Summit Lodges..Like or dislike

[ALLSKIING]

I have always liked eating at the Summit lodge. Killington summit lodge has one of the best views. Jiminy Peak summit lodge has a nice outside deck to eat at in the spring.

 

[thetrailboss]

Like them for the views. Don't like them for the ecological damage. Although building a ski trail and laying down snowmaking pipe isn't always so eco friendly. :roll:

 

[shwilly]

Like!

Like you say, Killington summit lodge has fantastic views. Sipping a Long Trail by the fire and looking out across Vermont is about as nice as it gets.

It's not really a lodge, but the ski patrol building on top of Sugarloaf is nice and low key.

The restaurant near the top of Bretton Woods has great views of the Presidentials, but the one time I ate there it was soooooooo sloooooooooowwww we missed over an hour of the day. (It wasn't even crowded; we thought we'd been smart and skipped the lunch rush.) This was just one afternoon ~4 years ago, though. They were apologetic and gave us vouchers when we complained, so it wasn't too bad.

I guess those are the only summit lodges I've been to. There are nice big lodges at the border of the alpine regions of Whistler and Blackcomb, but not at the summit. I have to plug Christine's at the Rendezvous lodge on Blackcomb, which has Granville Pale Ale, the best food I have ever had above 6,000 feet, and cheap appetizers after 2 PM.

 

[riverc0il]

i enjoy summit buildings for a quick place to warm up. i almost always bring my own food and don't drink while skiing, so the services are irrelevent to me.

 

[shwilly]

Don't like them for the ecological damage.

I hadn't really thought of that. I wonder what the incremental damage is opposed to a resort with no summit lodge? Environmentally speaking, I don't feel great about riding lifts up slopes to ride down cut trails with artificial snow blown on them, but I can live with myself if it's localized.

 

[Marc]

i enjoy summit buildings for a quick place to warm up. i almost always bring my own food and don't drink while skiing, so the services are irrelevent to me.

The first step is admitting you have a problem, Alky...

 

[loafer89]

I sure wish that ASC would restore the summit building at Sugarloaf with at least some restrooms. I guess Bullwinkels is sufficent though.

I like the Hunter summit lodge, that thing is built like an air raid shelter:-o

I read that Killington was able to get away with building the massive summit lodge, prior to Act 250 comming into law in 1970, which puts severe restrictions on development above 4000'.

 

[JimG.]

I like the Hunter summit lodge, that thing is built like an air raid shelter:-o

The "Castle in the Clouds". It needs a better septic system though. The air gets a little rich up there in the Springtime.

 

[dmc]

The "Castle in the Clouds". It needs a better septic system though. The air gets a little rich up there in the Springtime.

"Castle in the Clouds" needs to be completed... It was originally supposed to have a stone facade...

 

[Greg]

"Castle in the Clouds" needs to be completed... It was originally supposed to have a stone facade...

It is kind of a weird design...

 

[thetrailboss]

I read that Killington was able to get away with building the massive summit lodge, prior to Act 250 comming into law in 1970, which puts severe restrictions on development above 4000'.

That, and the Jay Peak Tram Station are ugly as hell from the distance.

 

[riverc0il]

i always thought the jay peak tram station is kinda cool looking driving 100 south towards jay, the way it juts out of the summit of the mountain. makes the face look pretty damn steep, heh. i don't see how a building could make a ski area look ugly from a naturalistic point of view... most areas have already cut out 200 foot wide swaths of open space straight down the mountain with no turns. urbanizing the summit almost seems like the natural thing to do after all that cutting! :lol:

 

[Geoff]

Don't know how many of you have been to the Two Elks Lodge at the top of Vail. After the eco-Nazis burned down the first one, Vail rebuilt it 50% bigger. It's the biggest post & beam structure I've ever seen.

The old gondola building at the top of KMart is really poorly utilized. They could easily insulate the lower level that used to offload gondola cars and put a nice restaurant there. The little bar is a nice spot for a pit stop but the Kmart cafeteria food is inedible.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Don't know how many of you have been to the Two Elks Lodge at the top of Vail. After the eco-Nazis burned down the first one, Vail rebuilt it 50% bigger. It's the biggest post & beam structure I've ever seen.
.

I was there this past season and it is a beautiful lodge. I don’t believe in violence or burning down a structure lawfully built, but I sympathize with people you call “Eco-Nazis”.

You could never get approval to build a structure like that in the ADKs or Catskill mountains and I think that is a good thing.

 

[NYDrew]

Summit lodging is great. Most gapers can't get there, thus I dont have to wait 72 hours for a chili bread bowl.

 

[kcyanks1]

At places that aren't top-to-bottom with one lift, I like them as a place to stop for a bathroom break. I sometimes bring food and sometimes buy, and for the times I buy (or stick food in my pockets) it's nice to have options aside from the base.

 

[Brettski]

I used to like the old top o' the notch at Smuggs...dingy, small, no restrooms, but great venison stew

No it's a new building, still no restorrom, and still good venison stew....

The old one had charachter...

Kind of like the midmountain lodge at gore

Oh, and everything about whistler/blackcomb is silly top shelf....I mean it doesn't feel like skiining, but it is absolutley fabulous