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Lost Areas that had potential to succeed

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WoodCore
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Posted: Sep 12, 2006 - 11:34 PM GMT

Quote:

so,

Moose Mountain
Mount Tom
Temple Mt
Greylock Glen
Highlands
King Ridge
Hogback
Petersburg Pass
Maple Valley

Objections add ons?

Here's a few that I don't see but IMHO should be on the list:

Ski Dutchess - Beacon, NY
Storm Mtn - Stormville, NY
Alpine Meadows - Corinth, NY

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4aprice
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Posted: Sep 13, 2006 - 12:39 AM GMT

Quote:

[quote]so,

Moose Mountain
Mount Tom
Temple Mt
Greylock Glen
Highlands
King Ridge
Hogback
Petersburg Pass
Maple Valley

Objections add ons?

Here's a few that I don't see but IMHO should be on the list:

Ski Dutchess - Beacon, NY

[/quote]

Woodcore:

I just drove by (on I-84) this summer. That looked like a decent hill and its location near the Thruway and I-84 makes me scatch my head as to why it didn't survive.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

MadRider
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Posted: Sep 18, 2006 - 9:04 PM GMT

I'd like to speak up for Watatic- sorry to have to disagree with you, rivercoil, but I don't think location was its biggest drawback. At one time, it was steeper and had more vertical than Wachusett (it's still steeper), and it drew a decent crowd from central Mass. and southern NH.
The biggest mistake they made there was promising to replace the old summit T-bar that was originally from Gunstock "next year" for several years in a row, and when "next year" finally came, they put chairlift on the beginner slope to replace one of the two rope tows thay had. Their excuse: not enough money for a chair to the top. So we got stuck with a "chair to nowhere" and a T-bar you could use to launch jets.
That and a few warm and/or dry winters in the early '80s put them out of business, and when Wachusett finally expanded to the summit, there was a better ski area in the same region.
Another factor: Watatic didn't really have enough water.
Of course I'm partial to Watatic because I used to ski there religiously, but I think if they'd managed to put a chair to the summit and expand snowmaking, it might still be around.

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ThatNYguy
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Posted: Sep 18, 2006 - 11:55 PM GMT

Quote:

so,

Moose Mountain
Mount Tom
Temple Mt
Greylock Glen
Highlands
King Ridge
Hogback
Petersburg Pass
Maple Valley

Objections add ons?

You forgot the obvious one... Woodcore, you have seen it.... fill Skier 90 in on it

Russ

WoodCore
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Posted: Sep 19, 2006 - 12:13 AM GMT

I was saving that one for you Russ! But if you insist.......The big, beautiful, snow laced Bearpen Mountain, home of the former Princeton Ski Bowl should most definately be added to the list A.S.A.P.

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ThatNYguy
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Posted: Sep 19, 2006 - 1:37 AM GMT

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I was saving that one for you Russ! But if you insist.......The big, beautiful, snow laced Bearpen Mountain, home of the former Princeton Ski Bowl should most definately be added to the list A.S.A.P.

I hope you all make it this winter... You will need snowmobiles but every winter, the trail network grows. This is extremely difficult skiing and don't bring your Sunday best skiis... this is the way skiing was meant to be.

Thanx Woodcore... it is sooooo much better to share

Russ

Bill29
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Posted: Sep 19, 2006 - 7:34 PM GMT

Quote: "The biggest mistake they made there was promising to replace the old summit T-bar that was originally from Gunstock "next year" for several years in a row, and when "next year" finally came, they put chairlift on the beginner slope to replace one of the two rope tows thay had. Their excuse: not enough money for a chair to the top. So we got stuck with a "chair to nowhere" and a T-bar you could use to launch jets."

I was led to believe that the biggest mistake they made was to take a small business loan and fail to pay it back in the early years of the loan, when interest rates were low. The longer they waited to pay it off, the higher the rates went. I also understand that the area had a 24-member (or maybe more) Board of Directors which was unwieldy at best, and was what some people said was responsible for not paying off the loan quickly. It was a fun place to ski and, if you wished, has easy access to lots of cross country trails.

MadRider
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Posted: Sep 19, 2006 - 8:46 PM GMT

OK, Bill, you seem to have some inside knowledge that I don't- maybe this cash flow issue was why they couldn't afford a summit chairlift. Maybe they made a lot of other mistakes, too, but the chairlift issue was what the skiing public saw. That and snowmaking- I remember the drought winter of '79-'80 when all they could cover was the lower half of Cascade.
Whatever the reason, we lost a fun place to ski. If it were still open and I had a choice between Wachusett or Watatic, rustic as it was... well, you know.....

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dvou812
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Posted: Sep 29, 2006 - 11:22 PM GMT

Heres one ... Diamond Hill in Rhode Island could of been the small Rhode Island Ski Hill but bad management and greed closed it years ago

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dangelone
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Posted: Sep 30, 2006 - 12:29 PM GMT

Bald Hill on Long Island

Minnewaska near New Paltz, NY

Ski Dutchess in Beacon, NY

I'll try to post some pics of Minnewaska. I skied there with a few friends in 2001 after a huge dump. The parking lot is on the top of the hill at Peter's Kill, so it's really tempting for locals. Hiking back up is a bit of a problem.

skier90
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Posted: Sep 30, 2006 - 12:51 PM GMT

Uptated List
Moose Mountain
Mount Tom
Temple Mt
Greylock Glen
Highlands
King Ridge
Maple Valley
Brodie
Thorn Mountain
Mt, Agamenticus
Beartown
Pinnacle VT
Evergreen Valley
Diamond Hill
Ski Dutchess
Minnewaska
Bald Hill
Bearpen Mountain aka Princeton Ski Bowl
Alpine Meadows
Storm Mtn

gravitylover
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Posted: Oct 01, 2006 - 9:01 PM GMT

Go Russ! Bearpen lives!!

Storm Mtn is a thorn in my side for sure, it only closed because of the fire in the base lodge and the owners son losing his life in the fire (AFAIK). They had plenty of water, easy access and none of the liabilities of the "bigger" areas with chairlifts. The place is still rather well maintained and could be made skiable with a little elbow grease and a few

dollars. Unfortunately the old man will never sell

curlyfuzzie
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Location:Work in Albany, NY, play in the Catskills, Adirondacks, and Berkshires

Posted: Oct 01, 2006 - 10:10 PM GMT

Scotch Valley, aka Deer Run, aka Scotch Valley, Stamford, NY... still miss it...

skierpilot
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Posted: Oct 01, 2006 - 10:54 PM GMT

Scotch Valley I also miss it. When it was sold by the long time owner in the mid 80's , everything changed. The new owners did not use the business plan that had worked well for so many years.

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