Ascutney Said to be in Financial Turmoil

UVSHTSTRM · Aug 12, 2010

Back to Acutney itself, is it safe to say they only owe 1.5 million or is that what they have just defaulted on? I guess what I am saying to they probably owe much more then the 1.5 million to other lenders?

One more, do you think somebody out there will actually buy the place? Is it for sale? I only ask cuz I have a limited understanding of the whole liquidation process.

Glenn · Aug 12, 2010

deadheadskier said:
Darren would rag on them something fierce about being a great rock band who turned themselves into an awful Top 40 Pop band.

LMAO! Cool stories DHS. I didn't realize the band had ties to that particular area of VT.

Vortex · Aug 12, 2010

Long history. I first skied there in 70 or 71.

Our school was less than a mile away I use to ski after school most days. Friday we got out a noon and skied as our physed program.

7 days a week and two nights I was there. Many fore mention folks in the article had 3rd generation kids I grew up with. The lodge shown in the T-bar shot became the Giles home in the late 70's.

Some great hiking trails on Ascutney. I think the Browsnville trail is the one that starts on rt 44 that went to the top. We use to train running it,

I know a few people here were regulars in my era. Charles Bronson was a regular on the hill.

good vibes sent.

Aerosmith played our high school prom in 67 I believe..

WWF-VT · Aug 12, 2010

I have never skied at Ascutney nor have I seen the mountain do much marketing. Southern VT is a competitive area and I am not aware of how they try to differentiate the mountain from their nearby competitors.

wa-loaf · Aug 12, 2010

WWF-VT said:
I have never skied at Ascutney nor have I seen the mountain do much marketing. Southern VT is a competitive area and I am not aware of how they try to differentiate the mountain from their nearby competitors.

3 years ago they gave away free passes with the Warren Miller flick. I was set to go and then I blew my ACL.

catskillman · Aug 16, 2010

I used that free ticket - the only time I ever skied there. Without a doubt the conditions were in the top 3 worst I have ever skied. And I have been skiing 38 years.

thetrailboss · Aug 16, 2010

Anyone heard anything else about what is happening or not happening with Ascutney?

bobbutts · Aug 17, 2010

http://www.vnews.com/08162010/6932762.htm
unsubstantiated word on the nelsap forum is they are trying to sell the hsq

skiNEwhere · Aug 18, 2010

Of all the places I've skied in Vermont, I hate to say it but Ascutney was my least favorite BY FAR. There was so much ice I felt like I was skiing on a glacier (those quickly melting icebergs in the arctic)

I guess the ice made up for the fact that the mountain seemed like one big bunny slope.

thetrailboss · Aug 18, 2010

bobbutts said:
http://www.vnews.com/08162010/6932762.htm
unsubstantiated word on the nelsap forum is they are trying to sell the hsq

I saw that and doubt it. I'm sure that the property is worth more operating as a ski resort to the creditors rather than selling it off piece by piece for a loss. Remember that they have substantial real estate development at the base. No ski area = those property values plummet. I imagine that they are interested in getting someone to run the place.

twinplanx · Aug 18, 2010

twinplanx said:
I have only been there 4-5 times. Easy access from 91, some technical terrain. Just echoing the statements others have made here. Seems mismanagement and low snow avg. have left the place w/ a ghost-town-like feeling.

oh, I was just thinking about Ascutney today and wanted to add this. While my bros. car was being repaired at small gas station/service center practicly at the base, we were able to grab a "big pancake". Across the street from the repair shop there was(is?) a dinner/general store type of place. Once we saw the "big pancake" on the menu we knew what we had to do. We were not disappointed. As an added bonus we discovered a bridge behind the dinner to the parking lot by the base. Good Times

This was over 10yrs ago, I have no idea how those years have changed the town. But I hope for the sake of the good people of Ascutney that someone can breath life back into the "resort".

UVSHTSTRM · Aug 18, 2010

skiNEwhere said:
Of all the places I've skied in Vermont, I hate to say it but Ascutney was my least favorite BY FAR. There was so much ice I felt like I was skiing on a glacier (those quickly melting icebergs in the arctic)

I guess the ice made up for the fact that the mountain seemed like one big bunny slope.

I had heard that Ascutney was icey for two reasons, they made little to no snow and they got to little natural snow for how steep of a mountain it was. Maybe I misunderstood and what they were saying was there is little to no run out so you get a nice consistent trail. As you can tell I have never been there.

riverc0il · Aug 18, 2010

Regarding conditions, Ascutney just does not get the snow. I have been following snowfall in that region for years wanting to ski there. But there is just a huge gap in snow totals between the spine of the greens and the whites. Their average is 150" which is pretty darn low for VT. The Whites average 170"ish give or take. And of course the spine of the Greens are all 200"+. I don't know why the Upper Valley and surrounding area has a snowfall gap... but that area between the whites and greens just doesn't get the worst of the big storms and often completely misses those micro dumps the spine of the greens get. Just a weird mountain geographically that doesn't help the natural snow.

UVSHTSTRM · Aug 19, 2010

riverc0il said:
Regarding conditions, Ascutney just does not get the snow. I have been following snowfall in that region for years wanting to ski there. But there is just a huge gap in snow totals between the spine of the greens and the whites. Their average is 150" which is pretty darn low for VT. The Whites average 170"ish give or take. And of course the spine of the Greens are all 200"+. I don't know why the Upper Valley and surrounding area has a snowfall gap... but that area between the whites and greens just doesn't get the worst of the big storms and often completely misses those micro dumps the spine of the greens get. Just a weird mountain geographically that doesn't help the natural snow.

I am from the foothills/central Maine originally and then went to school in Plymouth, NH and was always use to getting 75-100 plus inches of snow a year. In Maine I think the average where I lived was about 104-114 at 300ft elevation. Anywho, so I move after college to the UV (Lebanon, now Claremont) and think, wow they must get some snow here, Mountains, inland, close to the greens of Vermont, etc.....WRONG. Since moving here I think we have had one good winter from start to finish and that was 2002 or 2003. It's funny though once you get out of the immediate Valley and get towards Newport, NH, Enfield, NH and Cannan it can be like a different world. I remember one year some friends that I worked with rented a place in Cannan and the difference in snow between there and Lebanon, was astounding. The past two years in Claremont started off well. In 2008 we had had 2 storms of 18 inches plus all before January 1st, after that a couple moderate storms and once March 1st hit we had zero, and last year was moderate snow here and there, but it always seem to mix with rain at the end. Thank god the Greens are just a few miles away. UV clearly is a dead zone. I am gussing it has something to do with uplift of the greens and then the snow doesn't build again till you get about 20-30 miles east of Leb.

bobbutts · Aug 19, 2010

UVSHTSTRM said:
I am from the foothills/central Maine originally and then went to school in Plymouth, NH and was always use to getting 75-100 plus inches of snow a year. In Maine I think the average where I lived was about 104-114 at 300ft elevation. Anywho, so I move after college to the UV (Lebanon, now Claremont) and think, wow they must get some snow here, Mountains, inland, close to the greens of Vermont, etc.....WRONG. Since moving here I think we have had one good winter from start to finish and that was 2002 or 2003. It's funny though once you get out of the immediate Valley and get towards Newport, NH, Enfield, NH and Cannan it can be like a different world. I remember one year some friends that I worked with rented a place in Cannan and the difference in snow between there and Lebanon, was astounding. The past two years in Claremont started off well. In 2008 we had had 2 storms of 18 inches plus all before January 1st, after that a couple moderate storms and once March 1st hit we had zero, and last year was moderate snow here and there, but it always seem to mix with rain at the end. Thank god the Greens are just a few miles away. UV clearly is a dead zone. I am gussing it has something to do with uplift of the greens and then the snow doesn't build again till you get about 20-30 miles east of Leb.

The greens aren't tall enough to cast an extreme shadow like you see in bigger mt. ranges, but tall enough for this effect to give the spine a bump and to screw Ascutney

Tin Woodsman · Aug 19, 2010

bobbutts said:
The greens aren't tall enough to cast an extreme shadow like you see in bigger mt. ranges, but tall enough for this effect to give the spine a bump and to screw Ascutney

Rain/snow shadow is one reason for sure - especially on the wrap-around and orographic events that hit the spine. Another is that Ascutney is a Monadnock, and so it doesn't generate much in the way of uplift when moist winds blow in from the W or NW.

thetrailboss · Aug 19, 2010

The latest from VPR: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/88662/

Glenn · Aug 20, 2010

I hope they can sort things out. It's rough enough that the mountain may close...but then you throw in people who count on the sewer and water services.

threecy · Aug 20, 2010

A partial history of the growth of Ascutney over the years:

http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/skiareaexpansions/Vermont/ascutney.php

Mikey1 · Aug 20, 2010

Tough news about Ascutney, the mountain itself has a lot of potential. I have only been there 3 times, but enjoyed it each time. I hope their white knight comes riding in soon.

Ascutney Said to be in Financial Turmoil

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