Telemark Lodge May Soon Be Sold Once Again

Telemark Lodge in Cable may soon once again be put up for sale.

Telemark property manager Rick Carpenter said that the lodge’s owners, Clif Louis and his sister Carrie Hulburd, are in the midst of ongoing discussions to sell the lodge and 1,000-acre property.

“They didn’t buy it to flip it and make a quick buck, but they are in talks with two, possibly three, qualified groups that would like to purchase some or all of the land.” said Carpenter.

Louis and Hulburd are owners of Mount Telemark Partners, LLC. They bought the lodge last October for $926,000 in a sheriff’s auction. The historic lodge has long been the site of the start for the American Birkebeiner Ski Race.

Carpenter said they were looking at selling the lodge in mid-October.

“They want to know not only if they have the money to purchase it, but they have considerably more money ready to put into renovations and operations,” he said. “They don’t want to sell it to somebody that’s going to fail. So proving that you have tens of millions of dollars potentially and having that earmarked for improving the lodge is the difficult part.”

Carpenter said they understand Telemark’s value to the community.

“If it didn’t mean so much to the community, they would just let the land sit vacant and potentially demolish the lodge. But, the community outcry — unlike most other people, they’re actually listening to that,” he said.

Carpenter wouldn’t name the interested buyers except to say they are either passionate about Telemark or experienced in the hospitality industry. He said an announcement on a sale may come in the next three months.