Pretty funny. Maple Valley has not operated in close to 20 years. So, it might take a bit more work than paint and grease to operate. And it pretty much closed because people would blow right by it on the way to Stratton, Bromley, etc. I think it was lack of skiers.
One of our friends bought a smaller area about 20 years ago. It was close to closing, and he had grown up skiing there, and owned a house there. Great place for little kids, about an hour from his home. He decided to go to the auction, and when the gavel was hammered, he owned it. Did not tell his wife until he got home that night, as I recall.
I thought he was borderline nuts. But he's a smart guy. He knew two things. He knew exactly what it was worth as timberland, if things turned that way. He had paid for some advice on how much logging could be done without disturbing the ski area itself. And he learned that it was too small a parcel for the real big guys to bother with, and that the paper business locally was in a slump, so the local guys would not be bidding. His fall back was to become a lumber baron.
Turned out that the area did pretty well, and he eventually sold it for a very modest profit, considering what he put into it. Probably his time worked out to about $.02 a hour. Place is going great guns these days. Nice to see. Key, I think, is that it never closed.
Maple Valley? $950K is wishful thinking, but you have not start somewhere. Ha! Last time I pulled I there to let our dogs out of the car was about 10 years ago. The rental shop, closed for 10 years was full of rental skis and bindings. FULL. Buyer will need a big dumpster and more. Wonder what scrap lift towers fetch?
And on Missoula, classic. Just classic!
