No pact yet to keep Idaho resort afloat come March 

Lenders led by investment bank Credit Suisse Group and the court-appointed receiver running Tamarack Resort in northcentral Idaho have yet to agree to a renewed cash infusion needed to keep the resort afloat after February. Lawyers on Thursday described talks over the resort's financing as "challenging." A state court judge did give tentative approval to a plan to use more than $2 million remaining from a $10 million October bridge loan from the Zurich-based bank to fund operations until the end of this month. The money is left over because winterizing unfinished resort property didn't cost as much as previously anticipated.

At troubled Tamarack, once hailed as America's newest all-season resort but now mired in foreclosure lawsuits, skier visits have hit just 27,000 this year as the national economy falters and snow conditions have been less than optimal, leaving the resort with an operating deficit of $304,000 as of Jan. 23, more than the $133,555 deficit anticipated two months ago by San Diego, Calif.-based receiver Douglas Wilson Co.

"The operative part of the ski hill has proven to be more of a loss than the lender previously anticipated," Liz Walker, an attorney for Credit Suisse told 4th District Judge Patrick Owen during Thursday's hearing.

Tamarack didn't provide last year's skier figure. By contrast, the Bogus Basin ski area near Boise had 179,138 skiers through Tuesday, 3,000 more than last year.

Tamarack is currently being run by the receiver after majority owners Jean-Pierre Boespflug and Alfredo Miguel ran out of money from a $250 million syndicated construction loan, then failed to make repayments. Credit Suisse, which is working on behalf of holders of the loan, says it's now owed more than $270 million.

Work on the resort's centerpiece Village Plaza ground to a halt last year, tennis stars Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi bolted from a luxury hotel project and banks foreclosed on a conference center and employee housing at the site.

Douglas Pahl, a Portland, Ore.-based attorney for Douglas Wilson, told the judge that the inhospitable market for resort real estate and deepening global recession have made discussions over securing funding for Tamarack difficult.

"So far, we've not been successful in reaching an agreement on a longer-term budget" with Credit Suisse, Pahl said, adding that to be prudent, the receiver has modeled a range of options from March onward, ranging from full operation to a "shutdown scenario."

In a post-hearing interview with The Associated Press, Douglas Wilson, the receiver's chief executive, reiterated that no decision has been made to shutter Tamarack, which includes private real estate, a golf course, ski hill and other sporting amenities on Lake Cascade about 90 miles north of Boise.

He said the lackluster skier figures are understandable, given there was virtually no marketing for the 2008-2009 ski season until a few weeks ago.

"We had to resuscitate the patient, bring it back to life," Wilson said, adding that in addition to overseeing day-to-day operations, his company is also working to find investors other than Credit Suisse. "We'd also entertain a longer-term solution, but in today's environment, that's harder to do."

Wilson's company so far has reported expenses of some $433,000 to run Tamarack in November and December.

Additionally, those people who placed deposits on condominiums to be built as part of the unfinished Village Plaza are now demanding their money back after the units weren't delivered by Dec. 31, 2008, as promised. So far, about $6 million of $12 million in deposits has been returned, Credit Suisse lawyers said Feb. 5.

Homeowners who purchased real estate are anxious for Owen to speed resolution and clear the way for a new, long-term owner to provide clarity for Tamarack's future. Given the present uncertainty, they said, even local appraisers are struggling to discern the value of Tamarack real estate that some want to sell, on grounds the resort could be shuttered.

"If the shadow of the foreclosure wasn't there, that's a very different deal," said Rod Walz, a homeowner representative.

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