Investors buy B.C. ski resort

A Sandpoint company hopes to turn a tiny, money-losing ski resort in British Columbia’s Okanogan region into a successful, four-season “boutique” resort.

The Mount Baldy Ski Area attracted a mere 20,000 skier visits this season – about one-tenth of the volume of a ski area like Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

“I would consider it one of those undiscovered little family areas,” said Brett Sweezy, president of the Mount Baldy Ski Corp. “I also consider it one of the last remaining resorts near the border that has the potential to really expand.”

Mount Baldy lies about 16 miles north of the U.S.-Canadian border, near the town of Osoyoos. Sweezy and two Sandpoint partners bought the resort last year.

Neither Sweezy nor the other partners – Robert Boyle and Brent Baker – had ever run a ski resort. But all of them were lifelong skiers, with backgrounds in real estate investment and finance, according to Sweezy. He and Boyle are CPAs. Baker owns a construction company.

The timing seemed right for the gamble, Sweezy said. With Vancouver landing the 2010 Winter Olympics, the province is gearing up to advertise its skiing recreation to the world. The booming resort real estate market was also a factor in their decision to buy, Sweezy said.

The partners envision expanding Mount Baldy’s terrain and selling vacation homes to residents of Vancouver, which lies about four hours to the west, while maintaining a small, boutique-resort feel. Over the next three years, they hope to increase skier visits to the 60,000 to 80,000 range.

Mount Baldy will operate in the shadow of Big White, a much larger ski resort located about 70 miles north of the mountain. But Mount Baldy will advertise a much different experience, Sweezy said.

“You’ll never see Baldy announcing that we’ve put in our fifth high-speed quad,” he said. “We want to be known for having more skiable acres per ski visitor.”

Last month, the partners submitted an application to Land and Water British Columbia for a multi-phase expansion of the ski area, which they operate under a lease from the provincial government. The company has also been in negotiations with the 400-member Osoyoos Indian Band, whose traditional use area includes Mount Baldy.

Over the next 15 or so years, Sweezy can picture Mount Baldy with 13 lifts, an 18-hole golf course, and a village that could house nearly 8,000 people. Short-term plans, however, are more modest.

The partners want to expand ski terrain to 1,200 acres, increase the residences on the mountain from 100 to 350, and spruce up the lodge. The improvements would help Mount Baldy turn a profit, Sweezy said.

“It could be done for under $10 million Canadian,” he said.

Part of the money would come from residential real estate sales, Sweezy said. The rest would be raised through financing.

Review of the application will take about six months, according to Psyche Brown, manager of major project for Land and Water British Columbia. Various provincial and local government agencies will have a chance to weigh in on the project. A series of public meetings will also be scheduled, she said.

The company’s negotiations with the Osoyoos band are largely concluded, said Chris Scott, chief operating officer for the band’s development corporation. The band will sell certain development rights to Mount Baldy, members will get preferential treatment in hiring, and the band will do some joint marketing with the company, Scott said. The Osoyoos band operates several tourism ventures, including a winery and cultural center.

Some of the new ski runs will bear names from the band’s Okanogan dialect.

“The band is participating in Mount Baldy,” Scott said. “The band is delighted about the plans for it.”