Powder Ridge CT

[mlctvt]

Looks like there may be skiing again at Powder Ridge Middlefield CT by Dec 2012



Middlefield Residents Approve Sale Of Powder Ridge

May 24, 2011|By SHAWN R. BEALS, sbeals@courant.com, The Hartford Courant
John Krebs, Fox CT


Residents voted overwhelmingly at a town meeting on Tuesday night to approve selling Powder Ridge to a ski resort developer for $1 million.

The vote was 259-28.

Alpine Ridge LLC plans to turn the area back into a ski resort, and has agreed to invest at least another $2 million in the property. The company has said it intends to open the ski area in time for the 2012-13 season.

Dennis Abplanalp, president of Alpine Ridge, said he expected the resort to employ more than 200 people when it reopens. He said the company's emphasis on quality snowmaking and customer service will "allow Powder Ridge to become the premier winter recreation center in Connecticut, with skiing, snowboarding and snowtubing."

The town has received a $25,000 deposit from the company, and an initial payment of $300,000 will be made at a closing date to be scheduled. Another $100,000 payment will be made each year for seven years.

 

[Glenn]

That would be pretty cool if the area opened up again. Fingers crossed.

 

[thorski]

Insane terrain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[2knees]

Insane terrain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

those radio ads were great.

 

[bvibert]

I'll believe it when I see it. From my understanding they're going to have to replace just about everything to be able to reopen.

 

[powhunter]

wonder if there will be a dedicated seeded bump run??

 

[mlctvt]

wonder if there will be a dedicated seeded bump run??

:lol: that's really funny. The pitch is so flat it's almost impossible to get any speed up on flat ground. One bump and you'd stop.

 

[Nick]

It's cross-country skiing moguls

 

[Abubob]

I'll believe it when I see it. From my understanding they're going to have to replace just about everything to be able to reopen.

From videos I seen of the place recently there is nothing of use there. It will be cheaper to rebuild than to renovate. Damage from vandalism is ... thorough ... I believe that's the best way to put it. It seems nothing is untouched.

http://durham.patch.com/articles/public-invited-to-tour-powder-ridge-this-weekend?ncid=M255#video-5286707

http://snowjournal.com/powderridge/

 

[marcski]

I'll believe it when I see it. From my understanding they're going to have to replace just about everything to be able to reopen.

Well, $2 m. should take care of it, no? a used fixed grip quad, a groomer and some new snowmaking equipment..... You could probably get that done on powder ridge's small scale for 2 mil, don't you think.

 

[drjeff]

Well, $2 m. should take care of it, no? a used fixed grip quad, a groomer and some new snowmaking equipment..... You could probably get that done on powder ridge's small scale for 2 mil, don't you think.

Probably depends on how beat up the snowmaking system is these days. If the basic infastructure is intact, $2mil could be doable. If a bunch of the pipes and pumps and electrical are messed up, well then $2 million might cover just the snowmaking system. Just remember if they have to buy a bunch of new fan guns, those will typicially run $25-30k+ a piece, and being in Southern CT, having some GOOD snowmking equipment has to be a essential piece of their winter operations business model!

 

[marcski]

Probably depends on how beat up the snowmaking system is these days. If the basic infastructure is intact, $2mil could be doable. If a bunch of the pipes and pumps and electrical are messed up, well then $2 million might cover just the snowmaking system. Just remember if they have to buy a bunch of new fan guns, those will typicially run $25-30k+ a piece, and being in Southern CT, having some GOOD snowmking equipment has to be a essential piece of their winter operations business model!

AGreed, but an outfit, like Powder ridge could buy those big airless guns on wheels and move them around. I'm sure that's what they'll be doing as opposed to lining each trail, a la Mt. Sneaux and other bigger areas. They will only need a small bunch of those guns to get a base laid down.

 

[bvibert]

Probably depends on how beat up the snowmaking system is these days. If the basic infastructure is intact, $2mil could be doable. If a bunch of the pipes and pumps and electrical are messed up, well then $2 million might cover just the snowmaking system. Just remember if they have to buy a bunch of new fan guns, those will typicially run $25-30k+ a piece, and being in Southern CT, having some GOOD snowmking equipment has to be a essential piece of their winter operations business model!

From what I've heard the basic snowmaking infrastructure (or any infrastructure for that matter) is not in good shape at all. I think $2mil will just cover the snowmaking. I haven't seen it myself, but I trust the source.

 

[2knees]

Well, $2 m. should take care of it, no? a used fixed grip quad, a groomer and some new snowmaking equipment..... You could probably get that done on powder ridge's small scale for 2 mil, don't you think.

If not, maybe they could lease the place to the state of New Hampshire to come in and run it. We'd get $20 lift tickets on wednesdays as ct state residents.

 

[2knees]

:lol: that's really funny. The pitch is so flat it's almost impossible to get any speed up on flat ground. One bump and you'd stop.

There is one tiny section above the old beginner area that has a moderate pitch. I think i remember it being open only one or two times in the countless trips i made there as a school kid.

 

[WoodCore]

I do know some of the Alpine Ridge folks on a personnel level and will say that they are very legit! Don't doubt them, they have a great track record and fully expect this to come to fruition.

 

[Glenn]

From videos I seen of the place recently there is nothing of use there. It will be cheaper to rebuild than to renovate. Damage from vandalism is ... thorough ... I believe that's the best way to put it. It seems nothing is untouched.

http://durham.patch.com/articles/public-invited-to-tour-powder-ridge-this-weekend?ncid=M255#video-5286707


http://snowjournal.com/powderridge/

Wow! Lots of damage there. No respect for other people's property. :angry:


But a lot of it looks to be cosmetic. If the structures are OK, they can be fixed.

 

[thorski]

They had a sweet little halfpipe there, and insane terrain was pretty fun.

 

[wa-loaf]

Man, looks like the place has been closed for more than 5 years.

 

[threecy]

But a lot of it looks to be cosmetic. If the structures are OK, they can be fixed.

I think they're planning to replace most of it. The good snow guns are long gone, and I think an older newspaper article mentioned that a lot of important wiring (perhaps inside the lift drive terminals) was yanked out by thieves.