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Maple Valley

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rjmski Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Sep 24, 2004 Posts: 3 Location:	Posted: Jul 15, 2011 - 4:12 PM GMT Driving by Maple Valley In Brattleboro. Actually riding anyway they are painting the bottom lift drives and towers. Seems wierd since they are long since turned to scrap. Anybody know if something is planned? Thanks,RJMSKI

obienick Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Oct 21, 2005 Posts: 1168 Location:	Posted: Jul 15, 2011 - 4:22 PM GMT They aren't scrap. Hall lifts were very well built, which is why there are still so many running to this day. Big Tupper just restored two in two years, and they hadn't been operating for about the same time frame.

bmwskier Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Dec 30, 2009 Posts: 490 Location:Northern Vermont	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 2:15 AM GMT Scoped it out last weekend as well. Walked the grounds and took some photos for reference. All of the bottom stations are painted as is the first tower going up each of the chair lines. Above that, nothing was done and there was no sign of any movement up each of the chair lines. Everything was overgrown. There are places where they painted and didn't mask well on the ground and on the chairs. Some of the numbers were painted over on the chairs hanging. Both loading stations were rotten and there was water puddled in several places. I also checked out the lodge. The front grass was cut but that was all. There was a notice posted about a public hearing in town concerning the reopening and that the public was invited to come and walk the grounds that day. No word on how that went. The lodge was freshly painted outside but nothing I could see through the windows looked as if it was touched-- there was stuff still left over in the ticket office and other offices from the day they last spun. No sign of any work done recently other than the painting and the grass. if they plan to spin this winter then they'd better get a move on.

newman Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 21, 2008 Posts: 2124 Location:The mighty SKI WARD Shrewsbury MA	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 2:23 AM GMT Edited: Jul 16, 2011 - 2:24 AM GMT Quote: No sign of any work done recently other than the painting and the grass. if they plan to spin this winter then they'd better get a move on. If they plan to spin in 2013/ 2014 they better get a move on. Where is MtToms point of view on this?

obienick Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Oct 21, 2005 Posts: 1168 Location:	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 6:47 AM GMT All of those on-mountain things you listed shouldn't take that long to do. Installing snowmaking, and renovations to the lift drives and lodges will be the harder stuff, but there is still plenty of time.

sugarloaf Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 05, 2004 Posts: 480 Location:Coventry, Connecticut	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 2:45 PM GMT Edited: Jul 16, 2011 - 2:48 PM GMT Quote: All of those on-mountain things you listed shouldn't take that long to do. Installing snowmaking, and renovations to the lift drives and lodges will be the harder stuff, but there is still plenty of time. Some of the ski trails are severely overgrown and the top lift terminals have 20' + tall trees growing through them. Snowmaking would be very important here with the areas location and low elevation, without it the ski season will be very short. Currently a few trails have airless snowmaking, but the system is in poor condition. Fixing this alone would take many months and fall is fast approaching.

lonk7880 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 05, 2004 Posts: 390 Location:New York, NY	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 4:53 PM GMT I don't understand why anyone who would invest in this mountain because: - It would take an incredible amount of money to turn around what nature has done over the past few years (growth, rust, etc.). What about snowmaking equipment? The lodge? The chairs? - The mountain is in VT's banana belt. It is small. - Competition from much larger mountains. Haven't we been seeing a trend lately? It should come as no surprise to anyone on this blog that the number of ski areas has shrunk dramatically over the last few decades. This would be a worse idea than rushing in to buy Ascutney or Haystack.

joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5946 Location:NH	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 5:52 PM GMT Quote: I don't understand why anyone who would invest in this mountain because: ... There are a number of areas that appear to be someone's personal hobby rather than a serious attempt to make money. Granite Gorge and Woodbury S & R are two areas about which this has been said over the years. If this is a serious attempt however: Park and Snowboard are becoming more popular and vertical is not as big a criterion. The Carinthia Park, which is one of the biggest, is barely 1000 vertical. Time will tell. __________ Joshua Segal

newman Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 21, 2008 Posts: 2124 Location:The mighty SKI WARD Shrewsbury MA	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 9:14 PM GMT The thing about the Carinthia park is its connected to a very large mountain. If MV became a total park it would scare some skiers away. They would need any guest thaty can buy a ticket or pass. Not just boarder or park people. They are right on the way to Flatton. What could that whole place offer that Flatton doesnt already have? The aspect of a cool, closed area reopening? That hype will fizzle. They need a new gimmick to get people in. They did mention hang-glliding someplace. Thats different. Even Bromleys zipline isnt that extreme.

marcski Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Dec 14, 2003 Posts: 2066 Location:Westchester Co., N.Y.	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 9:43 PM GMT Quote: They are right on the way to Flatton. What could that whole place offer that Flatton doesnt already have? The aspect of a cool, closed area reopening? That hype will fizzle. They need a new gimmick to get people in. How about affordable skiing on trails with character as opposed to wide open blvd.s. They are clearly not looking to take stratton's target customer. But local schoolkids in afterschool twilight skiing under the lights, is definitely a possibile niche market for them. Personally, IMHO, snowmaking is the main issue involved in getting that place back in action. .

newman Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 21, 2008 Posts: 2124 Location:The mighty SKI WARD Shrewsbury MA	Posted: Jul 16, 2011 - 11:27 PM GMT Quote: [quote] How about affordable skiing on trails with character as opposed to wide open blvd.s. They are clearly not looking to take stratton's target customer. But local schoolkids in afterschool twilight skiing under the lights, is definitely a possibile niche market for them. Personally, IMHO, snowmaking is the main issue involved in getting that place back in action. . Lifts and a lodge could be an issue. The primary profits from lift passes are the weekend skier. The programs bring in money, if they have enough business to justify being open at night, or even weekdays.

jasone Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 15, 2007 Posts: 555 Location:Bernardston, MA	Posted: Jul 17, 2011 - 3:21 AM GMT Quote: I don't understand why anyone who would invest in this mountain. I, for one really hope they manage to re-open. First of all, with the exception of Living Memorial Park, Maple Valley is the closest ski area to me (in good weather, its 15 minutes closer than Berkshire East. In bad weather, it would probably take half the time since a short distance on route 39 is way easier a drive than half an hour on route 2.) But more importantly than that, I really just enjoy skiing at a smaller mountain much more than at a big mountain. It is an extremely rare day that I actually feel like I got my money's worth at a big mountain. Even on the best of days, my legs are only good for 8000 to 10,000 vertical feet of skiing. I can drive 2 hours and pay $80 or $90 to ski three runs at a big mountain, or I could drive half an hour and pay (hopefully) $35 to $45 to ski twelve or fifteen runs at Maple Valley... yeah, I'd really love it if MV opened again. My favorite mountains to ski are Berkshire East, Crouched, Black (NH), Magic, Bromley, and Pats Peak. Wachusett is ok if you go in the morning on a weekday. The only big mountain I really love to ski is Bretton Woods... for some reason, their terrain and grooming don't tire me out as fast and I can usually get a full day of skiing there. I know this board is mostly made up of expert skiers who can go all day without getting tired. But I gotta tell you, there are WAY more skiers like me than there are like the rest of you. I really think that Maple Valley can succeed if they can overcome the MANY challenges they face in getting the place reopened. It's going to take a great management team to make it all work, though.

lonk7880 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 05, 2004 Posts: 390 Location:New York, NY	Posted: Jul 17, 2011 - 4:49 PM GMT I understand that a lot of people on this board like smaller, boutique ski areas, trails with character, a closer drive, but the market just does not support an area like Maple Valley being successful. Period. As I mentioned, Haystack, Ascutney, and Tenney all fit this same profile. We can lament that Flatton has boring wide open trails but as long as those CT and NJ doctors and their families control the ski market than Maple Valley will never reopen and be successful. Leaving this to nature is a no brainer. Seriously, its unfathomable to picture this place operating successfully in this day and age.

JayB Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 11, 2002 Posts: 376 Location:	Posted: Jul 17, 2011 - 5:55 PM GMT I used to think the same way as lonk, why go to the small place when I can go and ski a real mountain. Then I had kids and what I needed in a ski area changed. Cost, terrain, ski school, driving time, etc, became the push instead.I found a great place to call my local mountain, I spent one year skiing every mountain within a hour of me, total of twelve. I saw a lot of operations and really all run a little different. Those small places all do something different to survive. The ones that do make it are the ones willing to do something different, whether it be hours, closing mid week, great ski school, affordable seasons pass's, lessons. What ever it does not matter just have enough sense to realize that you can not compete with the big boys and find the group of skiers not getting what they want. If MV does that then they have a chance. __________ Jay

mapnut Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 31, 2002 Posts: 5065 Location:New York City	Posted: Jul 18, 2011 - 1:55 PM GMT Keep in mind that the only reason we're talking about Maple Valley is that the owner has made some more conspicuous efforts recently to sell the place. Recent topic. This includes getting permits in place for some off-season activities a new owner might be interested in. We still haven't seen any indication that such a potential buyer exists. Not to throw cold water on the discussion, but, well, yes, kind of.

mt.tom Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Sep 14, 2009 Posts: 289 Location:New England	Posted: Jul 19, 2011 - 4:52 AM GMT Quote: If they plan to spin in 2013/ 2014 they better get a move on. Where is MtToms point of view on this? It's going to take time but the right steps are taking place!

mt.tom Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Sep 14, 2009 Posts: 289 Location:New England	Posted: Jul 19, 2011 - 5:01 AM GMT Quote: I understand that a lot of people on this board like smaller, boutique ski areas, trails with character, a closer drive, but the market just does not support an area like Maple Valley being successful. Period. As I mentioned, Haystack, Ascutney, and Tenney all fit this same profile. We can lament that Flatton has boring wide open trails but as long as those CT and NJ doctors and their families control the ski market than Maple Valley will never reopen and be successful. Leaving this to nature is a no brainer. Seriously, its unfathomable to picture this place operating successfully in this day and age. To be totally honest you New Yorkers play a part too! And the only true reason Stratton gets people is because it is a mountain built for rich people!!!! Smaller mountains get more friendly people and people who are less stuck up because everyone can afford to ski small areas! We need areas that are affordable and think about it your grandparents were happy just to ski on a small hill and they enjoyed it!

obienick Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Oct 21, 2005 Posts: 1168 Location:	Posted: Jul 19, 2011 - 3:39 PM GMT Edited: Jul 19, 2011 - 3:42 PM GMT Quote: Keep in mind that the only reason we're talking about Maple Valley is that the owner has made some more conspicuous efforts recently to sell the place. I thought he's been quoted as saying he wants to reopen it. The listing for MV on the Web as been down for a few years now. --- EDIT, I found this: http://www.freewebs.com/maplevalleymaster/maplevalleyinfo.htm This seems to be a newer version of the old listing. Doesn't seem that he's really trying to sell. "Freewebs" sounds like a great website! At least list it with a real broker. Broken links galore and not updated in 4 years.

sugarloaf Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 05, 2004 Posts: 480 Location:Coventry, Connecticut	Posted: Jul 19, 2011 - 3:40 PM GMT Having walked up and down a vast majority of the terrain at Maple Valley and having time to make a educated opinion of the mountain, I would probably ski it 1-2 times for the novelty of the place. After that I would much rather drive a bit farther for vastly superior terrain options at Magic/Bromley.

elcamino57 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Nov 09, 2003 Posts: 854 Location:Wilmington VT	Posted: Aug 05, 2011 - 2:48 PM GMT The latest in the Reformer today.Maple Valley Story

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