Yellowstone Club

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The Yellowstone Club, also Yellowstone Ski Resort, is a residential club, ski resort, and golf resort located in the state of Montana, USA. The Rocky Mountain ski and golf club is located in eastern Madison County, just west of Big Sky, Montana, south of Bozeman and northwest of Yellowstone National Park. The club entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2008 [1] and emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009. It is owned by investors led by CrossHarbor Capital Partners, and is operated by Discovery Land Company.

History

During its peak season, almost 600 people are employed at the club.[2]

The club was featured on CNBC's lifestyle show High Net Worth with Tyler Mathisen.

Cyclist Greg LeMond, an early investor and homeowner/member, sued the club in 2006, saying club founder Tim Blixseth and his former wife Edra Denise (Crocker) Blixseth had borrowed $375 million from Credit Suisse Group and took $209 million for themselves as a dividend, jilting him and other investors. The suit was settled in 2008 for $39.5 million.[3] Ms. Blixseth eventually agreed to pay Mr. LeMond and others a $21.5 million settlement; she’s paid only $8 million of that amount and Mr. LeMond and others are now among her creditors in her personal bankruptcy.[4]

Other members identified in, or cited in, the Times report were Burt Sugarman, a Beverly Hills businessman, and his wife, the Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart; Steve Burke, the chief operating officer of Comcast; Bill Frist, the former Senate majority leader; Todd Thomson, the former head of Citigroup’s private banking unit; Robert Greenhill, founder of the investment bank Greenhill & Company; Annika Sörenstam, the Swedish golf star; Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Jim Davidson, a founder of Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm in Menlo Park (CA); Brian Klein, a former Goldman Sachs vice president who now runs an investment management firm in Seattle; Peter Chernin of the News Corporation; Barry Sternlicht, the hotelier and CEO of Starwood Capital Group; and Gary Rieschel, a venture capitalist with Qiming Venture Partners. Jack Kemp, the late U.S. politician, was on the club’s honorary board of directors with Mr. Quayle, among others.

The Times said that as of June 2009, Yellowstone Club had about 250 members. It said membership cost a minimum of $250,000 to join, plus the cost of a $5 million to $35 million mountainside home, plus annual dues of about $20,000, according to members.[4]

2008-2009 Bankruptcy protection

On November 10, 2008, in the midst of the economic downturn, the Yellowstone Club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It emerged from protection under new ownership on July 19, 2009.[5] When filing, the Club's prior owners owed US$343 million to creditors, such as banks and local contractors.[1]

In June 2009 Edra Blixseth spoke to a reporter for The New York Times about her and her ex-husband's business affairs from Porcupine Creek, her 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) estate in Rancho Mirage, CA. She said she had hoped to retain the Club and her various estates and make Porcupine Creek income-producing with its 240-acre (0.97 km2) private golf course. However, Porcupine Creek was sold to Larry Ellison in 2011 for $42.9 million by creditors who also sold the Blixseth's Chateau de Farcheville in France and other assets.[6]

As part of the bankruptcy resolution, the Yellowstone Club was sold for $115 million to a private equity firm, CrossHarbor Capital Partners affiliated with a Yellowstone Club member, Sam Byrne. Prior to the bankruptcy and disclosure of the Credit Suisse-Blixseth loan details, negotiations with that same buyer had put a $400 million price tag on the club. In the 2009 bankruptcy transaction, Byrne also "invested $75 million above the purchase price in repairs and set aside an additional $15 million to pay the club’s creditors," according to the Times.[4] The deal was brokered by Jeff Woolson, Managing Director of the CBRE Golf & Resort Properties Group,[7] and Steve Lehr, Managing Director of CBRE's Land Services Group. CB Richard Ellis was selected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to market the property because of the firm's successful track record handling complicated transactions.

In November 2010 some parts of the bankruptcy reorganization were appealed[8] by former owner Tim Blixseth, particularly those concerning the settlement with Credit Suisse and aspects of the bankruptcy allowing creditors to pursue Blixseth for "hundreds of millions" they claim he siphoned from the Club for his personal use.[9] In 2012 Blixseth's appeals were dismissed by the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit.[10]

Location and Ski Mountain

Most of the ski runs are on Pioneer Mountain which is located here: 45°13′52.98″N 111°27′4.52″W / 45.2313833°N 111.4512556°W / 45.2313833; -111.4512556Coordinates: 45°13′52.98″N 111°27′4.52″W / 45.2313833°N 111.4512556°W / 45.2313833; -111.4512556. Pioneer Mountain has a summit elevation of 9,859 feet (3,005 m).

The resort itself has several lifts and ski runs that tie it directly into Big Sky Resort's lift system. The Big Sky ski area and the Yellowstone Club share a five mile border.

Snowfall averages approximately 300 inches a year and is very consistent from year to year and week to week. Although one of the few western ski resorts located east of the continental divide, the area receives consistent light snows. The club's tagline is "Private Powder" and this is made possible by frequent snows and low skier traffic.

The ski terrain is extensive and varied and compares favorably with other well known ski resorts. Pioneer Ridge has numerous "double black" expert runs and challenging chutes. The west side of Pioneer Mountain is a vast forest for tree skiing. Lower Pioneer Mountain and Andesite Mountain are dotted with high speed chairlifts and mainly intermediate ski runs. The mountain has 2200 acres for skiing.

The club also features cross country skiing, ice skating and numerous indoor activities. Many additional recreational opportunities are available in summer including golf, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, and fly fishing.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Yellowstone Ski Resort for Super Rich Files Bankruptcy". Fox News. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 
  2. ↑ Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Trickle-down economics
  3. ↑ Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News: Cash stops flowing at Yellowstone
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Checkmate at the Yellowstone Club" by Amy Wallace, The New York Times, June 13, 2009 (p. BU1 6/14/09 NY ed.). Retrieved 6/14/09.
  5. ↑ http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_9bdc90aa-35ae-11df-94c0-001cc4c002e0.html
  6. ↑ Twisted saga involving former billionaire Tim Blixseth takes another turn, Forbes, April 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ http://cbregolf.com/
  8. ↑ Yellowstone Club Bankruptcy Reorganization Overturned Bloomberg Businessweek, November 3, 2010
  9. ↑ Judge pins Yellowstone Club collapse on founder Tim Blixseth, Oregonian, August 17, 2012.
  10. ↑ Timothy Blixseth v. Stephen Brown, et al, Case: 12-35193, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Dismissed, August 7, 2012.

External links

Alpine areas
Summer Ski Areas
  • Red Lodge International Summer Ski and Snowboard Camp
Cross country areas
Cat Skiing
  • Great Northern Powder Guides
Defunct Ski Areas
  • Shangri-La
  • Sundance
  • Willow Creek
  • Lionshead
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