What's Up on the New England Ski Scene 2009-10

As published in The Sun December 20 , 2009

“Skiers are riders are passionate people, they are going to find a way to ski no matter what,” said Bernie Weichsel, President of BEWI, organizer of the annual Boston Ski Show held last month. “The Boston Ski Show is the kickoff event to the ski season in New England. Attendance on the first night of the show was great and that’s an excellent indicator of what’s to come this winter. People are looking for deals and they are finding them, but they are definitely planning to travel to ski.”

John Tracy, President of Ski93, has been in the ski tour business for over 40 years. Tracy said, “We could use a good snow winter to get people excited. Things are not as busy as we would like, but great conditions can turn things around quickly.” Ski93 offers over 200 trips from discounted day trips including bus transportation and ski tickets to overnight ski and stay packages in New England, The West, Canada, and even Europe.

With the web at their fingertips for browsing and online booking capabilities, skiers have become very savvy sophisticated customers. You can compare everything from snow conditions to lodging properties and consumer ratings for resorts, then shop for the best rate with a click of the mouse.

“People are doing their research and booking their ski vacations last minute now,” said Estrella Woods, International Marketing Director for Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado. “We are doing really well at Telluride with the international market – we are seeing new customers from the UK, Germany, Australia and even Brazil where their economy is very strong.” Woods admitted that new development and on mountain improvement like Telluride’s expansion into Revelation Bowl last year and their new Capella Hotel have brought increased interest.

Here on the East Coast, Stowe Mountain Resort has experience tremendous growth with a $400 million new alpine village. Jeff Wise, Marketing Director for Stowe said, “Our guests are just in awe of our new Stowe Mountain Lodge which opened last year. It surpasses anything that people have experienced in New England before for luxury on-mountain accommodations and service.” The 139-room Stowe Mountain Lodge anchors the impressive Spruce Peak base village, with topnotch service including a spa, gourmet farm to table Vermont cuisine, and an alpine concierge to see to your every ski need.

Jay Peak opens a new Tram Haus Lodge this winter with 57 suites plus a new bar, dining and ski services, the first in a $100 million construction project that will include a new Ice Arena, Golf Club and the new Hotel.

Skiers are seeking out new and unique experiences. Cat skiing at Sugarbush, which debuted last season, is an example of something not offered at any other New England resort. John Egan, Chief Recreation Officer at Sugarbush, said “Our first year of snow cat skiing was so successful last season, so we are extending it. People are coming away from the experience with such positive feedback.”

Sugarbush also uses their new luxury snowcat to transport diners to a mid-mountain lodge for upscale evening dinners. This is an added amenity that Maine’s Sugarloaf and Sunday River offer on Saturday nights and certain holidays with fancier than standard ski area fare.

Clint Erwin, Sunday River’s North Peak Lodge Manager, said, “We provide VIP treatment on these evenings and our customers are loving it. From the moment our dinner guests arrive on the Chondola and are handed Champagne, it’s an exceptional experience.” Erwin said the first year of Peak dining at Sunday River was very well attended, often selling out.

Clearly, transforming an on mountain day lodge into a sophisticated dining experience at the end of the ski day is a novelty that skiers are willing to reserve and pay for, even in what has been deemed economic down times.

“The economy is loosening up and people want to travel, particularly those that didn’t make big ski trips last ski season,” said Alpine Adventures Manager Holly Gagnon. Alpine Adventures is a tour company offering all-inclusive winter ski trips out west, plus Canada and Europe. Their ski trip bookings are ahead of last year at this point. Gagnon said, “Our business so far is slightly better than last season. We have already sold out our Zermatt Switzerland trip.”

Skiers on the lookout will certainly find deals as resorts work to fill beds and chairs. There is a significant resurgence in frequent skier discount cards which save skiers money off the full whack of retail ticket rates. Check out skier savings cards if a season pass is more than you can utilize, available at Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Killington, Smugglers Notch, Sunapee and Wildcat to name a few.

How will skiers and ski resorts fare this winter in this uncertain climate? Some say it’s in Mother Nature’s hands. A cold start this October was then hampered with warm November temps thwarting many resorts’ snowmaking plans thus delaying their openings. This leaves many resort operators hoping, praying, dreaming of a very white Christmas which leads to a happy New Year on their bottom line.