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Hey Vail, Please Don't Buy Smugglers Notch Resort (or, Houston, We Have A Stalker)

thetrailboss

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It's UN. I don't consider them to be a credible news source.

It will be interesting to see if the owner of Smuggs DOES sell sooner rather than later. The family has had it for quite a long time.
 

ShadyGrove

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I have it on very good word that Alterra/KSL/Aspen is not done gobbling up knobs, even after just acquiring Crystal in WA.
 

KustyTheKlown

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bdfreetuna

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At Stowe last year the people selling tickets were speaking pretty openly about Smuggs acquisition being in the near future.

That's all I have to go by. I wish it would not happen. From what I have seen of Vail resorts they all have a bit of homogeneity to their equation, which is exactly the opposite many of us are seeking with our favorite Northeast resorts.

Smuggs currently stands as a good value destination for familes / young kids / and expert skiers alike. Their lifts are at capacity even on non-peak days. It could be argued that Madonna 1 should be a quad, sure. But any kind of connectivity with Stowe or a massive increase in skier visits would wreck the formula and it would be a shame. Still a good mid-week destination I suppose, but at what additional cost (and do we really care about the "benefits"?).
 

BenedictGomez

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Smuggs currently stands as a good value destination for familes / young kids / and expert skiers alike. Their lifts are at capacity even on non-peak days. It could be argued that Madonna 1 should be a quad, sure. But any kind of connectivity with Stowe or a massive increase in skier visits would wreck the formula and it would be a shame. Still a good mid-week destination I suppose, but at what additional cost (and do we really care about the "benefits"?).

Only Saturdays really. I think it's gotten worse as, "the world around them" has become more expensive. Stowe is more expensive. Jay Peak is more expensive, etc...
 

thetrailboss

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Other than the location, next to Stowe, there is no real reason for Vail to buy Smuggs. It does not fit their equation. It needs a lot of upgrades in order to handle more people and Vail is not going to do that. As they have shown, they are interested in resorts that are in great shape and profitable as they are. Smuggs is doing fine, but I am skeptical that there is serious interest. Of course anything can happen.
 

bdfreetuna

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Only Saturdays really. I think it's gotten worse as, "the world around them" has become more expensive. Stowe is more expensive. Jay Peak is more expensive, etc...

Glad to hear that as I've gotten the impression otherwise, but only from relatively few visits. Would like to move Smuggs up my list and frequent it more... one of the few places where I pucker at some of the terrain. Too bad it's basically quicker to get to Jay Peak or anywhere else in Vermont due to the back roads required.

Also with a 9 month old I'm starting to think about places that have good kids programs and Smuggler's obviously excels in that category.

But as they do have such a solid stretch of "#1 Family Mountain" ratings that is a bit of a selling point for Vail. If I was Vail I'd buy it just for that and the terrain, and build a new lodge and put in a new lift on Madonna and put in a interconnect lift to Stowe.

That said, I hope they don't!
 

Smellytele

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Other than the location, next to Stowe, there is no real reason for Vail to buy Smuggs. It does not fit their equation. It needs a lot of upgrades in order to handle more people and Vail is not going to do that. As they have shown, they are interested in resorts that are in great shape and profitable as they are. Smuggs is doing fine, but I am skeptical that there is serious interest. Of course anything can happen.

Beds - do they own any at Stowe?
 

raisingarizona

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Other than the location, next to Stowe, there is no real reason for Vail to buy Smuggs. It does not fit their equation. It needs a lot of upgrades in order to handle more people and Vail is not going to do that. As they have shown, they are interested in resorts that are in great shape and profitable as they are. Smuggs is doing fine, but I am skeptical that there is serious interest. Of course anything can happen.

No reason other than creating the undisputed king of north eastern skiing. Do you guys really think vail would blink an eye at a couple of new lifts and lodge upgrades? Really? I sure don’t.
 

farlep99

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its pretty obvious speculation. i doubt they are getting their scoops from us.

The speculation is obvious because the owner of Smuggs is 80yrs old and it's adjacent to Stowe. I wouldn't be totally surprised if a Vail acquisition happened. I also wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen. An inter-connect (via lift) is probably a long way off if it could even happen at all with the issues intersecting the Long Trail, etc.
 

thetrailboss

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Beds - do they own any at Stowe?

That is a good point. Vail is reeling from the fact that they could not take control of ANY of the real estate that AIG (or whoever it is now) was building.

BUT the Smuggs bedbase is on the WRONG side of the Notch...even with an interconnect. Even with a super expensive, and unlikely to ever be allowed by VT, gondola connecting both sides, it still is not feasible.
 

BenedictGomez

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Other than the location, next to Stowe, there is no real reason for Vail to buy Smuggs. It does not fit their equation. It needs a lot of upgrades in order to handle more people and Vail is not going to do that. As they have shown, they are interested in resorts that are in great shape and profitable as they are. Smuggs is doing fine, but I am skeptical that there is serious interest. Of course anything can happen.

There's lots of lodging at Smuggs, more than people realize due to the fact that the mountain buildout/planning hides it quite well. This would be very appealing to Vail given Stowe lacks it.

Some of the newer buildings higher up the Morse side named for birds are quite nice & already "Vail worthy", so to speak. Most of the older buildings at the bottom, for example, Hakone, Nordland, Birches, etc.. are in bad shape, and would need much work before the new money at Vail would ever consider staying there, but it's all cosmetic & could be "Vailed up" quite quickly. New carpeting, stainless steel appliances, replace the 1970s wood paneling with sheetrock & white paint, replace 1980s Formica with granite counter-tops etc... Wouldn't take much really.
 
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