Ski Bluewood Under Contract, Expected To Open This Season

DAYTON - If all goes as planned in the next several weeks, Ski Bluewood will be open under new owner­ship and management for the 2010 - 2011 ski season. A regional Tri-Cities-based group of investors, led by Bluewood ski instructors Kelly and Mike Stephen­son,

has agreed to buy the resort from Stan and Nancy Goodell and is busily pre­paring the mountain for the upcoming season. "Ski Bluewood is a huge resource for this area and for families," said Mike Ste­phenson, managing partner of WGSKI, the limited liabil­ity company being formed to purchase the resort. "It's a resource that can't go away."

WGSKI, which has long-term plans to turn Ski Bluewood into a year-round recreation destination, has entered into a purchase and sales agreement with the Goodells and will wrap up its inspection contingency later this month before closing scheduled Nov. 1. "It's time for new blood," Stan Goodell said. "It's their show now." Opening a new chapter in the resort's history after 26 years of ownership under the Goodells, the deal bodes well for the region's ski commu­nity and Columbia County's economy, whose health, particularly in the winter months, depends heavily on visitor traffic to Ski Blue­wood. "I can't think of better news for our community," said Lisa Ronnberg, director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. "It's the perfect answer to the whole situa­tion." The prospective new owners said their group of backers has the financial resources to not only buy the resort's fixed assets but also catch up on deferred main­tenance and make long-term improvements. These details will be submitted as a multi-year plan to the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that owns the land on which the resort is built.

"We're pleased that op­erations (at Bluewood) will continue," said Larry Ran­dall,

recreational program manager for the Umatilla National Forest. "We're im­pressed with the Stephen­sons' energy, enthusiasm and knowledge of what needs to be done to open for the sea­son. So far so good." The Stephensons, who live in Kennewick but are well known on the mountain because of their dedication to its ski school, said their first priority is to pass the various annual safety inspections, set up their new business ac­counts and simply get ready to open the doors to the lodge by the time there's enough snow to start operations on the mountain. That could be as early as Thanksgiving.

The new owners will op­erate under the Goodells' current permit with the U.S. Forest Service until their own paperwork has been ap­proved

later this fall. As new owners, the Stephensons are gathering documents to show they can meet "technical" and "financial" requirements to be reviewed by the Forest Service, a process Randall said could be complete by mid November. The Stephensons will start operating from Ski Bluewood's office on Main Street in Dayton as soon as the transaction closes. They have assumed the lease for the downtown space. "We'll be working 24-7 to get ready," Kelly Stephenson said, pointing out that a lot of preparations for a new season are normally done in spring and early fall. The checklist includes the lifts, grooming operations, the retail shop, ski school, training sched­ules, rental equipment up­dates, food service, licenses and many other aspects of what amounts to a small winter village entirely run on its own power-generator system. "I'm confident they will pull it off," said Goodell from his home in Oysterville, Wash. "I'm very heartened there will be the ability to open this season." Stress tests have already been performed and passed "with flying colors" on the lift cables and seats, the Stephensons said. A second critical inspection of all the other moving parts to the lifts' operation, its generator and its backup systems will happen later this month. "The crew that has kept that mountain going is awe­some," Mike Stephenson said. "(Lift) Safety should be the last thing on your mind when you go skiing. That crew goes above and beyond the requirements."

About 90 percent of key management positions have already been filled and a job fair to be scheduled for some time in the next few weeks will help recruit for most of the remaining jobs. "There will be some new faces and a lot of old faces," he said, explaining that the Goodells let their entire staff go at the end of the 2009 - 2010 season, and some have gone on to findother winter jobs. The couple, whose "tight group" of partners will be "silent" and let the Stephen­sons manage Ski Bluewood day-to-day, said they do not intend to raise lift ticket prices and will honor the 376 season passes sold before the Goodells closed the resort for their last season earlier this year. They said they will make only minor changes to the resort this first year as they will barely have enough time to get ready for the season. Among a few immediate changes are upgrades to the bathrooms, the addition of an espresso bar in the cafeteria and the installation of TV screens in the pub and the lunchroom. The Stephensons also plan to add more entertain­ment and special activities throughout the season. Some ideas include a pass-holder appreciation day, a winter carnival and other events that will add to the fun of skiing at Bluewood.

Long term, the Stephen­sons and their partners want to create a more comfort­able

seating arrangement in the cafeteria for parents or visitors who don't neces­sarily

ski all day, upgrade the pub and food service, introduce wine tasting, add snowboarding facilities such as a training park with rails and a half pipe, put in cross-country trails that can be used for other outdoor activities during the summer, pos­sibly introduce night skiing (lighting options may be limited by Bluewood's gen­erator system) and eventually add another lift (plans were designed under the Goodells but never executed). If approved by the U.S. Forest Service, future sum­mer activities could include concerts, a challenge course, zip lines, an archery target circuit, hiking, biking and wine events. The Stephen­sons said they welcome com­munity input to help develop different improvements to the mountain to make it bet­ter

as a regional recreation destination.

Randall said the Stephen­sons' permit, once issued, will be good for 40 years and give them fiveyears to sub­mit long-range plans. Mike Stephenson, 53, who has been a ski instructor at Bluewood for 15 years and directed its Learning Center, will continue to perform that role, while Kelly, 47, who has years of experience in retail and office administration "will be everywhere."

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