{"id":31555,"date":"2017-12-06T15:56:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T20:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=31555"},"modified":"2017-12-07T17:00:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T22:00:40","slug":"west-mountain-ownership-continues-improve-modernize-queensbury-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2017\/12\/west-mountain-ownership-continues-improve-modernize-queensbury-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"West Mountain Ownership Continues To Improve And Modernize Queensbury Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The owners of West Mountain Ski Resort have invested $5 million since the 2013-14 season.
Courtesy West Mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan E. Campbell<\/p>\n

Spencer Montgomery and the co-owners of the West Mountain Ski Resort are within $2 million of realizing their goal of \u201crebuilding the nuts and bolts of the core business\u201d and restoring the ski area to the \u201cfamily run, family focused, affordable resort\u201d it was built to be in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n

The partners will learn in December if they will be awarded a $400,000 Empire State Development matching grant. If successful, Montgomery will have received \u201cthe spark needed to raise the remaining $1.6 million so that we can operate a full ski center with the amenities that go along with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need that assistance,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cBut I knew that we would have to prove ourselves first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some $5 million has been invested since the partnership took over the resort during the 2013-2014 winter season. Last year was the first break-even year, Montgomery said, noting that\u00a0 \u201crevenues will double\u201d when fully operational.<\/p>\n

\u201cWest Mountain had been operating as half of a ski area,\u201d he said, and many acres of land are yet untouched. The owners originally had a five-year timetable for re-branding and updating the resort, he said. But they added another 12 months to the schedule because of a bad winter last year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Repairing and adding ski lifts, restoring old trails and the Northwest Lodge, additional lighting, and laying 17,000 feet of pipeline to carry water to 20 new state-of-the-art snow guns required welders and other skilled laborers and materials like lumber, dirt, pipe, steel and high-voltage equipment. All were provided from local sources, with Rozell Industries contracted for the more technical projects, such as the finishing work on the towers, according to Montgomery.<\/p>\n

The partners themselves have done a lot of work in-house, allowing them to \u201cturn 40 cents into a dollar,\u201d said Montgomery.\u00a0 \u201cWe call ourselves Team West Mountain, a real solid team of mostly women who run the place soup-to-nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next wave of improvements will continue to \u201chave an enormous impact on the local economy\u201d in as many ways, Montgomery said. There will be a new lodge. Renovations will result in providing food and ticket sales from more locations.<\/p>\n

A retail sports store is on the drawing board and a new lift for tubers. Plans are in the works for 50 more snowmaking machines.<\/p>\n

Snowmaking\u00a0 is especially important for the two newly re-opened trails, said Montgomery\u2014the Cure and the Holy Mackerel trail it feeds into. These have the steepest slopes and require a stickier base of man-made snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trails represent a piece of history that we have brought back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Montgomery said he expects as many hires this year as last, but the number will increase next year when the new lodge, store and food canteen are up and running. Last year\u2019s payroll was $1.2 million, he said.<\/p>\n

For Montgomery and his wife Sara, teaching young people how to ski and snowboard and to develop an interest in the sport is a high goal. Montgomery said he grew up on West Mountain and the couple now has their four children enrolled in the ski schools and after-school programs there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put in a lunch program for the kids and there is much more growth to be had for the schools,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Montgomery said Olympic coach Sean Warman had agreed to join them as program director and head coach of the West Mountain racing program for alpine, free ski and snowboard competitions.<\/p>\n

With a 1,000-foot drop, 25 trails, and membership as a USAA racing club, Montgomery said West Mountain is big enough \u201cto put Warren County on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

International competitions, like giant slalom races, could bolster demand for hotels, food service and other amenities like clothing and equipment in and around Queensbury, he said.<\/p>\n

He said there are more skiers per capita in the Capital District than anywhere in the U.S., making West Mountain \u201can urban ski area only 45 minutes from Albany. It is both accessible and affordable, not charging the higher ticket prices of the big mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of activity in the area for resorts like ours,\u201d he said. \u201cI am restoring and polishing the gem that founder Michael Brandt put in place decades ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit www.westmtn.net for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan E. Campbell Spencer Montgomery and the co-owners of the West Mountain Ski Resort are within $2 million of realizing their goal of \u201crebuilding the nuts and bolts of the core business\u201d and restoring the ski area to the \u201cfamily run, family focused, affordable resort\u201d it was built to be in the early 1960s. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nWest Mountain Ownership Continues To Improve And Modernize Queensbury Resort - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2017\/12\/west-mountain-ownership-continues-improve-modernize-queensbury-resort\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"West Mountain Ownership Continues To Improve And Modernize Queensbury Resort - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan E. Campbell Spencer Montgomery and the co-owners of the West Mountain Ski Resort are within $2 million of realizing their goal of \u201crebuilding the nuts and bolts of the core business\u201d and restoring the ski area to the \u201cfamily run, family focused, affordable resort\u201d it was built to be in the early 1960s. 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