Win's Word: Thoughts From Our President
See Win on the cover of the August issue of Business People Vermont.
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Monday, May 5th from Warren, VT
Our ski and ride season began on Saturday, November 17th with a sneak preview of what was to come. We ran the lifts on Saturday and Sunday that weekend and then reopened Lincoln Peak officially on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2007. Castlerock opened on Sunday, December 2nd and was open this year for a record 141 days. Lincoln Peak closed on Sunday, May 3rd, making for a 162-day season. We received a total of 287" of snow, and we had the greatest number of skier visits in over a decade. Our Early Season Pass sales are up 25% over last year. And, the Today Show came to town and let everyone know that LIFE IS INDEED BETTER here in the Mad River Valley.
It was a great season, and we are thrilled that not only did we benefit, but it seems the entire Valley did as well. We are grateful for all the support we receive from the community as well as to all the guests from so many parts of the World who skied, rode, stayed, learned and ate with us. We saw many familiar faces but also a tremendous number of new guests.
I do want to pay a special tribute to my teammates at Sugarbush who worked hard to provide our guests with the best experience possible. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated team, and it is their dedication, hard work and friendly attitude that are making the difference in why people drive that little bit extra to enjoy our resort and The Valley.
While our lifts should be turning in less than 200 days, our thoughts are now turning to the warmer months. The golf course has never looked better this time of year, and play begins on Friday, May 9th. Our busy wedding season begins that weekend as well, and we are getting ready for an excellent summer of disc golf, mountain biking and cruising through the base area of Lincoln Peak on the zip line. The Bravo lift will begin turning for the summer on Friday, June 27th and will be open every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Holiday through Columbus day weekend. Timbers will reopen for breakfast and dinner on May, 22nd and more information is coming soon on the reopening of the Castlerock Pub and Hogan's Pub at the Golf Club. We hope to see you on the Mountain this summer.
Thursday, May 1st from Warren, VT
I really want to play golf, but Stein's is looking too good to close for the season. We are reopening this Saturday for a final fling. Bravo will spin at 9 a.m. and go to 4:30 p.m. We will have Valley House Traverse, Stein's and Coffee Run open, but there will be some hiking down from Valley House to Bravo required. But, this is spring and that is cool! We will have a BBQ starting at 11:30 a.m. and lasting until???? Tickets will be only $25. And this will be our 161st day of this great season. My skis are coming back to the mountain for at least one more day. Hope to see you there! (Oh, we will make a call on Sunday on Saturday before the "running of the rose"). I am betting on a triple crown winner this year since we hit the triple crown this year. Does anyone know what that means? If you do, email me at wsmith@sugarbush.com and you could win an overnight at Clay Brook. All correct answers will go into a hat for the grand prize drawing!
Monday, April 28th from Warren, VT
Yesterday may have been the final day of our winter season. But then again, we might just open for another Saturday depending on what Mother Nature throws our way this week. If we do open we will have our own "run for the roses" before the horses break from the starting gates at Churchill Downs.
I do want to thank all of you for your support this winter, for frequenting our slopes and bringing your friends to learn why life is better here in the Mad River Valley and why an extra 30-60 minute drive is worth every minute. This was a winter that has lasted 160 days through April 27; a winter when Castlerock was open for a record 141 days; and a winter that saw some of the best spring skiing anywhere these past two weeks. It was a winter when The Today Show brought Sugarbush, the Valley and Vermont to the homes of millions of people throughout the United States and showed all that we are getting better each year and helped them understand that they too can feel and be better by visiting our special place.
Many of you have already e-mailed me with both compliments and suggestions about how we can make life better for you, and I really do appreciate your input. Please do send me any and all thoughts: wsmith@sugarbush.com.
As you hopefully know, our major project this summer will be the expansion of the Castlerock Pub, the installation of a deck above this new space and the addition of more boot and bag storage on the second floor of the Gate House. This will significantly increase our seating on the busy weekends and holidays, as well as provide for better gear storage on those days. Over the summer we also plan to finalize the master plan for the rest of Lincoln Peak Village with the goal of building our new lodge in the spring of 2009. Over the summer you will also see continued upgrades to our marvelous Robert Trent Jones, Sr. golf course, and we are delighted that Ron Philo, Jr. is back again this summer along with his renowned father, teaching pro Ron Philo, Sr.
While many of you are primarily winter visitors to Sugarbush, we have a lot of fun activities planned for the warmer months. We kick off summer officially on Friday, June 27th. The Bravo lift will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. Downhill mountain biking, disc golf and a zip line will once again be available right here on the mountain, and tennis will be in full swing at the SHARC. But, the Valley is full of so many other things to do: kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hiking, biking, dining, etc. The Arts Festival will be offering many events once again in August, and we will be hosting the Taste of the Valley here at Sugarbush this year. The Bundy Gallery will be partnering with us to put on more fun evenings like the recent "Murder at Mascara Mountain." Prom night will be the next event over Memorial Day Weekend. The Skinner Barn will not only put on a first class performance of The Man from LaMancha, but will be featuring contra dancing and cabaret nights. And, the Green Mountain Opera Festival is returning for another season. There are a lot of funs things to do this summer, and I hope you will come and see why life in better here in the warmer months as well as in the winter.
Thank you again for a terrific winter season.
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"Would you love to have a view of Sugarbush every morning? I do!" -Win Smith, February 27th, 2007 |
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