Slope Expansion/New Quad Lift at Snowshoe
June 14, 2005
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Snowshoe announced this weekend that the Widowmaker lift will be moved from behind Top of the World to end at the new Soaring Eagle Lodge. This new lift will be a high speed quad. There will also be three new trails created for the top of the mountain. Way to go Snowshoe!
Do you have a link or any more information?
Terrific! Thanks for the heads-up!.
Do you know where on the mountain those new trails will be located and what level they will be?
Sure would be nice if they were to the south around Widowmaker in order to take some of the load off Ballhooter and open up some desperately needed long blues and blacks. I sure hope the 'new' trails are not merely re-positioned Hootnanny and Flume! And I sure hope they don't mess with J-Hook [best kept secret of SS]; the best blue on the mountain IMHO.
[on knees praying to snow gods .. remember: long blacks and blues, don't you DARE touch J-Hook!]
I have checked for a link on the announcement and have not been able to find anything to send to you yet. The slopes are suposed to be around widowmaker and the new Soaring Eagle lodge that is going between Top of the World and Snowcrest. I did hear that the new lift is partially being funded by the construction company building Soaring Eagle. I will post more info as I get it!
Hi folks,
I spoke with Snowshoe and can report that an official announcement will be made in the next couple of weeks. A preliminary plan was announced at Snowshoe Mountain's Annual Property Owner's Weekend this past Saturday. Note that the expansion will be for the 2006/2007 winter season, not for the upcoming winter season. DCSki will provide a detailed report on the plans once Snowshoe makes the official announcement.
Thanks,
- Scott
So... is this high speed quad REPLACING Widowmaker, or is the current Widowmaker being moved in addition to a new lift being added?
...and if this quad is replacing Widowmaker... where is the current fixed triple going? Surely they wouldn't just trash it.
This is the announcement from Snowshoe that arrived this morning:
While summer is just around the corner, Snowshoe Mountain has snow on the brain as the resort recently announced a new high-speed quad lift for the upcoming season.
Just steps away from Soaring Eagle Lodge - Snowshoe's premier mountain address at the top of the resort, the new lift will service the Snowshoe Basin - specifically the Widowmaker terrain.
Soaring Eagle Lodge will proudly stand at the highest point in the resort, looking over the slopes and trails, beyond the Village and out into the million acres of national forest that surrounds Snowshoe. With prime access to the new lift, Soaring Eagle Lodge is also home to the largest living spaces at Snowshoe, the most extensive amenity package, the highest level of interior finish and the greatest value offered to date.
With the addition of the new lift and the upcoming release of Soaring Eagle Lodge, Snowshoe's mountaintop neighborhood is taking shape. With a selection event planned for June 18th, now is your chance to become a part of this new neighborhood.
Contact the Discovery Center today to secure your priority reservation and your home at Soaring Eagle Lodge. 1-888-489-1943. Or click here for more information.
All the best,
Snowshoe Discovery Center
Oooh, the UPCOMING season!
So it's going to be there for 05-06...
Did they mention anything about new terrain this season? Or was this just a thinly disguised press release for yet another RE development while they jam 2400 skiers an hour on Widowmaker instead of the oh so spacious 1800 skiers an hour that they used to?
I agree with Roger Z ... I'm not impressed if this is just another opportunity to market RE. Widowmaker and environs are nice runs merely for the fact that the bulk of unwashed masses seem to stay farther north in the basin and northern territories areas. Now it's probably going to be Ballhooter redux with the new high speed. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
I think this year we might just forego getting season's passes at SS and use that money for more skiing out west. With the new 'reduced' adult rate of $377 until July 1 that means we have to ski 7 days to break even ... that's 3 long weekends if we ski every day which wasn't the case last year with the crudie weather [2 of those days the wind chill at the top of Ballhooter was 67 below !!!]. It only makes sense to buy passes if SS intends on raising the lift rates .. anyone know anything in that vein? Ibotta .. what about you?
With Snowshoe lift ticket rates going up each year, it's almost a must-do for the season pass if you ski a lot. I have had a season pass for 6 years, and as I recall, I paid about $100 less for the pass last year (I'm pretty sure it was around $280).
It would be nice to think that they are doing this for the day skiiers or folks not staying at the central village, but we know better. The additional runs, if they put any in, are LONG overdue. I always got aggrivated at them widening trails - that doesn't accomplish anything in my opinion.
snowcone,
I would assume that with the addition of Bill Rock and the new "Amenities" SS will most likely raise their daily lift pass prices. Bill Rock came Stratton which has the highest lift ticket prices on the East Coast. Can you say $75/day lift passes at Snowshoe.
It's aggravating enough that resorts are catering their real estate more and more to the upper class (completely understandable and logical, but nonetheless aggravating). What is really grating is the lift tickets being geared to the same rich folks. Why don't they just make a couple of lifts for people with incomes above 100K a year only while they're at it?
Grrrr... well, Snowcone, to be fair, everything we've heard is that the terrain is coming eventually. It would have been nice if the press release could mention it. I guess new terrain just isn't a selling point to yuppies these days.
Last year on my way out west, I was reading an article some of the big ski resort companies in one of the airline magazines. It stated that the average Intrawest visitor spends about 2 hours a day skiing! Obviously, most of us on this listserver are NOT in that category. I'm there when they drop the ropes and they have to drag me off the slopes in the evening!
What do folks think about Silver Creek? I spend most of my time over there because it's so uncrowded. The vertical isn't that different from the main mountain, and the run from the top of Flying Eagle down Bick Saw to one of the other Blues (Timberjack) can be fun. Not much in the way of difficulty, but great for carving skiiers and snowboarders (like me)
With those kind of rates it makes Deer Valley($72) & Squaw($75) look like absolute bargains in the lift ticket price to total acreage ratio and Alta/Snowbird practically free! I guess its all about what the market will bear.
I wonder what is the delta between 3 days at Heavenly with air/lodging/Peaks and 3 at Snowshoe w/lodging/lift ... betcha it's not much! Jet Blue flies NS to Sacramento for dirt cheap .. I don't remember precisely but I think its in the $149 RT range. Then we have 1 week at our favorite 2bdrm/2.5bth townhouse on Ski Run Drive, $1120 inclusive .. a whole bunch cheaper than any lodging of equivalent size at SS .. or at one of the Casinos for practically zilch!
Hmmm .... Do ya think Intrawest is trying to turn Snowshoe into another Stratton? That would be a real shame. My though on this is; are there really so many Daddy-Big-Bucks around here that SS feels it can charge big resort prices for small resort facilities? What happens when all the little guys like us go elsewhere? Or all the DBBs get bored of their vanity condos in WV and decide to get vanity condos out west? Why is there no special pricing for locals like there is in big resorts like Park City or Heavenly?
I wish Snowshoe could be like Alta... skiing emphasis.
All I can say about the expensive lodging at SS is thank god for the Brazenhead Inn.
All I can say about the price of lodging at S.S. is thank god for moms house
Tick I read that article too! It was in United Airlines magazine, and of course it sort of answers your question- these folks aren't skiing. They're looking for an all-inclusive winter vacation: skiing, tubing, ice skating, day spas, etc.
This region could use a no-frills ski area for the duct-tape wearing crowd (that is, us). Laurel could serve that function... crap did I write this already... if 7 Springs kept it open. Or SS could turn Silver Creek into that as an alternative.
Silver Creek- I like how uncrowded it is but found the terrain a little limited. Would be happy if they added three or four more runs to the west of Flying Eagle. The runs have a very nice feel though- wide, good snow coverage (due to lack of traffic), interesting little side trails, and their twists and turns make you think you're on a much longer run than you actually are. Plus the view into the Shavers Fork is mesmerizing- looks like you're skiing at the edge of the Alaskan wilderness, particularly when it's 11 degrees out.
And, in honor of another thread here, with that I'm off to drink beer. Enjoy the evening fellas!
Quote:
Oooh, the UPCOMING season!
So it's going to be there for 05-06...
The message from the real estate department was misworded -- the new lift will not be installed until the 2006-2007 winter season. I just received verification of this from Snowshoe's Communications Department. The lift won't be installed until sometime during the summer of 2006.
- Scott
If they ever want to do $75 they better add at least 2 more runs to the Western Territory. They'd still be way overpriced for the terrain.
On Silver Creek, Bear Claw is one of the best runs at the whole area. You have the Western Territory, Knot Bumper, and then Bear Claw.
As a beltway resident I kinda consider Snowshoe as 'our' resort and am always interested to hear what non locals think. Well today I got my wish ... there is a thread over at Epic Ski which, to put it mildly doesn't have much in the way of kind things to say. I sure hope management at SS reads these posts from time to time, the kvetches are pretty much universal. It would be nice to think SS management might be convinced to address some of the issues brought up. Then again ...
http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=27717
Snowcone, I'd like to think the management would listen too. I have owned a condo up there (now 2) since 1998, and have expressed "concerns" with the Intrawest management from time to time. At times they seem to listen, for example opening terrain near Widowmaker earlier in the season so that the day skiiers displaced by the parking situation would have skiing within a reasonable walk. However, other moves have been less understandable, such as the closing of the Flying Eagle lift at Silver Creek during the week.
Snowshoe is to a point now where they are going to HAVE to look at terrain expansion soon, or start to lose skiiers. The number of new units developed so outweighs the new terrain since they've taken over. But alas, Intrawest is a real estate developer, first and foremost.
I try to take the events there with a grain of salt. I'm there to ski, period. I don't shop, go on a snowmobile ride on the same slopes I just skiied all day on, wait two hours to eat at the Junction or get massages or any of that other Aspen-esque crap.
But you have to face the facts: Snowshoe has some of the best skiing south of New England, period. I am always amazed in early December at how quickly they get so many runs opened (and yes, although it's not new terrain, they did invest bocu bucks in snowmaking and it shows). I too hope new terrain comes soon. Snowshoe is a special place!
Nice catch, snowcone. The comment about the snowshoe not being "?dayskier...brown bagger friendly" echoed with me. Lunch in the Top of the World parking lot can be a frigid event, no need to ice the beer though. I'll admit that there pbobably isn't a large number of day skiers in the area so that's why they don't cater to/care about them. We usually drive down from TLine for a day mid week. For folks on a budget who are staying there, it would be nice to have a comfortable place to brown bag i think.
They one post on epic about cupp being a green/blue blue...i don't know about that. Ski it from top to bottom w/o stopping and you'll know you made some turns.
I'm just glad they weren't asking about Timberline, I would have had to lie, NO NO TLine sux, Go to snowshoe, go to Snowshoe.
Yeah, Cupp is a workout, but on the days when it's perfectly groomed, it's a blue. Definitely above a green though.
When it's moguled it's a black diamond though.
