of an earlier unrelated fraud case, violating terms of a plea-in-abeyance agreement reached in May 2008. The judge set an October hearing to sentence him on three third-degree felony counts of selling unregistered securities.

Then, in the afternoon, the Utah Attorney General’s Office filed eight second-degree felony counts in 3rd District Court against Jenson and 11 more against his brother Stephen Roger Jenson, 46, of Sandy, alleging communications fraud, money laundering and a pattern of unlawful activity in courting investors for the Mount Holly Club.

That was the name the Jensons attached to sleepy Elk Meadows, in the Tushar Mountains east of Beaver, which they envisioned turning into an exclusive, gated community with multimillion-dollar homes, a private ski area and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

An attempt late Tuesday to contact Marc Jenson’s attorney, Rebecca Hyde, about the new charges was unsuccessful. Stephen Jenson also could not be reached for comment.

The new allegations contend that in 2007 and ’08, the Jenson brothers enticed Jeffrey Donner, Tracy Fox and Shaun Rothwell to invest about $2.3 million into the Mount Holly Club with false information about the proposed luxury development.

The brothers then diverted the money to other accounts they controlled, the Attorney General’s Office alleged, and used it to rent or lease expensive homes, buy "exotic" automobiles, take expensive vacations, make payments toward prior defaulted loans and pay legal fees associated with Marc Jenson’s defense against fraud charges filed against him in 2005.

In that earlier case, the Attorney General’s Office charged Marc Jenson with five counts of securities fraud and one count of racketeering involving funds he solicited in a scheme to buy a bicycle company in 2000. Eventually, Reese approved a plea-in-abeyance agreement in May 2008 that, in exchange for clearing his record of three felony counts, gave Marc Jenson three years to pay $4.1 million in restitution to two of his victims.

The agreement allowed Marc Jenson to remain a salesman for the Mount Holly Club, a job that conceivably would allow him to repay $2.5 million to Morris Ebeling and another $1.6 million to Michael Bodell, Salt Lake County men who had invested in the bicycle deal.

But the economy collapsed, the Jensons’ Mount Holly Partners LLC declared bankruptcy in September 2009 and Marc Jenson had not repaid any money to Ebeling or Bodell by Tuesday. Although Jenson and his attorneys recently offered an interest in a Sun Valley luxury home that is on an online auction block, the proposal was rejected by Bodell, Ebeling and Assistant Attorney General Scott Reed, who argued "a promise to pay is not paying … [Jenson’s] time is up. "

The judge concurred.

Reese said Marc Jenson’s failure to pay restitution violated his agreementand set his sentencing for Oct. 24. In response to a request by Reed, and over the objections of defense attorney Hyde, Reese ordered Marc Jenson to be held in the Salt Lake County Jail until sentencing, with bail set at $500,000. If Marc Jenson posts bail, the judge added, he must surrender his passport.

Hyde had maintained Marc Jenson was not a risk to flee the country, citing his wife’s battle against cancer in California, where they now live. She also contended his demeanor throughout lengthy legal proceedings was "congenial and professional."

But Reed said Utah law mandates that Marc Jenson be detained until sentencing. It is appropriate in this case, he added, because a "string of [civil] lawsuits" against Jenson across the West is evidence that the defendant is a "constant threat" to be involved in financial fraud.

Bodell, a general contractor who originally met Marc Jenson at church, said he was satisfied by Reese’s decision. "I call Marc Jenson the ‘Houdini of financial predators.’ He uses smoke and mirrors to cover his trail," he said. "But it didn’t work this time. … Thank God for a great judge."

Ebeling said he was "disappointed." Although he felt Marc Jenson got the punishment he deserved, Ebeling said "that doesn’t give me any of my money back." And Ebeling is convinced Jenson has money stashed away, citing the lavish lifestyle the defendant maintained while his fraud case was pending.

"He could’ve made monthly payments and everything would have been OK," Ebeling said. "But I’ve not gotten one penny back in 11 years."

Hyde said the state made a mistake in not accepting Jenson’s offer of a stake in the 9,200-square-foot home in Sun Valley, noting that it was once listed by Coldwell Banker as worth $6.9 million. She had tried to persuade the judge to defer action on Marc Jenson’s case until seeing the outcome of an online auction that will end Wednesday evening.

As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the top bid for the four-bedroom, five-bathroom house was $2.5 million.

"It will be interesting to see if the state, in 30 days [after the sale closes], has walked away from a substantial sum of money," Hyde said after the hearing, "and if it served the interests of its clients in this case."

Utahn convicted in fraud scheme facing new charges
By Emiley Morgan
KSL

SALT LAKE CITY — A Holladay man already convicted of fraud in Utah is now facing new charges in connection with a second alleged scheme, in which he touted, among other things, a Beaver County resort featuring a Jack Nicklaus golf course.

Marc Sessions Jenson, 51, and his brother, Stephen Roger Jenson, 46, were both charged Tuesday with four counts of communications fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies. Stephen Jenson is facing three additional counts of second-degree felony money laundering.

Prosecutors with the Utah Attorney General's Office state that Marc Jenson, with the aid of his brother "and others," have devised as many as four different schemes with the goal of obtaining funds from investors which then "fail to materialize and the victims are left with millions of dollars in losses."

According to the charges filed Tuesday, the schemes include a ski resort in Beaver County, a real estate development project in Malibu, Calif., a wetlands preservation operation also based in Utah and "a loan to a local law firm for expenses pending completion of a civil suit against a pharmaceutical company that produced Fen-Phen."

"Later (Donner) found out through a source … that most of the individuals attending the promotional events were friends of Marc Jenson or people who were owed money by Marc Jenson."

One Colorado investor, Jeffrey Donner, told investigators that Marc Jenson approached him in 2007 about a proposed "Mount Holly Ski and Golf Resort" in Beaver County that would feature a Jack Nicklaus golf course and Olympic gold medalist, Ted Ligety, as a "ski director."

At a promotional event, Marc Jenson showed Donner a model of the resort and offered club membership for a price of $1.5 million. The man was told the other people at the event were already club members or potential club membership buyers.

"Later (Donner) found out through a source … that most of the individuals attending the promotional events were friends of Marc Jenson or people who were owed money by Marc Jenson," the charges state.

Marc Jenson and his brother failed to mention the local community opposition to the development of the resort property, the project's defaulted loans and pending financial issues and ongoing litigation brought on by Beaver County citizens, according to court documents.

Marc Jenson also failed to bring up the 12 months he spent in federal custody after pleading guilty to charges of making false statements to a financial institution and willful failure to file federal income tax returns in the early 1990s. Or the fact that he was charged with fraud, money laundering and sale of unregistered securities for similar crimes in 2005.

Marc Jenson also had an evidentiary hearing in the 2005 case Tuesday before 3rd District Judge Robin Reese. Because Jenson hasn't paid any of the $4.1 million restitution he was ordered to pay to two victims, the judge sent him to jail.

Jenson entered a plea in abeyance to three counts of sale of an unregistered security, a third-degree felony, in 2008. If he had paid the restitution and complied with other terms, the charges would have been dismissed.

He will be sentenced again on those charges Oct. 24.

The 2005 deal specifically allowed Marc Jenson to continue as a principal in a group trying to convert the old Elk Meadows ski resort near Beaver into the private Mt. Holly Club. But assistant attorney general Scott Reed told the Deseret News Tuesday that the agreement was made in May 2008 — months after the new alleged fraud was committed.

Last month, Donner sued Nicklaus in federal court claiming that, after the $3.5 billion project near Beaver went belly up, Nicklaus and his company, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, took no responsibility for the debts and obligations incurred by the primary developer, Mount Holly Partners LLC.

In the alleged Mount Holly Resort scheme, one investor reported losing $261,000. Another took a loan against his home in the amount of $513,000. When investors later tried to withdraw their funds, they discovered the money had been transferred, the charges state.

Investigators said Marc and Stephen Jenson had 44 different bank accounts, including 12 that are "directly associated with the Mount Holly project." A total of nearly $2.8 million was ultimately collected in the name of the project, according to prosecutors.

"During the development term of these projects, Marc Jenson lives a lavish lifestyle, utilizing the funds from the project investments to rent and/or lease expensive homes; purchase exotic automobiles; take expensive vacations; provide monies to his wife … or to pay legal fees…," court documents state.

Jenson's previous case sparked controversy — first amid allegations that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff filed the charges as a favor for a friend whose wife was a campaign contributor, then from victims who were dissatisfied with an initial plea deal that was rejected by Judge Reese for being too lenient.

Reed said the plea in abeyance agreement was made at the behest of investors, who hoped that Marc Jenson would make good on his promises to repay what they lost.

"It's been an excruciating journey for the victims," Reed said. "(Jenson paid) not a penny, not a nickel, not a bad check. He thumbed his nose at them. … It's just been egregious and unspeakable."

In the meantime, he said MArc Jenson has been living in homes in Idaho and California that are valued in the millions of dollars and staying for months at a time in hotels with $900-a-night price tags.

"So, saying he doesn't have very much money doesn't strike a chord for me in the least," Reed said.

The prosecutor has been disappointed with Jenson and his behavior in the prior case "from the get-go" and declined to go into detail on the new case, but said the court documents largely "speak for themselves." He noted that the judge in the new case must have agreed, because he issued a no bail warrant.

When he is sentenced in the 2005 case, Jenson could face up to five years in prison on each of the three counts.

"I imagine we'll ask for a lengthy term of incarceration," Reed said.

Marc Jenson's defense attorney, Greg Skordas, said his client is a victim of the economy — especially the housing market — and would have sold property to repay investors if the market would have been better.

"Housing and property values plummeted and people suffered and investors suffered and Marc's done the best he can to make it right," Skordas said. "There are a lot of unforeseen circumstances."

He said he and his client were "blindsided" by the new charges, especially considering the fact that they include activity from 2007 and 2008.

"It's not new conduct — there's nothing in the new charges from
the last two years," Skordas said.

As for the order to put Marc Jenson in jail pending sentencing, Skordas said Reese made the decision after an attempt on his client's part to sell a home in Idaho fell through.

"I know Marc thought he was doing the best he could to make the restitution," Skordas said.

[jman]

wow!

"make the best he could to make the restitution". yeaahhh....sure he was.