Is winter back for an encore? Thus far it's been a disappointing performance.

            Just when hope was dwindling for a recharge of this winter’s snowpack a strong weather system rolled into the Cascades on Presidents Day, with Mt. Bachelor reporting more than a foot of the fluffy stuff over a 48 hour period.

Freshies at Mt. Bachelor early Presidents Day

            Even down the road halfway back to downtown Bend the trail groomer for Meissner Nordic area was merrily setting new cross country tracks where only a week before there was bare ground.

            With single digit temperatures forecast for the evening and cold expected for much of the week it appeared that mid-February was giving a reprieve for an otherwise lackluster snow season.

Grooming video at Meissner

                        

            Even so, a much warmer than normal winter has the Oregon vineyard industry concerned that vines may begin to produce buds prematurely—raising the risk of a later hard freeze causing damage.

            However, the uptick in high country snow is welcomed by hay ranches and growers who depend on irrigation from the Deschutes River and its tributaries.

            As of Presidents Day the SnoTel instruments maintained by the Natural Resources Conservation Service showed that the basin snow water equivalent had dropped to 28%, down from about 51% on Feb 1. Precipitation was at 78% of normal Feb 19.

            It will likely be a few days before the new snowfall is reflected in the SnoTel instrument readings.

Florida mega-millonaire buys Eagle Crest Resort for $12 million

            Another of the resort properties acquired from window and door manufacturer Jeld-Wen in 2010 has changed hands, this time Eagle Crest Resort near Redmond which was among the first generation of destination vacation developments in Central Oregon.

            A deed filed Februay 5 with the Deschutes County County Clerk shows that Eagle Crest Acquisition Group bought the resort property from Eagle Crest Resort Development LLC for $12 million. Another filing the same day records a deed of trust from the buyer to Bank of America for $11.5 mllion.

            The recorded transaction lists the transfer of about 80 separate properties including condos, lots and the commercial village center.

            The possible sale of Eagle Crest was revealed in January by a spokesman for Northview Hotel Group which had acqui

View to Smith Rock from Eagle Crest golf course

red the resort in 2010 along with the Running Y near Klamath Falls and Brasada Ranch east of Bend. 

            The spokesman said then that Eagle Crest was performing well but that Northview’s primary capital partner, Oaktree Capital, was interested in a sale, according to previously published reports.

            Northview previously sold the Running Y in September of 2014 to CLV Propeties, with William Lynch listed as the principal, for slightly more than $3 million.

             Eagle Crest Acquisition is registered in the state of Oregon with a mailing address on Mariner Street in Tampa, FL., the same address listed for KDG Capital LLC, which research shows is controlled by Dr. Kiran Patel, a cardiologist, healthcare entrepreneur and philanthropist who has revived and sold several health management organizations (HMOs).

            A December 2017 profile in Florida Trend business magazine notes that Patel has made “hundreds of millions in growing and selling health care companies” and that he and wife, Pallavi, a pediatrician, have donated more than $240 million to education, arts and healthcare causes in Florida.

            Patel’s first major acquisition in the HMO sector was in 1987 when he bought WellCare, at the time close to failure, and built it into a $1 billion revenue operation that was acquired in 2002 by an investment group, including hedge fund manager George Soros, for an estiimated $400 million.

            In  2007 he bought America’s 1^st Choice, another struggling HMO, which he divested in October of 2017 to healthcare giant Anthem for what Florida Trend says was likely around $1 billion. At the time revenue was reported to be $1.4 billion.

            The magazine reported that Patel bought several beachfront parcels in Clearwater Beach, FL in the mid-2000s for $40 million and demolished three hotels on the properties. In January of 2017 Patel held a grand opening for the $175 million, 750,000 square foot Wyndham Grand resort on the site.

            Among other lodging investments by Patel and affiliated investors are the Hyatt Regency in Sarasota, FL; a 230-room Mariott in Minneapolis; and 316-room Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. All have been acquired in the past year according to various online research sources.

Low snow year at Mt. Bachelor but hope for late season boost

            For many locals eager for deep powder days the 2017-2018 Mt. Bachelor ski season has been a disappointment going into February.

            But some patient veterans are reminding that, while 2018 has not been a banner year, several recently past seasons have performed more poorly. And they’re keeping a bright outlook for February into April, which are often the  most bountiful months for building snowpack.

            Looking at the database of www.onthesnow.com , as of January 31 of this year the lower mountain snowbase was 66 inches at Mt. Bachelor. That’s a 26% deficit to the 90 inches reported for the same date of 2017.

            But going back to 2010, the current base is ahead of the 54 and 42 inch bases for the same January 31 in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

            The perception of this year's slump is partially the result of comparison with the previous year when colder temperatures and strong weather systems resulted in several feet of snow at lower elevations, including in Bend where major snowfall in January of 2017 brought disastrous street conditions, roof collapses including an elementary school gym and ice dam headaches for homeowners.

            Thus far this year snow has been largely a no-show in town, with barely a day or two of any measureable white stuff that mostly disappeared quickly. Closer-in Nordic ski areas, such as Meissner within 20 minutes of downtown Bend, that usually have reliable snow from December into March have been on limited operation with grooming scaled back to preserve the scant snowpack. Late January snowfall increased the Deschutes Basin snow water equivalent from 40% of the median normal on Jan 9 to 51% Feb. 1 according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

           

Mt. Bachelor webcam view downhill Feb 6

         The onthesnow.com database shows that since 2010 the deepest January 31 snowbase at Mt. Bachelor was 114 inches in 2016, followed by 106 inches in 2013. The maximum base depths starting in December and running into the following Spring were all recorded in late March and April, holding out hope that this year will get a late season boost.

            Peak full season snowbases for 2010 though 2017 seaons were reported on March 28 of 2011 and April 2 of 2012, both registered at 170 inches. The lowest snowbase depth for a season was reported on February 28 of 2015, at only 53 inches. It was the only year since 2010 with a seasonal base depth that never topped 100 inches.