Major West Mtn Plans: High Speed Lift, Real Estate, More

[jimmywilson69]

For bigger areas, Gore is 45 minutes, Pico is 1:30, killington a little further, Bromley/Stratton/Magic is 1:30-1:45, and Whiteface is 1:50. Houses in the neighborhood at the base of West are 400K and up.

This along with Lake George and the full time remote work could be driving it. I wish them well.

 

[smac75]

We moved less than 30 mins away from West a year ago. Our kids' school did an evening program there last winter. Even with their friends around they were very bored after an hour. But as stated above we are not their target audience being Sugarbush regulars. I hope they succeed and add more employment opportunities nearby but I have a hard time picturing it. I will say their race program is pretty robust so maybe a bunch of race families will buy in.

 

[x10003q]

I still don't see it. Living at West is convenient because you're still in civilization? It's 20 minutes from the town of Killington to the Rutland Walmart.

There are plenty of people who love skiing but do not want to live full time in the mountains at the base of a big resort. Resort living means weekends/holidays are a crowded mess with lots of rental turnover, expensive/limited food options, higher property taxes. It means medical care is far away and, in the winter, you are dealing with a lot more snow/bad weather at Killington vs West Mtn.

I understand the difference in the terrain vs a major mtn, but I still could have fun skiing at West. It would be similar to living in a golf community.

And as far as it being a place people can go to because its closer than the major resorts....from any location there's bigger/better mountains with slopeside living options. Jiminy Peak and Windham are as close if not closer than West for people from Albany. And obviously from NYC the Catskills are much closer than West.

Certainly Jiminy Peak could support primary home living with Pittsfield just down the road, but Windham is far from civilization and a total resort experience.

If you buy at West as a second home, it is much closer and easier to get to from areas like NYC metro vs heading to other slope side options like southern VT or Killington/Pico. Plus you are 45 minutes from Gore. West is 2:50 from me in NNJ and Windham is 2:00.

 

[Granite1]

You could make that your year round home, ski at night when you come home from work. Hit the mountains on the weekends.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

People who would rather drive 2.5 hours to the Catskills than 4.5 hours to VT?

I never got the argument about "love" for skiing equating to drive time. Everyone has different limits. I love the terrain at Sugarbush more than Killington but the drive time of 3.75 hours to K vs 4.75 to SB (if the Gap is open/good) was my deciding factor of skiing K 90% of the time if I was coming from home. Only once or twice did I drive from CT to Sugarbush in the early AM, and to me, it sucks.

I almost joined a ski club that has a house off of Mt. Ellen, but instead I picked a club with a house in Weston, Vermont. Of course skiing Sugarbush and MRG 30+ days a year is better than the options in SoVt. But for me it wasn't worth the addition 1.5 hour drive each way, all season. Instead I got 30+ days a year at Magic, Okemo, Stratton, Killington, and Pico...and jumped up to MRG/SB when the snow was good but could never do it on a consistent basis.

The people who drive 6+ hours every Friday night from Long Island or Philly... bless their souls. I don't care if they're only skiing the blues at Okemo they've got my respect lol.

the people driving from nyc to ski blues at okemo are tools.

 

[ss20]

the people driving from nyc to ski blues at okemo are tools.

Kusty, I think anyone who skis more than 3 feet of groomed terrain in a day is a "tool" to you hahaha

 

[BenedictGomez]

I get the drive argument to a point, but even within a limited driving range there must be better options than a $1M condo at Windham. It isn't like Windham is some amazing mountain...

Exactly. Buy a cheaper house near Plattekill; that cash will go a long way there.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Anyone who buys slopeside condo are wealthy. Get over it! You're just jealous.

Jealous of a condo @ Windham is a poor take, even by your intentionally argumentative poor take standards!

 

[deadheadskier]

It honestly doesn't surprise me at all that people buy million dollar condos at Windham. Those same folks probably ski a week in Aspen a couple of times a season.

I honestly have no idea how the NYC metro people do the every weekend commutes to VT. No way I'd be into that. After working likely 50-60 hours a week in Manhattan and then spending 5-6 hours commuting North every weekend? Nope.

If I lived down there I'd probably be a Hunter and Plattekill skier for 80% of my days in the season. Do a couple of extended trips a couple of times a winter.

Hell I live about 3.5 from Saddleback and couldn't see myself making that trip every weekend.

 

[drjeff]

Hell I live about 3.5 from Saddleback and couldn't see myself making that trip every weekend.

My drive to Mount Snow is "only" 2:45 each way.

About to start our 15th season of owning our condo there and did full seasonal rentals 3 of the 5 years prior to that (took a year off each time our kids were born)

Average probably 20 ski weekends a season over that time, and since we've owned, figure another 10 weekends on top of that each year.

You get used to it, because its a lifestyle. I will admit that it gets draining towards the end of the ski season when you're making the same drive for say the 20th weekend in a row. I definitely start taking different routes for a change of scenery (I have 4 or 5 different ways that I can go that are all within about 10 minutes of drive time)

Definitely is "easier" now that my kids are older (1 can even drive herself now if she wants to) and I can listen to whatever XM channel or Podcast I want to rather than the XM Kids Place Live Channel that I used to to keep them entertained.

I don't know how my friends who do the 4 or 5hr each way trips do it basically the same number of weekends a year I do...

 

[cdskier]

My drive to Mount Snow is "only" 2:45 each way.

About to start our 15th season of owning our condo there and did full seasonal rentals 3 of the 5 years prior to that (took a year off each time our kids were born)

Average probably 20 ski weekends a season over that time, and since we've owned, figure another 10 weekends on top of that each year.

You get used to it, because its a lifestyle. I will admit that it gets draining towards the end of the ski season when you're making the same drive for say the 20th weekend in a row. I definitely start taking different routes for a change of scenery (I have 4 or 5 different ways that I can go that are all within about 10 minutes of drive time)

Definitely is "easier" now that my kids are older (1 can even drive herself now if she wants to) and I can listen to whatever XM channel or Podcast I want to rather than the XM Kids Place Live Channel that I used to to keep them entertained.

I don't know how my friends who do the 4 or 5hr each way trips do it basically the same number of weekends a year I do...

5 hrs each way to Sugarbush for me. I probably do about 15-20 weekend trips each winter most years. Definitely something you get used to, although after simply staying in VT last year from early January through early May and seeing how relaxing it was to NOT have to do that drive every weekend, it is going to be very difficult to go back to that this year. We'll see what happens. I will say that in a normal year once ski season is over I'm absolutely exhausted and look forward to at least a few weekends of just not going anywhere.

 

[abc]

Jealous of a condo @ Windham

You may not realize it but you are.

It's not the condo or the location. The million they drop on a "poor take" like condo @Windham is just their spare coins. You may think it's poor value. But they don't have to care about the value. They spend it just like you buy yet another pair of powder ski you only get to use a few times a season at best.

 

[deadheadskier]

My drive to Mount Snow is "only" 2:45 each way.

About to start our 15th season of owning our condo there and did full seasonal rentals 3 of the 5 years prior to that (took a year off each time our kids were born)

Average probably 20 ski weekends a season over that time, and since we've owned, figure another 10 weekends on top of that each year.

You get used to it, because its a lifestyle. I will admit that it gets draining towards the end of the ski season when you're making the same drive for say the 20th weekend in a row. I definitely start taking different routes for a change of scenery (I have 4 or 5 different ways that I can go that are all within about 10 minutes of drive time)

Definitely is "easier" now that my kids are older (1 can even drive herself now if she wants to) and I can listen to whatever XM channel or Podcast I want to rather than the XM Kids Place Live Channel that I used to to keep them entertained.

I don't know how my friends who do the 4 or 5hr each way trips do it basically the same number of weekends a year I do...

2:45 I could deal with just fine. 3 seems to be the mental barrier for me. Not so much the drive up, but the drive back each Sunday.

Getting into boating big time over the past two years has changed my thought process quite a bit on an eventual vacation home purchase. I used to think I eventually wanted a place up near North Conway to ski Wildcat every weekend, but now it's shifted to somewhere around Meredith if/when the market cools. That would put us about an hour from Cannon and 20-30 minutes from our marina on Winnipesaukee. And only 1:15 from our primary residence. All super manageable commutes. We could do kids soccer games on Saturday mornings and be on the water that afternoon very easily. That wouldn't happen with a place up in Rangeley.

Rangeley lake and Saddleback is certainly compelling as I do absolutely love Saddleback. But, I know I'd probably get bored of Rangeley lake compared to Winnipesaukee. It's tiny by comparison. Cannon I enjoy almost as much as Saddleback.

This winter I actually just got passes to Gunstock. It's flat and boring, but it's only an hour away. My 3 and 6 year old will love it just fine though and I know they're fine with the commute as it's almost the exact same distance as our marina which we drive to almost every off day in summer. I don't think they'd be into the 2 hour drive up and back to Cannon each Saturday and Sunday. Also bought Indy Passes as well to have some other places to mix things up for vacations and overnight trips. That includes Cannon and Saddleback. So I'll still get some days in those places. Probably get a Jay ski / water park weekend in too. Maybe a Magic weekend.

But my overall point about Windham and similar remains. People will choose a lesser skiing destination based upon other factors. Location, location, location. It's why Mt Snow, Okemo and Stratton are mobbed every weekend and why a place like Saddleback will always draw less traffic. Though Sugarloaf is pretty darn busy too, so you never know. Saddleback is a better year round destination than the Loaf.

Maybe West can achieve at least partially something similar as what Windham has. Time will tell.

 

[ss20]

But my overall point about Windham and similar remains. People will choose a lesser skiing destination based upon other factors. Location, location, location. It's why Mt Snow, Okemo and Stratton are mobbed every weekend and why a place like Saddleback will always draw less traffic. Though Sugarloaf is pretty darn busy too, so you never know. Saddleback is a better year round destination than the Loaf.

So true. A 1hr 15m drive to Catamount to ski icy groomers is better than a 3.5hr drive to K or 3.25hr to Magic unless those places have natural snow.

To me, that would be the "grinding" factor of being a weekend warrior. Driving 4+ hours each weekend, and inevitably having 1-2 of those weekends ski like crap given we're in the northeast....nah...not into it. There's been times when we're in a good snow stretch I'd go up six weekends in a row up to VT. Even to me that was a bit of a grind even with awesome skiing.

 

[asnowmobiler]

My boss lives in a slopeside condo at MTN Creek. Not a skier or golfer. They raised their kids in a big ass house in Sparta and once the kids were grown, wanted no maintenance condo living. Wanted to stay in country Jersey. While dated, they like the health club and pool facilities there plus nearby hiking.

We had a regional meeting there two years ago in Summer. I was surprised how packed the place was. Also surprised at the vertical and ok pitch of the ski slopes for in Jersey. Though I'm sure the skiing still sucks comeparitive to New England.

NYC and NJ skiers deserve props. You're fucked both ways. It's either lame local options or you have to drive 4-6 hours to something good. That's serious commitment

Same here in Pennsylvania.

 

[jimmywilson69]

its 7.5 hrs to Killington from my location in central PA

 

[Domeskier]

If Big Snow would just seed some damn bumps, I'd never have to travel more than 10 miles to ski. Sadly, that 10 miles still takes an hour to traverse.

 

[ne_skier]

Jerseyans here, 4 hour commute for us with no traffic, 5 - 5 1/2 if there’s heavy traffic in Jersey or we’re taking our old truck up, as we did all of last winter. 287 North to the thruway, take that to Albany, NY7 to Bennington and 7 to Manchester/Magic area. For those on winding roads at night, yellow lens driving glasses are a total lifesaver.

 

[ThatGuy]

My one hour ride to the Golden Triangle seems inconsequential now. Its nice to be able to drive home after skiing everyday. Couldn’t imagine the ~4 hour drives every weekend unless I had my own condo.

 

[abc]

My one hour ride to the Golden Triangle seems inconsequential now. Its nice to be able to drive home after skiing everyday. Couldn’t imagine the ~4 hour drives every weekend unless I had my own condo.

Those goes together. Without a fixed place (condo) to stay, very few will be going up every week. So yes, for people who're going up every week, almost all of them have their own condo (owned or rented for the season).