News this week has dramatically added to the spirit of hope for June Lake people. According to Mono Supervisor Tim Alpers, June Mountain General Manager Carl Williams told the group at the Citizens Advisory Committee meeting that the Ski Area operations plan for June has gone to the Forest Service and that the Mountain will open for winter activities December 14th.
It was last June when Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory announced that June Mountain would close immediately and stay closed for the winter season. He pointed to a continuing $1.5 million operating loss. Gregory eventually said that June would re-open the following season. It was a tough year for the community of June Lake. Citizens struggled to be heard and pushed for their mountain to re-open.
Supervisor Tim Alpers was elected during this time and represents June Lake. He vowed to restore June Mountain. At this week’s advisory committee meeting, that promise was solidified.
The other positive news for June Lake – escrow on the Rodeo Grounds property closed over the weekend, according to Alpers. The buyer is Ed Roski, half owner of the LA Kings hockey team and part-owner of the LA Lakers basketball team. He is number 104 on the Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans. Roski’s net worth is listed as $3.7 billion. He is President and Chairman of Majestic Realty Company. Roski has also been reported as being involved in plans for a new football stadium and entertainment area east of Los Angeles.
As Supervisor Alpers said, Roski has the emotional connection to June Lake and the resources to do something productive. The Roski family has long owned a second home in June Lake. Roski has not specifically said what he plans to do with the Rodeo Grounds acreage except that he wants to do something to please the community, County and stakeholders.
The Rodeo Grounds acres, previously owned by Intrawest, are seen as the area for some type of development for the community. In the past, June Lake residents were split and fighting about the proposed density of a Rodeo Grounds project. All hope this time, plans will come forward that draw general support. There have been discussions about the need for more and updated lodging for the ski town as well as other amenities.
Supervisor Alpers said when plans come together, the Supervisors will initiate hearings. Alpers said with the re-opening and improvement of June Mountain, the investment of Mr. Roski and other community improvements, he thinks June lake is positioned to “really take off.”
Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News - The Community's News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Perhaps the best way forward is to embrace a benevolent developer such as Roski. Is he willing to have a short-term loss to write-off? If so, it could be a win-win for the community (and himself) in the long-term. MMSA and June probably should not to be run together under one business plan – new ownership not constrained by the hard choices of bankruptcy could be the answer for all involved.
I have skied both MMSA and June since the early 70’s. They are diametric opposites. IMO, June’s wonderful small mountain personality & prices make resorts like Brianhead (with it’s powder) and Bear Mountain/ Snow Summit (with it’s short drive) its’ real competition (At least for those here in SoCal.) Mammoth will always be “THE” mountain of choice for that “big mountain” demographic that “pays the bills”. As for me, I will be at June, because I can’t (at 55) safely ski Dave’s or Scottie’s anymore. I will probably have my lunch in my pack and a flask in my jacket – that’s just me living in my new reality.
Good luck to all those involved – and please tread lightly on this special area. To many of us, this is where we have been fortunate enough to fish, hike and ski for our entire lives. Plan well. Keep Mr. Roski in check. Elect people with the backbone to fight for what is acceptable and realistic to the community. I suspect Roski’s roots in the area may be part of the motivation behind his “cherry-picking” the rodeo grounds, and he may be sincere about his vision, but if he plans on creating another “big mountain” resort destination, I think it may not work. If he tweaks the existing mountain to fit the new reality, and makes it profitable, more power to him.
Does Mr. Roski know what an Adam’s parachute is? What color Wooley Bugger does he use at Silver? That’s what I’d be asking.
June Lake doesn’t have time, Economic Collapse will happen between September to December of this year of our Lord 2013, after which The Elite will make Their Plan happen according to the Georgia Guidestones, No Pension Fund will Survive 🙂
Please the community? Everyone? All at once? Never going to happen.
NOTHING To See or Do in June Lake unless your a fisherman, move along move along 🙂
Hiking/horseback riding/geo-exploring/windsurfing,SUP,/water skiing/wake boarding/wake surfing/rock climbing/photography/snowboarding/skiing/sailing/ snowboarding/back country skiing access/fall colors/mountain biking/fishing/off roading/.shall i go on?…What a completely foolish statement….hey Bomber[if that’s your real name], I dont think you belong any where near the Eastern Sierra ….stick to your couch, cable TV and ring dings.
One easy way — maybe not a good way — would be to ban snowboards from Mammoth on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and put a really good terrain park at June. Wouldn’t hurt to try for a year or two.
Great idea Ken Warner. Taking a page from Park City’s Deer Valley, ban snowboards and they (the “Beautiful People”) will come. Deer Valley is booming due to the banning of the snowboarders.
Money is drying up for the middle class. Might as well go after those who have the $$$.
It never hurts unless you are the one paying for the experiment. Before you spend money at June for this terrain park and ban boarding from Mammoth you better have a business case that says it will work. Otherwise you are just throwing money away at June while losing business at Mammoth, maybe permanently if the boarders are mad enough at you.
The problem with June is simple, they do not have they infrastructure to attract enough people to sustain a Mammoth style resort ski area. The road is iffy, and not what a bunch of So Cal ski-moms want to drive when icy or snow-covered, there aren’t enough places to eat or stay, and it is isolated from anything to really do at night. Think the real drivers of ski area profit – families. Maybe more development will help, but maybe the best bet is to tailor the ski area to the types of people who could care less about the roads, or whether there is a movie theater or “nice” restaurant, people who just want to ski or board.
If you haven’t noticed the disparity between the haves and have-nots is exploding. All the “trickle-down” notion (that some are buying into), is accomplishing, is making the rich even richer. Most of those ultra-rich desire rural 2nd, 3rd, and 4th homes (far away from crazy overcrowded Southern California) as witnessed in Mammoth Lakes.
But as far as all-inclusive weekend ski getaways, June simply does not offer the variety of a Mammoth and probably never will.
It’s a rich man’s world. Get used to it.
June is not a ski town. Its a fishing town that happens to have a ski area. The local coffee house is called Trout Town Joe not Ski Town Joe.It will interesting to see what happens to all of the ‘save June Mountain’ alliances if the Rodeo Grounds get developed because half of the ‘save June Mountain’ group are also the June Lake Advocates….its going to get wild.
until then, the country loses
I hope June Lakes’ “spirit of hope” works out better than Barack Obama’s hope has.
More BS political bitching.
When the GOP, the Tea Party, The Far-right, whoever, can come up with a viable candidate the country can rally around – then they may have a chance to get their man/woman elected.
But until then …
Rand Paul/Ted Cruz
Dingo….Just think how much “better” the Country…..and the World,in general, would be if the U.S. went brain -dead last November and elected Mitt Romney.
Really? Dingo is appropriate.
Y’all still going back and forth which Team is better (Repubs Vs Dems)?
Wake up and stop being such a sheep to the gov’t!
Here check out the facts on how OUR representatives are bought (fundamental corruption) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAqJfFatVwI
When you have a system that spends unlimited money, it’s all just a investment to make more money!
Back on the heavy surveillance issue, how many of you are like “oh I don’t care if the Gov’t is listening to my phone calls” you know the complacent crowd.. Don’t be ashamed, lets talk about… so if you don’t think it is a problem that the NSA/Gov’t/private contractors have this information, YES private contractors! so maybe your right, your phone calls to your mom are not relevant to any investigation but just imagine the fact how private contractors have availability to everybody’s calls and emails, what does that say for the security of the news? security for the journalists that have a huge story that might speak truth to power? or how about the political candidate that is being smeared by his opponents because this information is out there and nobody is perfect. How can we all be so secure that just because the Gov’t has this information does it really mean that hackers can’t find access to it? I mean come on this is a huge blow to one of our core tenants to OUR nation (CIVIL LIBERTIES).
I mean if you believe in this nation as a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC then understand the law is being broken and the complacent crowd acts like its no problem, for crying out load it’s against the law! This is turn-key to totalitarianism!
I mean if you believe this Gov’t is to work for us, then understand or gov’t is bought, and they do not represent us..
So please stop making arguments that get in the way of real progress..