Customers had some great new upgrades this season, both on and off the hill.


LOOKOUT PASS, IDAHO
As part of its ongoing improvements, Lookout added 1,000 square feet to its base lodge along with a 1,000-square-foot deck, and spiffed up the base lodge generally. The addition and deck add capacity for weekend crowds—room for 84 more people inside, and another 60 outside on sunny days. The move took place just in time: Lookout was one of the first areas to open last fall, and among the last to close this spring. Visits were at or near record levels. And there’s more growth on the way for this area in northern Idaho on the Montana border. Area owner Phil Edholm has approval for a 14,000-square-foot lodge expansion, along with two more lifts and 14 trails. This is a not-so-little area that can.



BURKE MOUNTAIN, VERMONT
Last fall, Burke installed a 100kW Northwind wind turbine that supplies 15 to 20 percent of the area’s electricity. Alteris, a firm in Waitsfield, Vt., did the actual installation. The turbine is 121 feet high, with 30-foot blades, and a 67-foot diameter. It’s been running since October and generating at 80 kW; Burke expects to get 200,000 to 300,000 kW hours a year. State and federal government grants defrayed about 40 percent of the $973,000 cost, and a low-interest state loan helped with the rest.

Burke knew it had a good site; a test tower erected in the late 1990s showed there was ample wind, and there were utilities and an access road in place. Burke crews upgraded the utility line and cleared the land for the concrete foundation, which is eight feet square and 12 feet deep. It took less than a week to erect the mast and install the blades. And once up, it’s almost maintenance-free.

Burke received mostly favorable reaction from the public, as the site already hosts radio and fire towers that are taller, and the turbine itself is relatively small as turbines go. Guests can ski and ride past it, and reaction has been favorable.

The only issue, says Burke VP Tim McGuire, is that hoarfrost can form on the blade, and that has to melt before the turbine can run. ”We knew that going in, and assumed it would be down about 30 days over the course of the winter. I don’t think it exceeded that,” McGuire says.



MT. BACHELOR, OREGON
The area invested $500,000 in on-mountain restaurant improvements to expand seating for the past season, with more than $300,000 invested into an Umbrella Bar for its Sunrise Lodge. The 30-foot diameter bar, by Meisel of Austria, seats up to 60 people in a heated structure with removable glass walls, and a retractable umbrella ceiling for sunny days. It sits on a concrete paver deck, with eight tables. The former indoor bar at Sunrise Lodge was converted to café seating for an additional 90 guests. Bachelor moved the Umbrella Bar to its West Village for the spring season to serve as a major F&B facility for spring events, and will operate there for the summer season as well.

The biggest challenge, says facilities manager Chaz Savage, was meeting health codes—the Umbrella Bars aren’t really designed for that. “But it’s been worth it, the bar was a focus of attention. It’s been as busy as it can be, it’s standing-room-only on good weekends,” he says, thanks to its wide-angle views.



RAGGED MOUNTAIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Just in time for this season, Ragged invested more than $1 million last year, mostly on a major upgrade to its water delivery system. The area increased pumping capacity; automated one trail, in partnership with Johnson Controls; and added 45 HKD tower guns elsewhere on the mountain. The upgrades allowed the resort to open by mid-December, and to open the automated trail as early as ever, despite the Northeast’s severe weather challenges. “The windows of cold weather were shorter, and the automated system helped out big-time—it gets up to capacity fast,” says spokeswoman Stacy Lopes. “It made a huge improvement.” Customers noticed and complimented the area for it, she adds.



BEAVER CREEK, COLORADO
The Beav replaced its Rose Bowl Lift (Chair 4) with a new high speed Doppelmayr detachable quad last summer. The lift is side-loading and transports 2,400 people per hour; ride time has been cut to just over five minutes. It’s 4,900 feet long on a 1,326 vertical, with a 500 hp AC top drive and diesel backups, and bottom tension. The upgrade helps spread skiers and snowboarders across the main mountain, reducing crowds on Cinch Express Lift (Chair 8) and Centennial Express Lift (Chair 6). Increased grooming in the Rose Bowl pod, including black diamond runs, gave skiers and riders greater terrain variety than in past years.