Partners pitch ‘exclusive’ club at California ski resort, spurring concern

Prospective new owners intend to revitalize the vintage Mt. Waterman ski resort in the Angeles National Forest — in part by selling exclusive access to coveted powder days to well-heeled customers and ferrying them to the mountains in chartered helicopters.

But there’s a snag: The federal agency that has the final say on what can be done at the homey 390-acre resort hasn’t approved such a plan and said it would be hesitant to sanction anything that smacked of exclusivity.

“I’m pretty confident we would not allow … any kind of exclusive use,” said the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand, who oversees the public services staff area of the Angeles National Forest.

That could throw a wrench into the business plan of the prospective owners, known as Angeles Mountain Partners LLC. They say the proceeds from what they call the Waterman100 club — a nod to the number of members — could bankroll improvements that would benefit all visitors. The words “exclusive,” “exclusively” and “exclusivity” appear at least 20 times in a presentation aimed at potential members.

Beyond the “country club-style” membership, Angeles Mountain Partners co-founders Joshua Shelton and Scott Towsley envision transforming the no-frills, more than 80-year-old resort into a contemporary outdoors playground replete with glamping, mountain coaster, tubing hill, high-end dining and snowmaking capabilities.

Club members would get to claim the mountain for themselves on “powder days,” or blue bird days immediately following a storm when conditions are peak, Shelton said.

Shelton acknowledged, however, that the owners can’t guarantee snow.

“The risk they’re willing to take will help us underwrite our entire winter season and the resort as a whole,” Shelton, an attorney, said of prospective members.

His partner Towsley is a winter resort industry veteran who operates alpine coaster parks in Big Bear and Arizona.

How to get around the fact that heavy snowfall often closes the serpentine stretch of Highway 2 leading up to the resort? “The solution is a helicopter,” the presentation says, pointing to an on-site helipad where chartered flights could quickly ferry snow seekers up to the mountain.

The membership is pitched as a lifetime amenity, but federal officials said that would not be allowed.

A business plan provided to The Times pegged the price for the first 25 members at $100,000. The cost rises by $50,000 for each additional 25 members, so that members 76 to 100 pay $250,000, according to the plan. That adds up to $17.5 million in revenue — in addition to annual membership dues of $5,000 per member, per the plan. Shelton said the membership costs are not finalized, and that these figures were used for modeling.

He also believes Forest Service officials misunderstood his plans for the club, saying they thought the intent was to sell the land to those people and totally shut out the public. “That’s the furthest from what we’re hoping to do here,” he said.

Shelton’s team has since pulled down a description of Waterman100 from a web page for the club, citing an “overflow of submissions” and a plan “to make small language edits.”

A grand plan — but not guaranteed

What’s billed as the closest resort skiing to millions of residents in the L.A. Basin began with a modest rope tow in 1939, according to the resort website. That same year, Highway 2, also known as Angeles Crest Highway, breached the San Gabriel Mountains, paving the way for crowds. The resort located right off the highway expanded over time, opening its first chairlift in 1941 and then two more over 40 years. But the digs remain rustic and bare-bones.

Shelton stands with Bodhi, his Bernese Mountain Dog, near the base of the resort right off Angeles Crest Highway.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The resort — including three chair lifts, ticket booth, warming hut with a full kitchen and a handful of snowcats and snowmobiles — was listed earlier this year for $2.3 million.

Shelton said Angeles Mountain Partners has entered into a purchase agreement with the owners, a group of friends led by Rick Metcalf, who grew up in the foothills neighborhood of La Cañada-Flintridge and learned to ski at the resort as youngsters. A press release put out by Angeles Mountain Partners in October said the group had acquired the resort. Shelton said in an interview that the sale hasn’t yet closed.

The resort, topping out at more than 8,000 feet of elevation, is located on federally owned national forest land, and anyone who hopes to operate a business on it needs a special-use permit from the Forest Service.

As of last week, Seastrand said the agency hadn’t received an application for a permit, though the prospective buyers had begun discussions with the agency and started handing over documents and other information.

Marc Ramirez, listing agent and longtime resort employee, said he’s excited by the prospect of a reinvigorated business under the prospective owners. “You go down in L.A. and 10 out of 100 people only know of Mt. Waterman,” he said. “What the heck is that?”

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Providing a place for people to hit the slopes is a “good use” of the land, Seastrand said, though the benefit of gliding down powder needs to be balanced with visitor safety, as well as protecting plants and wild animals.

Shelton stressed that his group is committed to working closely with the federal land manager and moving through all the required steps. Pointing to his legal background, he called regulations “a guide to how to do things the right way for us.”

Seastrand said the agency looks forward to working with the prospective owners. Messages may have gotten crossed, and “that’s OK,” he said. “We want what’s best for the public that can come and use the land, and we want what’s best for our business partners, too.”

Hope for a hidden gem fallen into disuse

Newcomb’s Ranch, a former restaurant located down the road from the ski resort, is closed, but some say it could reopen under new ownership. “In theory,” an activated resort “would help them,” the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand said.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Shelton, a lifelong snowboarder, grew up in the L.A. area but never ventured into the majestic mountains dotted with fragrant pines to the north, let alone cruised down the slopes of Mt. Waterman. When he saw the resort come up for sale, it instantly piqued his interest.

“I felt like this weird vibration that I’d somehow be involved,” Shelton said. Towsley is a neighbor of his in a Mojave Desert community, and when they encountered one another they both brought up the listing, he recalled.

Shelton, now a resident of Seal Beach in Orange County, said he has experience working out deals in a variety of industries. And Towsley, a skier, boasted resort operation credentials.

While Angeles Mountain Partners’ plans raised eyebrows — an SF Gate headline said the historic ski area was poised to “become a haven for the rich” — many have pointed out that it hasn’t exactly been a paradigm of public access under previous owners.

When Metcalf and company scooped up the resort in 2006, it hadn’t operated for several years and was on the verge of losing its Forest Service permit altogether, according to the resort website.

“Our goal was to save the place,” said Craig Stewart, 62, one of the current owners. “We all learned to ski here. This is our backyard.”

But it never became a reliable haven for ski-minded Angelenos, only opening occasionally to the public over the years, said Marc Ramirez, the listing agent for the property. Ramirez, a longtime resort employee, said he’s “excited to see it come back to what it can be.”

Not all local skiers are jazzed about the plans for the resort. “It’s been the butt of jokes in every group ski chat I’ve participated in,” Highland Park resident Ethan Ayer said of the idea for heli-skiing, the term for plopping skiers on mountaintops via helicopter.

Helicopter rides aren’t cheap, and those who heli-ski are often whisked to harrowing peaks in Alaska or British Columbia. “If you’re going to invest that much money, you would likely be a passionate skier, and the terrain at Waterman isn’t for passionate skiing,” Ayer, 46, said.

Craig Stewart, a co-owner of the ski resort, called the mountain where he learned to ski “our backyard.” The goal of purchasing the property many years ago was to save it from shuttering for good.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Making up for Mother Nature

Perhaps the biggest possible impediment to the team’s success is the region’s frequent lack of snow — and a current lack of snowmaking capabilities to make up for what Mother Nature doesn’t provide. Two other resorts in the San Gabriels — Mountain High and Mt. Baldy — can manufacture powder.

Waterman’s prospective owners say they intend to bring in snowmaking, which could expand a season from a couple of weeks to almost half a year.

However, it is another aspect of the vision that isn’t assured. Seastrand, a supervisory natural resource specialist for the Forest Service, said there was reason to be optimistic it could pan out but it would hinge on finding a water source.

“It’s a relatively dry part of the forest,” he said. “There’s not a giant river anywhere around there.” Typically, a well would be the answer, but “you’re not guaranteed to just go drill a well and tap sufficient water.”

Shelton said his team feels “very comfortable with the available water supply on the mountain.” Ramirez said there are three wells on the property, as well as a 4-million-gallon reservoir. Towsley has expertise in the matter, having designed and installed snowmaking systems for ski resorts across the U.S., according to company documents.

It wouldn’t happen overnight, though.

The first step would be securing conceptual acceptance from forest officials as part of a long-term planning document. Before installing lines and developing a water source, they’d need to go through environmental and other review, officials said.

Shelton estimates it would take at least three years from their launch date. Until then, he expects to open for about 18 to 20 days for general public use.

Dreaming of a shiny new future

On a recent visit, Shelton walked the humble grounds and began painting a picture of what could be, with his 154-pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Bodhi, ambling amiably by his side. He gestured toward a patch of land off a path covered in pine needles and construction vehicles. That’s where he says 20 yurt-style tents will go.

At the edge of a precipice, a flat surface formed a small helipad. Their intention is to expand it so it will double as an overlook offering sweeping views of the mountains that seem to repeat endlessly until they fade into the crisp blue November sky. That would make it more worthwhile for folks who take the lift up, he reasoned.

“This I think could kind of tie that together with, like, let’s go up there, have a glass of wine and sit on the edge of the scenic point,” he said.

Shelton stands with his dog, Bodhi, inside the no-frills warming hut.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)