Early season looking real good; Arapahoe Basin already has their new Beavers Chairlift open. That’s an expansion on the west side of Pally…Word from the Tetons sez Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opened on schedule this past weekend with plenty of snow and more on the way…Vermont’s favorite throwback/comeback hill, Magic Mountain, also opened this past weekend but it was a one-off. They’re shut down with an eye on preserving the base, letting it all firm up, and opening for real this coming weekend. Make no mistake, last weekend was legit in Londonderry — Magic had about three-quarters of its terrain open. The latest round of new management is doing an outstanding job thus far…speaking of mountain management, Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Western Colorado has announced that Ryan Schramm is moving from sister resort Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire to take over as GM. The vacancy at Ragged will be filled by Jay Gamble, who was GM at nearby Sunapee for the last 20 seasons, and served on the board of directors of Ski New Hampshire during that tenure. Both Ragged and Powderhorn are run by Pacific Group Resorts…back to Vermont, we’re hearing about a foot and a half of fresh this morning at Mount Snow. Unfortunately the power is out, which explains why a number of skis are sitting on the rack in the photo above. They’re working like madmen to get it back…speaking of madmen in Southern Vermont, down the ridge at Haystack Mountain which is now part of the Hermitage Club, a small group of members who invested in the Barnstormer chairlift say they are owed $9.8 million. This is based on a $7,825,000 loan back in November 2015, and a whole lot of ins and outs that are beyond my simple comprehension…and from Canada we hear that veteran World Cup skier Erik Guay announced his retirement following a final run at Lake Louise this past weekend. Guay was a threat to win at any time, and garnered some two dozen podiums over the years. He won the Super G season globe in 2010. We’ll certainly miss his friendly smile and hard-charging competitive style.
Photo courtesy Mount Snow/Peak Resorts