Latest news with #ski
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
What Does Ultra Wealth Look Like?
When Paul Eskenazi, the location manager for 'Mountainhead,' a new film from the 'Succession' showrunner Jesse Armstrong, set out to find a house to serve as the primary setting for this satire about a group of ultrarich tech bros, he needed a very specific kind of extravagance. In the same way that 'Succession,' which Eskenazi also worked on, reveled in 'quiet luxury,' 'Mountainhead' needed its moneyed protagonists to be living large but without flamboyance. Its characters are too wealthy for mere McMansions, and not any private residence would do. Portraying how the ultrawealthy really live — with all their subtle signals and status cues — has become something of a specialty for Armstrong and Eskenazi. It's about not just private jets and sprawling homes, but the quiet hierarchies within the top 1 percent. There's a pecking order between the 0.01 percent and the 0.001 percent, the kind of distinction that insiders equate to owning a Gulfstream G450 versus a Gulfstream G700. When Eskenazi found a lavish, 21,000-square-foot ski chalet built into a hill of Deer Valley in Utah, he knew it was the right fit — not because it was so large and impressive, though it's certainly both, but because its extravagance had a subtlety that made it almost understated. 'There's a kind of quiet wealthy embedded in that location that doesn't necessarily scream at you. It reveals itself slowly,' Eskenazi said, pointing out that it has a private gondola with direct access to a nearby ski resort. 'It's not flashy, but it's deeply exclusive — the kind of feature that signals a level of access and control money affords without ever needing to show off.' 'Mountainhead' is a tightly wound satirical chamber drama about four rich friends in tech who gather for a weekend of carousing while the world is plunged into chaos. There's Venis (Cory Michael Smith), the founder of a Twitter-like app whose new A.I. creator tools have triggered a tidal wave of online disinformation; Jeff (Ramy Youssef), whose content-moderation software holds the key to resolving global strife; Randall (Steve Carrell), an elder plutocrat with a philosophical bent; and Hugo (Jason Schwartzman), whose meager $500 million net worth has earned him the nickname 'Soups,' for 'soup kitchen.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Countdown on for 2025 ski season as first operators begin to open doors
Mt Hutt is not ruling out opening next weekend if conditions play ball. Photo: NICOLE HAWKE The countdown is on for the 2025 ski season with a North Island ski field opting for a soft launch this weekend while snow guns are blazing down in the south. Staffing and accommodation shortages have hampered ski fields in recent years, but operators said their luck had turned around and scores of people had applied to work on the slopes. Nestled on Mount Ruapehu, Tūroa Ski Area was ready to open its cafes and offer snow play and sightseeing on Saturday. Chief executive Jono Dean said people could enjoy a day in the snow before the snow bunnies started hitting the slopes next month. "There's a little bit of snow in and around bottom of the mountain just in the base area, which is really exciting and it's a good precursor to what we think is coming next week, which looks like a nice, healthy storm to get the snow off and running for 2025," he said. "As we start to snow on the ground and snow on the forecast, we'll be progressively opening lifts and facilities over the coming month of June and we anticipate readiness for the 28th of June and the start of the school holidays." The ski area had almost 1200 applicants for 200-250 jobs and was fully staffed. "It's actually a real blessing against previous years where we have really struggled in our part of the world for availability of staffing and, of course, skilled staffing," he said. In the South Island, Cardrona Alpine Resort's new Soho Express chairlift opens this season, offering 150 hectares of new terrain. Cardrona and Treble Cone Experiences general manager Laura Hedley said they had been hard at work over the warmer months to get the ski fields ready. Speaking on Friday afternoon with snow falling outside her window, she was feeling positive for the season ahead, especially with a strong group of staff - half of whom were returnees. There was less pressure on finding accommodation as they had a 120-bed backpackers they renovated about three years ago to fall back on and rentals were not quite as hard to come by, she said. "We've got staff, they've got good accommodation and we've got all these upgrades. I'm touching wood that it's going to be a good season and that mother nature comes and helps us as well." Mt Hutt was expected to lead the charge and open its slopes on Saturday after receiving more than a metre of snow in April. NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson earlier said he was pretty confident it would stick around but those hopes were dashed by nor-wester winds. "The snow around the base area just wasn't enough to get access to the lifts so we wanted to give it every chance and we threw everything at it but that early season snow can disappear early," he said. Anderson was not ruling out opening next weekend if the conditions played ball, but said Mt Hutt could always fall back to its original opening date of 13 June. Further south around Queenstown, the picture was not looking so promising earlier in the week, but he said some good wintry weather had settled in so it could crack on with snowmaking. NZSki had invested in three new groomers, about $750,000 on improving its rental equipment, more 4WD buses in Queenstown and about a million dollars spent on snowmaking across the mountains, Anderson said. After a bumpy few years for staffing, it had a record staff return rate and plenty of newcomers which he put down to people feeling more confident travelling here with memories of border closures fading and tougher economic times meaning more people were looking for work. NZSki had previously taken the plunge into accommodation, buying a hostel and offering just under 100 beds. It had also built apartments for staff and planned to build another 12 in the coming years, he said. He believed some landlords might be getting tired of offering short term rentals and putting them back onto a fixed tenancy basis, which had also eased the pressure. Looking at the forward bookings, the Queenstown slopes were getting plenty of aroha from locals and Australians, he said. The Remarkables celebrates its 40th birthday this year, and Paul Anderson said there would be a 1980s themed party in late spring so people should prepare their perms, straight skis and retro ski suits. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hospitality Net
21-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Field & Stream Lodge Co. by Starwood Capital Group
Field & Stream Lodge Co. is a hospitality platform that inspires more people to cherish adventure and the outdoors through thoughtfully designed lifestyle lodging. Rooted in the legacy of Field & Stream, an iconic American brand established in 1871, Lodge Co. reimagines this heritage for today's outdoor enthusiasts—families, first-timers, seasoned adventurers, and everyone in between. With a mission to make the Great Outdoors more accessible, it offers inviting, adventure-ready accommodations designed for comfort, connection, and exploration in some of America's most breathtaking natural destinations, including national parks, beaches, and ski towns. Founded by Starwood Capital Group and AJ Capital Partners, the platform plans to open properties nationally, creating a gateway for guests to immerse themselves in nature in unforgettable ways. For more information visit and follow @fieldandstreamlodges on Instagram. Field & Stream Lodge Co. is a brand by Starwood Capital Group Starwood Capital Group operates 4 brands
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Aldershot ski centre to reopen, council says
A "much-loved" ski centre will reopen, a council has Borough Council said Alpine Snowsports Centre in Aldershot, Hampshire, was expected to reopen later this month "with a new operator at the helm".Places Leisure, which currently operates and manages Aldershot Pools and Lido on behalf of the council, will be running the centre while the local authority explores long-term options for the Jolliffe, area manager at Places Leisure, said he hoped the reopening "will create more opportunities for people to become active and enjoy sports that are not always as easily accessible". The facility was built by the British Army in 1969 and was one of the longest synthetic ski slopes built in England at the council described it as "hugely popular", having previously attracted more than 25,000 users every year. It had offered three dry ski slopes for open sessions, and lessons and activities for all had also been a training venue for a number of high-level snow sports athletes who started their careers council said it had been informed "without warning" on 2 April that the company previously managing the centre, Active Nation UK Limited, had ceased trading at the then, it has been taking legal advice and assessing options for its future council's cabinet member for healthy communities and active lives, Sophie Porter, called the ski centre "an important facility for local people which we don't want to lose". "It's been integral to the success of winning Special Olympic gold medals and it's the first place many people learned to ski," she Jolliffe added the Places Leisure team was "committed to improving people's lives and the communities in which they live"."We hope that the reopening of the centre will create more opportunities for people to become active and enjoy sports that are not always as easily accessible," he added.A date for the reopening will be confirmed after an audit, along with information about future events and bookings. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
