Updated at 10:42am: WolfNC.com NOW down and reflecting the following:
…people ARE paying attention to what we are saying AND forces behind this story – related to WolfNC.com – are evidently hopping all over the place to put a hold on this story. Now their website is DOWN and showing a countdown clock that seems to hint that they will "Be back" January 15th. More drama.
Our calls to Arthur Webster, LLC, and Mr Wheatley have gone unreturned thus far. Tonette Fisk attempted to contact their "offices" in Pawley's Island, SC and the phone was simply answered, "Hello" indicating something other than a large development office. Tonette was told that they would pass our messages on to Mr. Wheatley.
We are now attempting contact with other sources close to the resort. Of course, if we could JUST get a conversation with Orville English perhaps this could be "cleaned up" in minutes. Then again, maybe they don't WANT this to be cleaned up just yet. ANY kind of publicity about a potential "new Wolf Ridge Resort" is good publicity and the countdown clock certainly seems to hint that indeed something IS coming soon.
Of course this is MORE speculation (as if we need more) but we are beginning to think that either THERE IS A SALE closing soon on the resort or this is one huge scam bit of news to stir up people to talk about Wolf.
NOT YET FAT TUESDAY, BUT WEIRD TUESDAY
Tuesday was one of THE weirdest days for me since I've been posting news to SkiNC and Ski Southeast. Bear in mind that I have experienced some 2720 days of winter BLOGGING and posted some 5000+ stories and Tuesday, January 8th, 2013 will probably go down as one of – if not THE – strangest in terms of subject and content.
Of course there's always today so stay tuned.
I heard from a bunch of you overnight about the Wolf Ridge Sale/No Sale and most seem to be as confused as I am. One of those emailers came from the "Toronto contact" and he reminded me, "…I agree from your posting – someone used an entity in Toronto, ( a city of 5 million people to do the url listing) but it sure wasn't me."
His email was quite a bit longer and provided some insight as to his thoughts and contacts at Wolf. I never really considered that he might be involved in some way. It only added to the cloak and dagger feel of the story since the WolfNC.com domain was registered to an entity in Toronto in mid December, 2012.
If you are reading this and are wondering "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS GUY ALLUDING TO?" then simply look over to the right of this story and read the following two BLOGS:
1. Wolf Ridge Resort is UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP…
2. What the???? Part Two of As the Mountain Turns.
I have not had a moment to research this further, but I will. I can tell you that as of this morning the WolfNC.com website is STILL running. It IS missing the navigation link "About Us" that WAS running as shown in Tuesday afternoon's update. WHOEVER is controlling that website HAS made changes to the navigation at the top of the website because they have added more content up there which has BLOWN the page up for many browsers. (The nice images at the top are all pushed to the right on many browsers. This is further proof that whoever IS doing this is NOT a professional design firm.)
Additionally I think there IS something to the idea that perhaps it IS the current managers of Wolf Ridge Mountaintop Grill who are behind this. Those are the people who have been (evidently) telling all who would listen that they already OWN the resort. That is STILL baffling to me. If it isn't true then how the heck are they still being allowed to run the restaurant.
Of course there is the "Thursday News Conference" rumor/fact that is still out there. This has the same feel as the Mayan's Calendar and Nostradamus "end of the world" stuff that was supposed to happen by the end of December 2012. Most of the links and content on the WolfNC.com website all alluded to "coming 2012-2013". Maybe THEY were believers in the Mayan crap and figured they had nothing to lose in telling all who would listen that they were buying the resort.
Anyway – I KNEW you guys would be coming back here to see any updates on the saga. For right now, we know nothing more other than the little tidbits I just shared. I'll make some calls…although attempts to reach the managers of Mountaintop Grill have gone unsuccessful and Orville English isn't talking to me.
I'll try to get to it today, but if not we can all wait to see if indeed some news conference takes place Thursday.
UNTIL THEN (or later today)…THERE'S THE JANUARY THAW TO DISCUSS
Herb Stevens posted his newest audio/video for the WV Ski resorts and it matches that of Brad Panovich's latest Ski and Snowboarder's Forecast for the entire Southeast and Mid Atlantic.
Herb says to remind you all that, "Manmade snow is FIVE TIMES MORE DENSE than natural snow and with the forecasted night time temps, the snow that is on the open trails at all of our resorts will hold up nicely for this short-lived, mild spell."
You guys can see Herb's WV Forecast by going to our Weather pages or at the video links at the bottom of the front page of our SkiSoutheast.com website. Both Herb's and Brad's videos display there and you can always watch both.
You can ALSO go to www.HighCountryWeather.com and if you click on ANY of the WV ski resorts weather pages there's a tab at the top for "Skier's Forecast" and if you look at any WV ski area you will see Herb's report. If you click on a North Carolina weather page you can see Brad's. Convenient, huh.
Go here today: http://www.highcountryweather.com/weather-davis-wv-timberline.php and click on Skier's Forecast to see Herb's latest.
For Brad's forecast check the vids on the front page or go to: http://www.highcountryweather.com/weather-blowing-rock-nc.php and click the Skier's Forecast tab.
Brad's video had an interesting image of the "heat miser" which basically tells us that it's going to feel more like Spring than Winter these next few days. He and Herb both hint that this little burst of Spring will only last from today through the weekend and then by early to mid next week things will turn COLD. In fact Brad is saying that we will probably see THE COLDEST air in the last couple of seasons with highs in the teens to perhaps even colder. The cold temps that are headed our way look to be sticking around through the rest of this month into February so that means that the ski resorts will be in the best shape of the season as we get into the PEAK of the season.
Kenny Griffin and Adam Goudelock both hit the slopes over at Appalachian Ski Mountain last night and from all indications the snow was great. Take it from us that the loose granular conditions that you'll find across the entire region right now are "ego building" conditions. What I mean by that is that they are easy to ski or ride on/in and very forgiving for newbies as well.
Enjoy your day…and check back for updates on all that is happening around the region.
Email me at: [email protected]