BenedictGomez
Well-known member
From a risk management standpoint I think they should diversify away from this laser-focus on Chinese investors.
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Big Burke announcement
- Thread starter the original trailboss
- Start date
xwhaler
Active member
Not to derail the thread but I can think of 5 more scenic ski areas off the top of my head w/o even thinking about it.
I like Burke and their scenery is nice but to say its the best in the East is a stretch IMHO. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
My quick top 5:
Saddleback (high alpine peaks + huge lakes is incredible)
Gunstock (not the best ski experience but the views rock)
Magic (always liked how you can see Bromley and Stratton so close)
Owls Head (the day I visited it was pretty overcast but I've seen enough pictures that paint the picture)
Wildcat (needs no explanation)
Did you choose to ignore where I said the grand plan is sound? I agree the hotel makes perfect sense.
And you are mistaken, it is the current management/ownership who is only looking at the forrest and not the trees. All they see is the big shiny end result and repeatedly ignore the basics/trees that is required to get there.
The trees would be things like making snow in time for the holidays (particularly unacceptable when the equipment needed can be rented) and the owner not acting like a petulant child on Facebook anytime someone offers negative feedback. Even more than that is not burning down the numerous great trees that were already there.......ousting long time talented employees, messing with KT, BMA and other local schools and the owner talking trash in his bar about them.
They have a great plan and everyone wants them to succeed, but they can build the Shangri La hotel at the base and it will fail if they don't nurture the trees.
Burke 100% dodged a bullet this winter with the snow. You say business would be even better with warmer temps which is true. However if they didn't get the many feet of natural snow they got, the season would have been an unmitigated disaster with how little snow they made. Fact, not opinion.
Hopefully they get lucky again next year
The Q has always been for Quiros. Nothing more. I think the Chinese connection is pure coincidence. Ary has repeatedly said it's for their name.
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VTKilarney
Well-known member
I don't think anyone on this forum has criticized the decision to add a hotel. It is a VERY needed addition.
As for other small-scale lodging options cropping up, we will never know how much of this has to do with Kingdom Trails and how much has to do with Burke. But who cares. The area has always needed more beds.
As for other small-scale lodging options cropping up, we will never know how much of this has to do with Kingdom Trails and how much has to do with Burke. But who cares. The area has always needed more beds.
What is what looks like to be an old hotel in dowtown Lyndonville that is now apartments?
It's too bad the town doesn't have a nice old Inn in the center. I'm thinking a Green Mountain Inn type property.
It's too bad the town doesn't have a nice old Inn in the center. I'm thinking a Green Mountain Inn type property.
That's the Darling Inn. Used to be a hotel; now senior housing.
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And for those who were wondering, Q Burke Vermont is a place on Earth...
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They had plenty of QBurke merchandise on hand....and not much of it selling.
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MadMadWorld
Active member
When I was at the mountain dew vertical challenge at BURKE they had this poster up and were giving away a vacation at Smugglers Notch
Attachments
Pure genius, East Burke Sports has some very nice "Burke Mountain" hoodies for anyone looking for Q-less swag.
Is that the one that says "Burke Mountain" with a picture of the mountain and the town in the shadow?
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Very nice.....
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Not sure. I received as gift.
Edd
Well-known member
And for those who were wondering, Q Burke Vermont is a place on Earth...
View attachment 15928
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Seriously, yuck. I should snag something without the Q soon.
So some folks have probably figured out that I am in the NEK for a visit to family and friends. I've skied at Burke the last two days and have some general observations (full TR's coming in the future).
First the conditions are SUPERB to say the least. I think it is skiing as well if not better than the famous 2007-2008 season. Things are well covered and grooming is good. Very little ice. Runs not groomed are scratchy, but not icy. So they are very lucky in that regard.
The vibe at the mountain is sterile. Where employees were once chatty and had character they are now replaced with deadpan lifties and staff. I only recognized three people who were still working there. That says something.
The hotel is moving along. Framing is being completed. They were working yesterday.
MidBurke is dead. It seems so sad to see the Bear Den not open until 11am and only three people working there on a busy Saturday. They used to have it open in the mornings with coffee and folks would start their day there.
In terms of crowds, it looked like a weekday yesterday--lots of empty spots in the lower lot.
The Mid-Burke Express is a huge gamechanger. I had not skied there since it was completed. What is even more surprising is the impact it is having on traffic. While it is, at most, a few hundred feet from the Willoughby, nearly ALL the ski traffic was going east the last two days. We'd ski under the Willoughby Quad and over towards Willoughby to find NOBODY at ALL, almost untracked grooming, and plenty of cover. It looked like a NELSAP area. Really spooky. Considering that everyone used to ride that lift, and ski under it, seeing nobody was very strange. Seeing the Willoughby sitting idle seemed like a waste, but lines were not really an issue at all.
The Poma is still chugging along. They repainted the base and most of the towers. It looks nice. BMA is raising money for it by naming the Poma sticks. It seems that BMA is running/controlling its operations. It was closed to the public on Friday and most of Saturday. I showed up Saturday afternoon and was able to get on it but promised not to get in the way of the course and not to tell anyone.
The level of anger at Little Q is palpable. Folks were commenting a lot about him and the situation. I have not seen him. I saw his new GM--complete with GI hair cut--walking around quietly. I don't recognize any of the employees who remain. As said, EBS is selling hoodies with the old Burke logo, the mountain, and the town in its shadow (minus the Q) and they are selling like crazy. It is a neat logo....perhaps with some symbolism and a commentary on the situation. This is not the first time that a local store has made shirts/gear commenting on the predicament of the mountain. In 1990 the Village Sport Shop made some shirts that said, "Just Ski It: Nobody Owns It! Burke 1990"
Speaking of merchandise, the store is COMPLETELY full of Q-Burke merchandise--hats, shirts (poor quality), jackets, etc. They had a few older items with the "True North" logo in between the Q stuff. When asking about the price, the Q pins were $7.95 and the old style pin was $4.00. FWIW they would almost ALWAYS run out of logo stuff by the end of January and certainly after President's Week. They had probably 100 hats with the Q logo and nearly all the shirts and other items.
Yesterday was also the first day I can recall when my group and I nearly got mowed over several times by BMA racers...and on general trails. I was a bit surprised as to how fast some folks were skiing near very busy (and well known) intersections.
So the skiing is awesome, the facilities are nice, but it feels like skiing in a cemetery.
First the conditions are SUPERB to say the least. I think it is skiing as well if not better than the famous 2007-2008 season. Things are well covered and grooming is good. Very little ice. Runs not groomed are scratchy, but not icy. So they are very lucky in that regard.
The vibe at the mountain is sterile. Where employees were once chatty and had character they are now replaced with deadpan lifties and staff. I only recognized three people who were still working there. That says something.
The hotel is moving along. Framing is being completed. They were working yesterday.
MidBurke is dead. It seems so sad to see the Bear Den not open until 11am and only three people working there on a busy Saturday. They used to have it open in the mornings with coffee and folks would start their day there.
In terms of crowds, it looked like a weekday yesterday--lots of empty spots in the lower lot.
The Mid-Burke Express is a huge gamechanger. I had not skied there since it was completed. What is even more surprising is the impact it is having on traffic. While it is, at most, a few hundred feet from the Willoughby, nearly ALL the ski traffic was going east the last two days. We'd ski under the Willoughby Quad and over towards Willoughby to find NOBODY at ALL, almost untracked grooming, and plenty of cover. It looked like a NELSAP area. Really spooky. Considering that everyone used to ride that lift, and ski under it, seeing nobody was very strange. Seeing the Willoughby sitting idle seemed like a waste, but lines were not really an issue at all.
The Poma is still chugging along. They repainted the base and most of the towers. It looks nice. BMA is raising money for it by naming the Poma sticks. It seems that BMA is running/controlling its operations. It was closed to the public on Friday and most of Saturday. I showed up Saturday afternoon and was able to get on it but promised not to get in the way of the course and not to tell anyone.
The level of anger at Little Q is palpable. Folks were commenting a lot about him and the situation. I have not seen him. I saw his new GM--complete with GI hair cut--walking around quietly. I don't recognize any of the employees who remain. As said, EBS is selling hoodies with the old Burke logo, the mountain, and the town in its shadow (minus the Q) and they are selling like crazy. It is a neat logo....perhaps with some symbolism and a commentary on the situation. This is not the first time that a local store has made shirts/gear commenting on the predicament of the mountain. In 1990 the Village Sport Shop made some shirts that said, "Just Ski It: Nobody Owns It! Burke 1990"
Speaking of merchandise, the store is COMPLETELY full of Q-Burke merchandise--hats, shirts (poor quality), jackets, etc. They had a few older items with the "True North" logo in between the Q stuff. When asking about the price, the Q pins were $7.95 and the old style pin was $4.00. FWIW they would almost ALWAYS run out of logo stuff by the end of January and certainly after President's Week. They had probably 100 hats with the Q logo and nearly all the shirts and other items.
Yesterday was also the first day I can recall when my group and I nearly got mowed over several times by BMA racers...and on general trails. I was a bit surprised as to how fast some folks were skiing near very busy (and well known) intersections.
So the skiing is awesome, the facilities are nice, but it feels like skiing in a cemetery.
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