to the east The majority owners of Tamarack Resort filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 20, 2008. Tamarack had been planned to be a $1.5 billion destination resort with 62 ski runs, 7
chairlifts, two golf courses, and plentiful
mountain biking trails by 2015–20. Patrick H. Owen, a fourth district judge in Boise, appointed a receiver in October 2008 to oversee the operations of the resort, at the request of
Credit Suisse, the major financer. The receiver, the Douglas Wilson Co. of
San Diego, determined in February 2009 that the operating losses were too great and closed Tamarack to the public with over a month remaining in the ski season. The final day of lift-served skiing was Wednesday, March 4, 2009; the resort was effectively shuttered that evening. In June 2009, the resort announced that it was reopening its 18-hole golf course (2006) and zip lines (2007) through a partnership with an operating company; the golf course reopened in late July and the zip line a few days later. Since 2008,
Bank of America threatened to remove two
chairlifts that the resort had fallen behind in payments on. Judge Michael McLaughlin denied their request on July 2; the quad chairlifts in question were the resort's two newest,
Wildwood Express (
detachable) at the northern boundary and
Buttercup (fixed-grip) in the Whitewater residential area. In September, the Tamarack Homeowners' Association formed an unincorporated organization called West Mountain Preservation Management Association. It filed a motion to reopen Tamarack Resort for the 2009–10 season, using $8 million from a
Mexican real estate company, but did not pursue the motion, and the resort remain closed. On March 17, 2010, U.S. bankruptcy judge Terry Meyers ruled that the newly named trustee, Jeremy Gugino, could start the process of
liquidating the resort's equipment and other assets into cash, to be divided among its creditors. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse continued to move in Idaho state court to
foreclose on the resort property. The state court is charged with determining which creditors are entitled to the real estate and their priority, but federal court will handle the disposition of the real estate and other assets. The bankruptcy case was dismissed in early January 2011, and all litigation was returned to state court foreclosure proceedings. Foreclosure proceedings were concluded when Credit Suisse, the foreclosure case plaintiff, obtained ownership and possession of most assets including the ski facilities after a sheriff's sale on March 10, 2014. Prior to Tamarack most recent failure of a major North American ski resort had been by
Stagecoach in 1974, located about south of
Steamboat Springs,
Colorado. Stagecoach failed after its second ski season, and has slowly grown as a residential and vacation community, primarily due to the addition of a dam and
reservoir in 1988. Some Tamarack property owners are now part of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit with lender
Credit Suisse led by bankrupt
Yellowstone Club founder
Timothy Blixseth and his son Beau Blixseth who claim Tamarack's bankruptcy was caused by a "loan to own" scheme between the bank and resort developers. == Re-opening ==