In what promises to be a renaissance for Vermont's Mount Snow ski resort, American Ski Company sold it to Peak Resorts last summer as part of a larger selloff of all ASC's eastern ski areas. Mount Snow is the latest acquisition for Peak Resorts, a Missouri-based company that started up in 1982 and operates 11 ski areas and two golf courses from the Midwest to New England.
Peak's first ski area was in the unlikely ski region of St. Louis. It also has ski areas near Kansas City and Indianapolis as well as three in Ohio and two in Pennsylvania. In New England, Peak operates Attitash as well as Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire. Mount Snow is its most recent acquisition.
Mount Snow was the redheaded stepchild of American Ski Company. Its bigger areas (Killington, Sugarloaf, Sunday River) got all the attention. Mount Snow needed the boost it got from Peak Resorts.
Peak invested $3.5 million in new snowmaking technology. It added 100 new fan gun snowmaking machines to Mount Snow's arsenal. Peak also upgraded the base facilities to the tune of $2 million.
These improvements have resulted in complimentary comments by Mount Snow regulars. Sometimes they've been sparked by the little things, like putting a canopy over the ticket windows so you don't get covered in snow when purchasing a ticket. Or the bigger things, like the renovation of the aging restrooms.
The main base lodge now has free wireless Internet access. There is also a complimentary bag check so gear bags aren't scattered all over the place. And you don't have to worry that your laptop will get stolen. But according to Peak Resorts president Tim Boyd, the amenities are only part of the bigger picture. It is the product (snow) that is most important. Also a golf course owner, Boyd emphasized, "You can have a great clubhouse, but if the fairways are burned out and the greens are in tough shape, no one will come back."
That's why Peak invested so heavily in snowmaking. Fan guns can make good snow at higher temperatures than the older types of guns, and the snow that comes out is drier, since more air is used. Ski areas can groom the snow made by the fan guns more quickly. They used to have to wait for the snow to dry out.
Cold temperatures and the upgrade in snowmaking contributed to Mount Snow's earliest opening since November 7, 1998. The area opened for the season this winter on November 10th. No other ski resort in Vermont was scheduled to open until the following week.
"We will be able to open earlier in the season and sustain [activity] longer through stretches with marginal temperatures," said Mount Snow's general manager, Kelly Pawlak. Even though a substantial amount of snow has fallen from the sky this year, skier traffic wears that away and snowmaking is required to recover from a busy weekend.
Peak Resorts is big on terrain parks and expects to expand its pipe and park terrain. There is also a concert series this year. It culminates with Toots and the Maytals headlining a Reggae Fest on Saturday, March 29th.?
