Category: Ski Vermont

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Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont

Okemo Resort picture. SkiVermont.com - Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.

Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont

Thanks for early and late snow, Vermont got the best season in four years.

The Vermont ski areas association 50th Annual Meeting at Jay Peak on June 5-6 gathered members, supporters and friends of the Vermont ski and snowboard industry. Thanks to good snow in the beginning and end of the ski season, this past season was historic.

Smugglers Notch powder. SkiVermont.com Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.
Smugglers Notch powder. SkiVermont.com Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.

Vermont saw 207K more skier and rider visits this season than last, an increase of 5.2 percent. The 4,178,533 total skier visits were the highest since the 2014-15 ski season and a 1.2 % higher than the 10-year average seen at the Vermont’s ski areas.

The state’s history early openings with large amount of skiable terrain allowed the season to have these great numbers. Killington opened on October 19, three weeks ahead of opening day and was the earliest opening in the East. Mount Snow Resort had its earliest opening in its 64-year history, opening on October 27. Smuggler’s Notch Resort opened on November 23 with the most skiable terrain on an opening day – 58 of its 78 trails were opened.

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More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe, VT.

Stowe Mountain Resort. More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe, VT.

More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe, VT.

From The State – AP

STOWE, VT.

State regulators are looking into why a chairlift stopped running at a Vermont ski resort, prompting the evacuation of approximately 160 skiers and snowboarders.

Stowe Mountain Resort. More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe, VT.
Stowe Mountain Resort. More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe, VT.

The Lookout Double lift stopped operating around 10:30 a.m. Sunday because of an interruption in the electrical system, Stowe Mountain Resort spokesman Jeff Wise said in a written statement. An auxiliary engine also did not work so the ski patrol started evacuating the lift at 10:45 a.m. using rope to rappel people down. All guests were safely off the lift by about 1 p.m., Wise said.

Some were stranded for hours. Keri Crafts, of Burlington, and her two daughters were about halfway up when the lift stopped. She told WCAX-TV they sat there for about 2 ½ hours, and at one point, she saw people start to jump from chairs to the ground.

“We got off and we were so frozen, it was probably 20 degrees, maybe,” she said. “With the winds and snow, many people we talked to were like, we can’t even ski down,” said Keri Crafts of Burlington.”

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Jay Peak is officially for sale.

Jay Peak is officially for sale – will it be able to get the $250M to pay back investors?

Jay Peak is officially for sale – will it be able to get the $250M to pay back investors?

News from Burlington Free Press and WCAX

After years of turmoil due to one of the biggest frauds to ever have hit the federal EB-5 program, Jay Peak Resort is now for sale.

Ariel Quiros, former owner of the resort and his partner Bill Stenger, allegedly as per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission misused $200 million in foreign investor funds, with Quiros pocketing personally some $50 million.

The investors have put down $500,000 each in order to receive a green card for themselves and their families. The Miami-based federal receiver Michael Goldberg said that of the 540 investors in Jay Peak, only six have received conditional residency and moved to the United States. About 160 are waiting for their permanent residencies to be approved.

Investors have not received their money back but will they? The answer depends on whether Jay Peak could be sold for $250 million.

Michael Goldberg pointed out that investors from China and other Asian countries, Latin America and Europe were never guaranteed their money back, but the 35 investors in Jay Peak’s Tram Haus Lodge have been repaid in full.

Goldberg said “This was not a loan, it was an investment, and it’s quite possible that these individuals made a bad investment. Basically, the resort will be worth what it’s worth. The fact is, even if there was no fraud, they may not have gotten their whole money back.”

New York’s investment banker Jeffrey Altman of Houlihan Lokey was hired by Goldberg to help sell Jay Peak. Altmann declined to comment the price in which he things the resort can be sold. He was involved in the recent sale of Stowe to Vail Resorts, advising the seller which was the insurance giant AIG.

Mike Krongel of Mirus Resort Advisors, located in Burlington, Massachusetts, explained that a ski resort’s value is estimated as some multiple of its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation).

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Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift

Killington ski map. Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.

Killington will replace its North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift. They have filed paperwork with the state to replace the vintage upper mountain lift.

News from New England Ski Industry.

Killington will continue its activity of lift projects this summer, as the resort has filed with the State of Vermont a project to replace the North Ridge Triple Chairlift. This will result as per the Act 250 filed made public this week, in a Leitner Poma fixed grip quad chairlift installed along the existing line. A draft permit has been generated by the state.

Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.
Killington will replace the North Ridge Triple Lift with a Quad Chairlift.

The Triple North Ridge Chair was installed by Heron-Poma in 1972, with 587 feet climb in vertical drop over a run of 2,290 feet. The oldest lift in Killington, the North Ridge, is typically the first chair to open in New England’s ski season each year. But because of its high elevation, the lift construction season may be limited due to environmental issues.

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Vermont Lift Ticket Prices Up 6%-Read it Here.

Stratton Mountain- Vermont- Alterra Mountain Company Announces $181 Million in Capital Improvements for the 2019/2020 Winter Season.

Vermont Lift Ticket Prices are Up by 6% . The average weekend non-holiday adult ticket price is now $93.12.

Post from New England Ski Industry. Vermont remains the most expensive state in New England, as the average weekend full day adult lift ticket at a chairlift served area has climbed to $93.12. Six areas now have retail lift ticket prices greater than $100 per day.

Vermont Lift Ticket Prices. Vermont Lift Ticket Prices Up 6%.
Vermont Lift Ticket Prices. Vermont Lift Ticket Prices Up 6%.

Vail Resorts does not publish ticket window rates, so January 5th window prices referenced in the online store were used for Okemo and Stowe.

Stowe is once again the most expensive in the state, rising from $131 to $139. Killington and Stratton posted the largest increases, jumping 12% to $129 with new lifts being installed.

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