Own the Slopes - Resorts West

R E A L E S T A T E | Judy Kenninger
52 • = • Holiday Issue 2009
Own the Slopes
Luxe ski real estate with year-round appeal has buyers looking
to the Rockies and beyond.
Resorts West’s Ski Dream Home is a six-bedroom,
10-bathroom home at 8,000 feet on Deer Valley’s
Little Baldy Peak in Utah.

When it comes to ski real estate, on the mountain
is best, says Joe Ballstaedt, president of Resorts
West, a Park City, Utah-based resort management
and real estate firm. “In a ski property, access to great skiing
is No. 1,” he says. “Buyers are also looking for a home that
will afford them the opportunity to relax and have fun with
their companions. And, they like to have some place close
by with great restaurants and entertainment.”
In answer to those demands, Ballstaedt is quick to offer up
one of his company’s premier listings: The Ski Dream Home,
a six-bedroom, 10 bathroom home at 8,000 feet on Deer
Valley’s Little Baldy Peak.
Step into your skis just 20 feet from the après ski room and
schuss down to a high-speed lift or gondola at Deer Valley
Resort, ranked No. 1 by Ski Magazine readers in 2009. Then
there’s the in-home golf simulator, spa, “chill room” with a
dance floor and pool table, home theater with a high-
definition projector and 124-inch screen, two outdoor fire
pits, and two wine cellars. And just down the mountain,
Park City has more than 100 restaurants and bars, along with
the Sundance Film Festival each January. “You’re just five
minutes from nightlife, restaurants, and art galleries,” he
says. Priced at $18.9 million, this home has it all.
But if you’re looking for a vacation home, this home — at
14,000 square feet — might be more than you’re ready to
bite off. Here, STRATOS details some other option in ski real
estate that marry great access with year-round action.
Chill in Colorado
If you ski down from Peak 8 at Breckenridge (Colorado)
Ski Resort, you can’t miss the newest attraction: One Ski Hill
Place. Scheduled to open just after ski season in 2010, the
project will be managed by RockResorts and feature 88
whole-ownership condominiums from studios to four-
“In a ski property, access to great skiing is
No. 1,” says Joe Ballstaedt, president of
Resorts West, a Park City, Utah-based resort
management and real estate firm.
Holiday Issue 2009 • = • 53

At Equity Estates, each fund is limited to 300 members
who each invest $375,000. The real estate will be sold in
12 years and the profits divided among investors, such
as this property in Telluride, Colorado.
bedroom units. Amenities include restaurants, an aquatics
center with two pools and hot tubs, a fitness center, a steam
room, an outdoor plaza with fireplace, a two-lane bowling
alley, and heated underground parking.
But the property, however great, is just the icing on the
cake for those who love Breckenridge. “Buyers fall in love
with Breckenridge because of its charm and character,” says
Christine Berwyn, senior marketing project manager for Vail
Resorts Development Company. “After that, they choose real
estate.”
The resort’s gondola system connects Peak 8 to
downtown Breckenridge, providing easy access. Even
easier, the resort will also provide shuttle service to whisk
owners off to after-ski activities in winter or golf in summer.
“This is a luxury property, so we’re here to look after the
owners,” Berwyn explains.
For Mark Wong, a biofuels executive from Boulder,
Colorado, One Ski Hill is his second property in the area.
“I’ve been coming to Breckenridge for 20 years,” he says.
“It’s a great mountain, always well-groomed. And we love
the town because it was here way before the ski resort, so
it has history. It’s not a created town.”
Wong moved up to a large unit at One Ski Hill so his four
grown children will be comfortable when the family
vacations together. “Two of my kids live in Denver,” he says,
“so they’re looking forward to coming here to mountain
54 • = • Holiday Issue 2009
bike, fish and ski.”
Prices start in the mid-$600,000 range and go upwards of
$2 million for larger residences.
Doug Krieger, a Columbus, Ohio, business owner feels the
same way about Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he
recently purchased a two-bedroom condominium at
Trailhead Lodge in the Wild Horse Meadows community.
“Steamboat gets 500 inches of powder,” he says. “We just
love the town and the laid-back attitude there. We love it
during the summer, too, when we play golf, hike and bike.”
Opened in May of 2009, Trailhead Lodge has 86 fully
furnished condominium units priced from $800,000, with
three-bedroom with den units reaching $2 million.
Indoor/outdoor spaces and large windows take advantage
of the spectacular views.
Starting this February, a new $7-million gondola will
whisk owners from the lodge’s steps to the ski resort’s base
in four minutes. Other amenities include a game room, Wild
Horse Meadows’ Ranch House, an athletic club with pools
and an old-fashioned general store.
Options Open
For those who can’t be tied to just one great ski resort,
Equity Estates has a plan to suit. The Equity Estates model is
investment funds that purchase vacation real estate. Each
fund is limited to 300 members who each invest $375,000.

The real estate will be sold in 12 years and the profits
divided among investors. Annual shared expenses are
$16,500, which entitles members to up to 30 nights of use
each year.
Equity Estates Fund I currently has homes in Telluride,
Colorado and Deer Valley, Utah. “The majority of our ski
homes will be ski-in/ski-out,” says Philip Mekelburg, the
company’s CEO. “Some of our larger homes may require a
short shuttle ride.”
For example, at Deer Valley a boot butler will come to the
home and fit everyone in your party with equipment and
take it to the lodge so it’s ready when you are. “We make
sure our members have everything they need,” says Adam
Case, president. “It can be anything from groceries to lastminute
cigar runs to hot-air balloon rides.”
Although Alec Fraser, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attorney,
originally joined Equity Estates for its Manhattan home, he’s
now a fan of the group’s ski lodging, too. “The Telluride
place is just fabulous,” he says. “You’re transported into
another world with incredible views. It’s very rustic and very
luxe at the same time.”
The staff at the homes has become a “second family,”
Fraser says. “They do everything, and with three kids, we
really appreciate having the skis
waiting and ready to go.”
The newest offering of the Ritz-
Carlton Destination Club at Lake
Tahoe, California, opens December
18 and features 78 ski-in/ski-out
residences adjacent to the Ritz-
Carlton Highlands Resort so
owners can enjoy the spa and
other amenities.
The two-, three-, and fourbedroom
residences are midmountain
at Northstar Highlands,
and are also connected to the
Village at Northstar via an intermountain
gondola. “Our guests
can be the first ones out on the
mountain,” says Deanna Rastetter,
director of marketing. Post-ski,
owners will want to check out the
17,000 Highlands spa, which has a
water and woods theme. “It’s all
connected, so just walk over in
your slippers and robe,” Rastetter
says.
Dr. Christopher Leggett, a
cardiologist from Atlanta, Georgia,
is such a fan of the Ritz-Carlton ski
experience that his new condo at
Lake Tahoe is his second with the club; he also owns at
Bachelor Gulch in Colorado. “They do everything at a
consistently high level,” he says. “I like the feeling that no
matter where we are going, I know I’ll like what I’m getting.
And if anything does go wrong, it’ll be taken care of.”
The Ritz-Carlton Club is sold as deeded, fractional real
estate, starting in the low $200,000s. Members have
reciprocal-use privilege at other club properties, including
the ski destinations of Bachelor Gulch, Aspen Highlands and
Vail Resorts in Colorado.
Those in the Eastern part of the United States can find
enjoyable skiing a little closer to home at Creekside at Boyne
Mountain, a condominium community in Boyne Falls,
Michigan. The two- to four-bedroom units feature
indoor/outdoor fireplaces and start $289,000 for wholeownership,
with one-quarter fractions starting at $69,000,
fully furnished.
Less than a mile from the Grand Mountain Lodge, owners
here have access to the Disciples II ski lift and can take the
trails back to their own doors. “It’s as close to skiing as you
could possibly get,” says Matt Rader, a resort sales specialist
for Boyne Realty.
With snowmaking, the ski season usually starts off around
Spacious ranch sites of approximately 20 acres, less than
an hour from Lake Tahoe in Smith Valley, Nevada. Paved roads,
fenced, and more. From the low $400s with financing available.
www.simpsoncolonyestates.com
Holiday Issue 2009 • = 12:01:58 • 55
PM

56 • = • Holiday Issue 2009
Opened in May of 2009, Trailhead Lodge in the Wild
Horse Meadows community in Steamboat Springs,
Colorado, features 86 fully furnished condominium
units priced from $800,000, with three-bedroom with
den units reaching $2 million.

Thanksgiving and runs until St. Patricks Day, Rader says.
“We don’t have the altitude, but we’re further north, so it’s
colder.”
Although the vertical drop doesn’t rival the big mountains
of the West, the convenience and four-season versatility of
the resort more than make up for it. “There’s so much to do
here,” says Glenn Hitchcock, who owns an engineering firm
in the Detroit area. “With skiing, golf, the water park,
boating and tennis, it’s truly a year-round experience.”
All owners at Boyne properties receive a membership to
the Country Club of Boyne, which affords discounts on all
Boyne amenities (including the 88,000-square-foot
Avalanche Bay indoor water park) and the club’s two golf
courses. The Monument Course is a composite of dramatic
and challenging golf holes of widely varying character,
reflecting the distinct design philosophies of such noted
architects as Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, George Fazio,
and Pete Dye.
And when you’re ready to take your skiing prowess to
bigger slopes, owners can exchange through Boyne
Vacation Club to sister resorts at Big Sky, Montana; Brighton
Resort in Utah; the Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington,
and Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, British Columbia, the
official freestyle skiing and snowboard venue for the 2010
Olympic Winter Games.
= Details
• CREEKSIDE AT BOYNE MOUNTAIN
Boyne Falls, Michigan.....................................................(231) 549-6090
www.boynerealty.com
• EQUITY ESTATES
Atlanta, Georgia................................................................(404) 531-8982
www.equityestatesfund.com
• ONE SKI HILL PLACE
Breckenridge, Colorado ..................................................(888) 652-9120
www.oneskihillplace.com
• RESORTS WEST
Park City, Utah...................................................................(435) 655-7006
www.resortswest.com
• RITZ CARLTON CLUB, LAKE TAHOE
Truckee, California...........................................................(407) 345-6150
www.ritzcarltondestinationclub.com
• TRAILHEAD LODGE AT WILD HORSE MEADOWS
Steamboat Springs, Colorado .......................................(877) 886-7772
www.wildhorsemeadows.com
Holiday Issue 2009 • = • 57