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Vail to buy Stowe?

deadheadskier

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If I was a Stowe pass holder and the intention was to include Stowe on the Epic pass, I'd be pissed. I can't even imagine how crowded Stowe would get with that cheap of a season pass.

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thetrailboss

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Hmmm.....................


That would be a big move for Vail and their grand entrance into the eastern ski scene. It would also show that they want to play ball on the east coast and not merely have a feeder to their western resorts. This was also interesting:

However, a person in Vail’s corporate office said Tuesday that the company was preparing a press release regarding the deal. That press release was not available by Wednesday afternoon, when this paper went to press.
 

snoseek

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Wow if this happens!

Also wouldn't they love to get ahold of smuggs.
 

bdfreetuna

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Wow if this happens!

Also wouldn't they love to get ahold of smuggs.

Would they?

And why wow if this happens?

Stowe is already pretty "nice" and the ticket prices are already pretty maxed out, not sure how Vail would improve this situation.

I'd hate to see Smuggs turn into anything but what it already is.
 

dlague

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Smuggs makes that deal very interesting. The connector would not have to be that long 2300 feet or so.

stowe-smuggs.jpg
 

bdfreetuna

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I skied the connector 20 years ago... it's cross country skiing. Why would you waste your day going to Smuggs when you're at Stowe or vice versa?

Like is there any valid reason to switch from one to the other half way through the day, and then XC ski back a fairly good distance later?

Stowe is one thing. Smuggs is another. Both are great in their own way. Smuggs is better because it is not Stowe.

Smuggs does not have the lift capacity to even deal with their own crowds on good days. If Vail buys Smuggs, they put in new lifts. Smuggs then turns into Jay Peak with less snow.
 

x10003q

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I skied the connector 20 years ago... it's cross country skiing. Why would you waste your day going to Smuggs when you're at Stowe or vice versa?

Like is there any valid reason to switch from one to the other half way through the day, and then XC ski back a fairly good distance later?

Stowe is one thing. Smuggs is another. Both are great in their own way. Smuggs is better because it is not Stowe.

Smuggs does not have the lift capacity to even deal with their own crowds on good days. If Vail buys Smuggs, they put in new lifts. Smuggs then turns into Jay Peak with less snow.

A 2600 foot 2 way FGQ would solve the x-country skiing problem.;-)
 

BenedictGomez

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a person in Vail’s corporate office said Tuesday that the company was preparing a press release regarding the deal. That press release was not available by Wednesday afternoon, when this paper went to press.

I call total BS on the entire story solely based on the above sentence.

Unless it's a 1-sentence PR that states, "it is Vail's policy to not discuss future deals" or the PR specifically denies the story. Even then, I find it difficult to believe the "person in Vail's corporate office" would even comment as he/she should know better. Maybe it was a college intern, lol.

Smuggs makes that deal very interesting. The connector would not have to be that long 2300 feet or so.

No connector needed, you just ski over Sterling Pond.

I skied the connector 20 years ago... it's cross country skiing. Why would you waste your day going to Smuggs when you're at Stowe or vice versa?

Like is there any valid reason to switch from one to the other half way through the day, and then XC ski back a fairly good distance later?

I have no idea what you're talking about, I did it ALL the time when I worked at Stowe and had a Smuggs season pass. It. Was. Awesome.

And if you have any XC-skating ability whatsoever, it's not that bad.
 

machski

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Hmm, an interconnect. You do realize you are discussing this in Vermont and in a wilderness and wildlife area of a state that likes to protect such things. If Vail were buying both, o don't think even they could get that pushed through.
 

chuckstah

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Hmm, an interconnect. You do realize you are discussing this in Vermont and in a wilderness and wildlife area of a state that likes to protect such things. If Vail were buying both, o don't think even they could get that pushed through.
It's already there. Was on the maps of both resorts for years. Only issue is that there is not common ownership of the two resorts. As far as I know.

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deadheadskier

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I'm with BG. They used to allow reciprocal one ride up tickets on Sterling and Big Spruce for those who ventured over. If you had a season pass you just went to the lodge at Smuggs and they'd give you a one up ticket they'd collect at the lift. If you had a Stowe day ticket, the lifty would hole punch it. Worked the same way in reverse. 2000-2001 we would start almost every day at Big Spruce and do a lap down to the birthday bowls sometimes sneaking a few laps on Sterling before heading back over. The skate was maybe ten minutes back to Spruce across the pond. Loved it.

Having that kind of a relationship between the two areas again would be great. A full interconnect? No thanks. There was a time I was all for an interconnect. It would be by far the biggest ski area in the east measuring by boundary to boundary acreage. I've since grown to respect the differences between the two areas and hope they remain separate just like Killington and Pico.

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farlep99

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Vail corporate folks were at Stowe all summer. That's when the rumors started. Then they died down & this past weekend it flared again because serious Vail bigwigs were back. I have it on pretty good authority that the deal is done. It was a "you didn't hear this from me" situation so make of that what you will. But this is a very well connected money guy who said the deal was in the 300-400mil range
 
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