After a winter that wasn’t, New England ski resorts begin the new season hopeful and prepared, with a major international ski competition to kick things off.
Killington Resort in Killington, Vt., will host the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Thanksgiving weekend, the first World Cup racing event in the Northeast in a quarter century.
While grandstands and a VIP area are already sold out, the resort said there will be standing room for about 8,000 spectators, free, at the base of its Superstar Trail, with a jumbo television screen for viewing the race course. Free parking and shuttle service will be available through the weekend.
“We are excited to show off what New England skiing is all about,” said Michael Joseph, communication manager for Killington. “It will be great exposure for Killington, the state of Vermont and the whole region.”
The World Cup is expected to bring 93 racers from 20 countries, including some of the U. S. Ski Team stars like Mikaela Shiffrin and Julia Mancuso. Events include the women’s giant slalom and slalom. Lindsey Vonn, perhaps the best known women’s ski racer, is recovering from a serious arm fracture she sustained in practice less than two weeks ago.
The competition will be held on Nov. 26 and 27. Killington opened for the season on Oct. 25, augmenting an early season snowfall with man-made snow.
Man-made snow helped many New England slopes endure last winter, when natural snowfall, even in northern New England, was freakishly slight. Some resorts have invested heavily in new and better snowmaking equipment in recent years.
Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine, for example, invested more than $7 million in snowmaking equipment over the past decade. Even with minimal natural snowfall last winter, the resort managed nicely, says Darcy Lambert, director of communications for the resort.
“We made winter happen,” she said.
Likewise, at Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall, Conn., where snowmaking was pioneered in the late 1940s, the resort saw fewer skiers last year, but got by because it has a reliable following from Connecticut and New York City-area skiers.
“We had an OK season,” says Trish Morrissey, director of operations. “We have a super-loyal base.”
Even in a mild winter in southern New England, Mohawk seizes the moment on days when the temperature drops. “If the opportunity exists for us to put down snow, we take advantage,” she said.
Dining Upgrades
But even ski areas with plenty of snowmaking ability saw a drop in skiers last winter. When infrequent skiers step outside in southern New England in January and see a snowless landscape basking in 40-degree temperatures, they aren’t going to slap skis on the rack and head to the slopes, even if there is plenty of snow on the trails, Morrissey said.
Over the decades, New England ski resorts have continually upgraded not only snowmaking, but also resort amenities like lodging and dining.
At Sunday River, an overflow seating area on its mid-mountain Peak Lodge on the North Peak will be transformed into “The Mountain Room at Sunday River,” which this year will include a 20-person bar with signature cocktails and craft beers and a short menu of appetizers.
As part of a new partnership with Maine chef Harding Lee Smith, the Mountain Room will expand next season into a full-service restaurant open for lunch and dinner.
At Killington, skiers can schuss at lunchtime from the trails to Preston’s restaurant at the Grand Resort Hotel, where a valet service will take ski and snowboard boots to be warmed and dried. Skiers are given slippers to wear while lunching on entrees that feature Vermont ingredients.
Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, N.H., celebrates its 50th anniversary this winter with commemorative events throughout the season and an anniversary weekend Jan. 28 and 29 that will include a family scavenger hunt and gala.
Even with the mild winter last year, “we managed very well. We’ve invested more than $3 million in snowmaking in recent years,” said Greg Kwasnik, communications manager at the resort.
Loon is among the mountains offering attractive package deals for new skiers that include lessons, sometimes meals, and often include skis, boots and bindings to keep.
At Mohawk, Morrissey said a popular new deal provides new skis, boots and bindings along with a series of lessons and a package of free lift tickets for $809.
“We try to make skiing more accessible,” she said.
