• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Northeast Thread

Guy in Shorts

Tree Psycho
Skier
Joined
Feb 27, 2016
Posts
2,169
Location
Killington
Okemo has been wildly successful at adding lifts, lodges and lots of trailside real-estate with acres of groomed wonder bread white skiing. People with money to spend is the lubrication keeping the mountain running. Modern Okemo blows the doors off the poma filled on your feet all day Old Mountain. Rode the new lift in March and it appears to me that this latest expansion in closer in size to the Solitude Lodge area then Jackson Gore. One visit a year is enough for me at this gentle giant that used to be my home mountain. Okemo- All Come Home.
All Come Home.JPG
 

Bill Talbot

Vintage Gear Curator
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
3,166
Location
New England
Okemo has been wildly successful at adding lifts, lodges and lots of trailside real-estate with acres of groomed wonder bread white skiing. People with money to spend is the lubrication keeping the mountain running. Modern Okemo blows the doors off the poma filled on your feet all day Old Mountain. Rode the new lift in March and it appears to me that this latest expansion in closer in size to the Solitude Lodge area then Jackson Gore. One visit a year is enough for me at this gentle giant that used to be my home mountain. Okemo- All Come Home.
View attachment 10900


I rather liked Poma lifts...

In CO speak... I'm a Abasin/MJ kind of skier, NOT a Vail/Aspen type.
Only interested in SKIING, not a resort. It's very fortunate that I can ski during the week because if weekends were my only choice
I wouldn't ski much at all. It's just not fun for me. I ski Okemo because it is the best snow I can get in a 5 hour round trip commute.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
I rather liked Poma lifts...

In CO speak... I'm a Abasin/MJ kind of skier, NOT a Vail/Aspen type.
Only interested in SKIING, not a resort.
I take it you've never been to Aspen/Snowmass. Aspen Highlands is probably one of the top places in the world to ski in terms of terrain diversity and challenge per size of the ski area. It's also not very crowded usually. It is nothing like Vail. There's almost no one at Buttermilk. Even Aspen, Ajax, is not that crowded esp if you'll ski moguls. The town and road are a different story though.

As for this South Face Village at Okemo it remains to be seen of what use to the average skier it will be. The Solitude "lodge" is the most useless thing ever and extremely annoying. It's really just a sit down table service restaraunt with space in the hallway for people looking to get warm. Plus the worlds slowest elevator to the bathroom with option of the tennement stairway. Whether this new one continues this senseless tradition or not remains to be seen. Frankly I have not much hope based on past performance. Despite this "wildly successful" description I would not agree. Solitude Lodge is exhibit A. The main lodge is now pushed to capacity being a very odd design difficult to expand built in the early 60's. The whole thing would probably have to go.

The new trails at Southface Village aren't worth it unless you're a beginner but then beginners can't start off there unless there's a shuttle since there's no parking except for homeowners.
 
Last edited:

Bill Talbot

Vintage Gear Curator
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
3,166
Location
New England
I guess your not much into challenge.

I want the best snow I can get. After that, the fewer people the better.
I've got nothing to prove and just enjoy being out on the mountain. Some fresh ungroomed if available, great. Some non frozen trough bumps, fantastic. Most days I'm just enjoying the 4' edges of a handful of my favorite trails...
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Posts
2,626
I came close t buying a 2 bedroom Solitude condo back in the mid 90's for 200K... Just looked online there is a 2 bedroom solitude condo listed for 535K. To me Okemo is mostly about the real estate... Good snowmaking and grooming, intermediate skiing and real estate. In all those categories they have been pretty successful.

Solitude lodge not being super usable is true but so what?
 

steamboat1

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
108
Location
Brooklyn, NY Pittsford, VT
I want the best snow I can get. After that, the fewer people the better.
I've got nothing to prove and just enjoy being out on the mountain. Some fresh ungroomed if available, great. Some non frozen trough bumps, fantastic. Most days I'm just enjoying the 4' edges of a handful of my favorite trails...
Hey I'm with you, enjoy just being out on the mountain & enjoying the day. I also have nothing to prove but do enjoy a challenge, Okemo just doesn't provide that. Where I disagree is that Okemo offers the best product out there within your driving parameter. With today's snowmaking & grooming all mountains offer a similar product but the terrain available varies.
 

Bill Talbot

Vintage Gear Curator
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
3,166
Location
New England
Hey I'm with you, enjoy just being out on the mountain & enjoying the day. I also have nothing to prove but do enjoy a challenge, Okemo just doesn't provide that. Where I disagree is that Okemo offers the best product out there within your driving parameter. With today's snowmaking & grooming all mountains offer a similar product but the terrain available varies.

I haven't found that to be true, at least in a couple cases. Stratton for one. Bromley, no. Mt, Snow, no thanks. That's it in my 'driving parameters'. I'll go the extra time when we get good dump of drier snow to Sugarbush, but will stay for two days.
 

steamboat1

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
108
Location
Brooklyn, NY Pittsford, VT
Suit yourself. There's a little place less than a 1/2 hour up the road. Empty weekdays too.

Being from Brooklyn I always stay more than two days. Work my way north from that little place,
 
Last edited:

Bill Talbot

Vintage Gear Curator
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
3,166
Location
New England
I couldn't disagree more with this statement. I love sharing my activities with friends. Most of my friends are people who I met doing these activities. Solitude is lonely.

Eric

You don't like good snow?

You like to ski @ mountains with high skier concentrations on the slopes?

Skiing alone is fine too. Or a friend or two if ability and interests are close enough. If not I'd rather meet them for lunch
or après ski, just too frustrating.
 

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
2,287
Location
San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
This is the Northeast thread, right? Good snow??? (Sorry, that was kind of mean.)

There is a visceral enjoyment of that powder float, the sweet bump zipper line or the high G carve that doesn't need any other people to support it. I get that. But making figure eights, following your buddies line or racing someone side by side makes that experience so much better.

Yeah if it's too crowded to get to the hill, there's no parking or you spend the day not moving in the lift line as some jerk pushed over your skis to cut, well that sucks. But those days are very rare - at least what I see. A healthy crowd gives a fun living vibe to the hill. There's an audience for that line under the lift!

Crowd management is critical for the skier experience. I think the resorts are doing a good job with it (high speed big chairs help as does the better snowmaking and -ugh- grooming help). Roads are another thing but it's just as bad on normal commutes. Caltrans needs improvement.

Eric
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
12,209
Location
NYC
Tahoe snow? Pot calling the kettle mauve.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

  • Dwight
    Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
Top